HOW TO HANDLE A CIVIL ACTION / LAWSUIT

What can I do if I’ve Been Sued?

 

 

If you have been served by the Sheriff delivering a complaint or just heard that a credit card company has filed a lawsuit against you, it may be a pretty scary time if you’ve never been through this before. But the first thing to do is to know what deadlines are quickly approaching and start figuring out a game plan of how you want to handle the situation. 

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Realistically, your first call should be to an attorney who specializes in all areas of Debt Relief and not just Bankruptcy.  There are many tools available to come up with a solution to the overall problem at hand, not just Bankruptcy, even though it may be one of a couple of useful solutions.

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Having seen many clients from all walks of life who have unfortunately run into issues with money at one time or another, the attorney should be sympathetic with your situation and provide you with a stress-free environment to go over what happened, what is currently happening and what solutions are available to you. 

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It is important that the person you are talking to finds out about your entire situation including how much and what kind of debt you may have, what assets you have, what your household income is, and various other topics.  This is important for most, if not all, of the options available to you. 

 

 

Next, the attorney should go over all your options in regard to the current lawsuit and how to best handle it along with an analysis of your entire financial situation and go over all available options to help with everything you have going on if it is appropriate.  For instance, many times, if a person is behind on one credit card he or she may be behind on many or possibly in foreclosure with his or her home.

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When I’m meeting with someone who has been sued and am going over all of his or her options I will typically advise him or her what happens if that person:

 

 

• Doesn’t respond to the complaint at all;

• Defends the complaint to win;

• Defends the complaint and settles because the Credit Card Company has all the information to win the case;

• Files a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy;

• Files a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy;

• Settles the matter with the Plaintiff; as well as

• Combines one or more of the above.

 

It is very important to go over all these things so that you can make the best decision for you.  However, the problem arises when people start trying to guide clients in one direction or another because of the amount of profit from some of the services. I’ll just leave that topic there.  But rest assured, if you come to see me, you WILL be informed of all your options and will be able to make the best decision for you no matter what that decision is. 

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I have been recognized and rated as a Top Attorney and Distinguished Attorney in the area of Civil Litigation, as well as a Client Choice and Top Contributor by Avvo and regularly, represents clients in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, Lehigh, and Northampton Counties.  If you are in need of any assistance or have any questions, please contact us to go over your situation.  We would love the opportunity to help you and get your life back to normal.