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Collections Law/Medical collection going to Judgement

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Expert: Creditwrench - 11/5/2008


Question
I live in CO. I have a court date set for 11-10-08.There are 3 collections( $5000 total)and BC services is attempting to get a judgement against me and my wife. Two of the collections are from when I was in the hospital with heart problems ($2000). The third is from when my young son broke his arm jumping on a trampoline at my sisters house.
1) Regarding the 2 medical collections relating to my hospital stay. Why is my wife being named in the summons? What kind of answer would would be appropriate? It is hard to deny that I did not receive the treatment.
2) Regarding my sons broken arm. I was under the impression that my health insurance company at the time was going to try and get my sister's home owners insurance company to pay the claim. They send me a form ( can not recall the name of the from and do not know if I kept a copy of it) asking if the injury occurred on someone else property, property owner, location and the cause. I supplied them with this info. Can I put this info into an answer?

I have read many of your responses and would like to know the best way or wording needed to file an answer.I do know that I have to file at the court house and that I must mail the attorney a copy. You often mention graduated denial. What exactly is this? I guess my goal is to try and make this go away or least prolong the inevitable judgement and garnishment that could follow. Is it worth even filing an answer at this late date?
Thanks in advance for ay suggestions/help.


Answer

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You have a court date set for 5 days from now and you haven't done a thing to to respond? I'd say that there are only two things you can do and out of the two choices the one I would use is a motion for extension of time to answer. If you hurry you might get that filed today or tomorrow at the latest. If you don't have it filed by tomorrow night it might get denied because you didn't file it in time. You will need to prepare your motion, notice of hearing, order of the court and certificate of mailing and get the judge to approve it. If you use the right reason the judge will probably grant your motion giving you a few days to get your response in to the court.

You could also actually have your response in to the court in the same amount of time but if you respond in time then you will still need to file for extension of time to complete discovery. Either way you will need to file for extension of time but filing your response now coupled with a request for extension of time will mean much more time to get it prepared and filed. Time is what you don't have.

Yes, a graduated denial is what I would recommend but I also recommend that you send demand for admissions at the same time. Even so I would still prepare and file motion for extension of time if I were doing it.  

Creditwrench

Expertise

Debt Collections law, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), federal law, how to properly answer court summons for collection cases, how to prepare federal cases against debt collectors, how to deal with debt collection phone calls.

Experience

I've been an active consumer advocate for more than 40 years and have helped hundreds of people win cases against debt collectors as well as helping them defeat demands for summary judgment lodged against them by banks, debt collectors and defeat mortgage foreclosures and keep their homes.

Education/Credentials
Paralegal courses for the most part.
I have been teaching people how to deal with judgments, mortgage foreclosures and other such problems both on and off the internet for many, many years. I am a Richard Cornforth information provider ever since 2000 and worked with many other organizations and causes since 1980. I was Oklahoma State Chairman for the nationwide drive to defeat the Constitutional Convention which was proposed by various factions within our federal government such as the Council of State Governments and the National Organization of State Governors who were working hard to organize a Constitutional Convention to be held in 1995 for the purpose of rewriting our American Constitution to be more acceptable to the United Nations. I worked with Senator Charles Duke of Colorado and Senator Don Rogers of California and many others across the nation to keep them from getting the number of delegate states required to lawfully hold a Con-Con and we were successful. I have worked with many other legislative issues in Oklahoma and have always been very successful.

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