AboutPaul D. Friedman, M.A., Ph.D., J.D. Expertise I am a licensed attorney and Judge Pro Tempore who has conducted and been involved in hundreds of mediations and thousands of arbitrations. I can answer questions regarding settlement conferences, mediations or arbitrations. I do not give legal advice over the internet and it would be helpful to list your location such as country or state.
Experience I am a licensed attorney, Judge Pro Tempore and adjunct professor.
Experience in the area I have been a licensed attorney since 1989 and a Judge Pro Tempore since 2005. Additionally, I have a masters degree in bioethics and a doctorate of philosophy regarding comparative ethics
Organizations State Bar of Arizona
State Bar of Colorado (inactive)
District of Columbia Bar (inactive)
Federal Bar
Licensed in Arizona District Court
Licensed in Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
Licensed in the United States Supreme Court American Bar Association National Board of Trial Advocacy
American Association for Justice Arizona Trial Lawyers Association
American Society for Bioethics and Humanities Kennedy Institute of Ethics National Association of Realtors
Education/Credentials Bachelor of Arts 1985
Juris Doctorate 1989
Master of Arts in Bioethics 2004 Doctorate of Philosphy 2006
Awards and Honors Phi Beta Kappa
Multiple Who's Who
Publications A list of my copyrighted publications and presentations is contained at WWW.EXPERTETHICS.COM
I live in Belen, NM and have been served with arbitration papers from MBNA or their collection agency in the amount of $11K plus lawyers fees, etc. I wanted to know what i should do and is this serious. My instinct is to ignore it but i was told that is not wise and am afraid they will take my home and garnish my wages. Please advise me what to do. Thanks.
ANSWER: Laura,
I assume MBNA believes you are in debt for approximately $11K and have not paid according to the agreement. They are mostlikely attempting to enforce the credit card agreement.
If MBNA proves that you breached the agreement, you may be subject to court costs and reasonable attorney's fees.
I do not think it is wise to ignore the letter. I would suggest your attempting to negotiate some payment or payment plan. You can explain to MBNA that some money is better than getting a judgment which they cannot collect because you have limited resources.
I wish you the best.
Very truly yours,
Paul D. Friedman, M.A., Ph.D., J.D.
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QUESTION: i have a follow up question. I was served by the sheriff but not actually served with papers in person. He left them in my mail box and i never signed anything to prove i received the papers. Does that make any difference??
Answer It depends on the law in the state where you live. In some jurisdictions, serving a person at their home (mailbox) does constitute good service. In some places, the person or a family member of the person at the home must be served.
Some jurisdictions allow for service with the person receiving the packet filling out a verification. If that person refuses to fill out the verification, the cost of service is added to the costs of the lawsuit.
Since I do not practice law in New Mexico, I suggest you speak to an attorney in your area about good service, however, they most likely will serve you in a proper way if that is not good service.
