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Get your case against Sessoms & Rogers dismissed

Summary: Is Sessoms & Rogers suing you for a debt? SoloSuit can help you take a stand and win in court.

If you are being sued for a debt, you need to consider all of your options. You may not even be aware of the fact that you can request a debt collector to verify your debt, and if they cannot, they are not legally allowed to sue you. This is also useful if you were to attempt to negotiate a settlement.

If you are being sued by a lawyer or debt collectors such as Sessoms and Rogers, then you must respond within the deadline and look into affirmative defenses, as well as violations of the FDCPA. This is the only way to beat Sessoms and Rogers in court.

Who are Sessoms and Rogers?

Sessoms and Rogers is a North Carolina-based civil litigation law firm. Originally established in 1984, they have typically focused on creditor rights and debt collection for financial institutions, corporations, and individuals. They have also worked in commercial litigation, commercial landlord representation, and appellate cases. This essentially means that they are hired to sue consumers for the debts they owe.

Send a Debt Validation Letter to Sessoms and Rogers before they sue

There are a few forms of proof that must be provided by Sessoms and Rogers if they wish to sue you, however, they are not required to produce this to sue you. Instead, you must ask them to provide proof of:

Your responsibility for the debt
Their legal right to sue you
The specific amount you owe

Requiring a proof of the amount you owe can be one way to defend against a debt collection lawsuit. This might include showing that the balance was increased when you made purchases or by fees that were in the original credit agreement. You can request proof of the debt by sending a Debt Validation Letter to Sessoms and Rogers. Once they receive this letter, Sessoms and Rogers must prove that the debt is valid before they can continue contacting you about it. In many cases, this letter is enough to stop Sessoms and Rogers in their tracks.

To learn more about sending a Debt Validation Letter, check out this video:

What to do if you are being sued by Sessoms and Rogers

Respond to the Summons and Complaint

When you are sued for non-payment of debt, you will receive a Summons and Complaint in the mail. One of the most common mistakes you can make is not responding to that notice. If you believe that the debt is valid but you cannot pay it, then you may assume that ignoring the notice is the better option. This is not the case.

If you do not respond to the debt collection lawsuit, then you may have a default judgment placed against you. This will allow the debt collector to garnish your wages and even take money directly out of your bank account to satisfy the debt. You may also find attorney's fees, court costs, or interest added to the total amount.

Submit an Answer properly

When submitting a legal Answer document to a debt collection lawsuit, you need to ensure that you avoid admitting any liability for the debt. You should force the creditor to prove that the debt belongs to you. Here's how to do it.

The Complaint document should include a list of the specific claims against you. In your Answer, you must respond to each claim with one of the following answers:

Admit: This is like saying, “This is true.”
Deny: This is like saying, “Prove it.”
Deny due to lack of knowledge: This is like saying, “I don't know.”

Once you have submitted your Answer to the court, responding to each claim, you should then ask for a stamped copy of the Answer from the Clerk of Court and send the stamped copy to the plaintiff via certified mail.

Be sure to file your Answer to the debt lawsuit within the period set by the lawsuit. The deadline to respond to a debt lawsuit is usually anywhere between 14-35 days from the date on the notice. It is essential that you answer within this time period or it will be considered the same as not responding at all.

To learn more about how to draft a winning Answer, check out this video where SoloSuit's CEO and co-founder explains the most important parts of responding to a debt lawsuit:

Challenge Sessoms and Rogers' right to sue

One way to respond to a debt lawsuit is to challenge Sessoms and Rogers' right to file a lawsuit against you. When a debt has reached a third-party collector, it may have been sold once, or even multiple times. This can make it difficult for the third-party collector to prove that they own the debt.

Additionally, sometimes these debts have been purchased for next to nothing due to the fact that they do not have the proper chain of paperwork. In this situation, Sessoms and Rogers are considered the plaintiff and they must provide a credit agreement signed by you and proof that the paperwork regarding your debt is accurate and came from the original creditor. If they cannot provide this, then your case may be dismissed.

Figure out the statute of limitations on debt in your state

The statute of limitations is a set of laws that govern how long creditors can bring a lawsuit to the courts regarding a debt. Each state has a different time period, but it is usually between four to six years.

One important part of the statute of limitations is that the date it begins is the last date you were active on an account. This might include making a payment or pulling funds from a loan. By understanding the timeline on the statute of limitations in your state you can know whether or not you should pay on a debt, and if you can even be legally sued for the debt in question.

Understand violations of the FDCPA

Debt collectors that violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act may be required to pay your legal fees, as well as $1,000 in damages per incident. Violations of the FDCPA include:

Threats of bodily harm or arrest
Lies
Using profane or obscene language
Any threats to sue if they do not intend to do so
Excessive calls before the hours of 8 am to 9 pm

If you believe that Sessoms and Rogers have violated your rights while attempting to collect on a debt, you may be able to seek a counter suit, seek compensation for any related damages, and even have the case dismissed altogether.

If you cannot pay your debt

If you are experiencing financial hardship and cannot pay off your debt owed to Sessoms and Rogers, there are a few options. Settlement is an option where you may be able to agree to pay the debt for less than the total amount owed. Another option is to enter into a debt management plan. The goal of a debt management plan would be to eventually pay back the full amount in a series of planned payments.

What is SoloSuit?

SoloSuit makes it easy to respond to a debt collection lawsuit.

How it works: SoloSuit is a step-by-step web-app that asks you all the necessary questions to complete your answer. Upon completion, you can either print the completed forms and mail in the hard copies to the courts or you can pay SoloSuit to file it for you and to have an attorney review the document.

Respond with SoloSuit

"First time getting sued by a debt collector and I was searching all over YouTube and ran across SoloSuit, so I decided to buy their services with their attorney reviewed documentation which cost extra but it was well worth it! SoloSuit sent the documentation to the parties and to the court which saved me time from having to go to court and in a few weeks the case got dismissed!" – James

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>>Read the FastCompany article: Debt Lawsuits Are Complicated: This Website Makes Them Simpler To Navigate