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Q&A: How to Resolve Your Debt Lawsuit (June 21, 2023)

George Simons | July 10, 2023

George Simons
Co-Founder of SoloSuit
George Simons, JD/MBA

George Simons is the co-founder and CEO of SoloSuit. He has helped Americans protect over $1 billion from predatory debt lawsuits. George graduated from BYU Law school in 2020 with a JD-MBA. In his spare time, George likes to cook, because he likes to eat.

Edited by Hannah Locklear

Hannah Locklear
Editor at SoloSuit
Hannah Locklear, BA

Hannah Locklear is SoloSuit’s Marketing and Impact Manager. With an educational background in Linguistics, Spanish, and International Development from Brigham Young University, Hannah has also worked as a legal support specialist for several years.

Summary: You can use SoloSuit to respond to a debt lawsuit, file a Motion to Compel Arbitration, or settle the debt before going to court. Join our live webinars to ask your own questions about how to resolve a debt lawsuit.

The following is a transcript for one of our webinars. In it, SoloSuit's founder George Simons responds to live questions from consumers.

Disclaimer: this post is not legal advice. George is not a lawyer.

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Transcript beings here

How to resolve a debt lawsuit

Hey, it looks like we are live. Just checking in to see if everyone can hear me. Sorry for the little delay here, but it's been an exciting day.

I'm George. I'm one of the founders of SoloSuit. Going to go over some of the basics on how to respond to your debt collection lawsuit today. All right? And I'm just going to go ahead and jump into things. It looks like everyone can hear and see me. Okay, so that's good. If not, just put a message in the chat. Okay, it looks like we're good.

So thanks for coming to the SoloSuit Webinar. I would do these webinars about once a week on Wednesdays. Good to see everybody. I'm just going to do a brief overview on SoloSuit and how we can help you out. And then we'll get into your questions. It's largely a Q and A, so you can put your questions into the chat right now. Hannah will get to those on text. Also, I'll be responding verbally over here.

Okay, so we are SoloSuit. We help you respond to debt lawsuits. Usually how things go is you get a Complaint and Summons in the mail or someone hands it to you personally. Like they knock on your door and they're like, got a pizza for you. Surprise, it's a lawsuit. And they get you like that. Or sometimes they run across your backyard and throw the papers at your kids. Just depends on the situation. There are lots of crazy stories out there.

So then when you get the Complaint and Summons, the next thing you need to do is you need to file an Answer document. This is a capital A, Answer document. It's not just letter you handwrite on a piece of paper and then send it to the lawyer. It's not a phone call to the lawyer. It's a formal, legal document called an Answer document. Usually there's between 14 and 30 days to respond. So there's usually a deadline. You have to respond in the state within 30 days, and if you don't respond, you automatically lose your case by what's called default judgment. Because that's like the normal judgment just means you lose because you don't respond.

All right, so you can use SoloSuit to respond to the lawsuit. You can use our Answer document. If you just go to SoloSuit.com and you click Reply to the lawsuit, you can generate a response in about 15 minutes. You can pay us to have an attorney review it. We'll file it for you. We'll calculate filing fees and the filing information for your court. We'll get the document filed for you.

Then once you do an Answer, what oftentimes people do is immediately after they will send an offer to settle the lawsuit. If you agree that you owe the debt in some portion, usually settlement is the nicest way to wrap this up. It's even better than a dismissal, oftentimes. If you don't owe the debt at all, if you don't know what this debt is, or if they're sending it to the wrong person, you probably don’t want to settle. So you can continue with the lawsuit. Maybe you could use, like, our Motion to Compel Arbitration or something like that and try to get the case dismissed.

All right, so for settlement, we have a tool called SoloSettle, as opposed to SoloSuit, and you can send an offer to settle on there. And currently we're doing a thing called SoloSettle Premium, where you can arrange to have a partner of ours, a partnering law firm, settle the debt for you and also even represent you in the case, which is a big win.

So just fill out the SoloSettle part on the website, and then once you get to the end, there's a link that you can click to upgrade the SoloSettle Premium and take care of that on the website. So those are some of the basics. Happy to jump into questions. Now, if you guys want to put your questions into the chat, we have lots of people on here.

Before I answer questions, I just want to offer our disclaimer. We got to have a solid disclaimer that's required by law, which is that I'm not an attorney. I'm not your attorney. SoloSuit is not a law firm. We don't represent you in this case or any of your lawsuits. This webinar doesn't replace the advice of an attorney. You should consider hiring an attorney to fully represent you. Oftentimes it's not much of an option for people. Those are just some things I say because of the regulations around the legal space. All right.

Okay. So it looks like we got some questions coming in…

Q&A section begins here

Can I sue a debt collector?

Viewer Question: Can I sue a debt collector to, once and for all, either prove that I owe them or stop reporting on a time-barred account?

George: Um, I guess the big question for me is whether or not the collector has sued you already. If the collector has sued you already, then you can file what's called a counterclaim, just kind of like a new lawsuit. You'll be, like, countersuing them for bad practices or something like that. If they haven't sued you, then, yeah, you can always sue.

The reality of the US Court system is that you can sue anybody you want at any time, for any reason, or for no reason, really. Right. You can file a lawsuit, and then if it's a useless lawsuit, if it's a dumb lawsuit, then you'll lose the lawsuit, but you can file a lawsuit against anybody anytime.

So if you want to sue the collector, go ahead. I'm not sure if you'd get an attorney to represent you in the case, you certainly could do it.

I think what you're looking for is it sounds like you're being hounded by a collector for debt that you dispute. Maybe you don't owe it or you disagree on how much it is or something like that. They've never actually proved that you owed it, and they also haven't sued you for it. What you want to do in that case is send a Debt Validation Letter.

A Debt Validation Letter cites the FDCPA, section G. I believe it might be like 1692 G. And it requires the collector to prove that you owe the debt to provide validation that you owe the debt. If they can't do that, then they have to leave you alone. If they can do it, then they can continue trying to collect or even see you if it's debt. So probably, you want to do is a Debt Validation Letter, right?

And that happens kind of before the Complaint and Summons, right? So before the Complaint and Summons, you might have received a collection letter, and then you want to respond with the DVL or the Debt Validation Letter. And sometimes if they respond to that, it might go on to like, a Complaint and Summons or a lawsuit or something like that. Or they might just leave you alone and they might just drop the issue. That's the general idea there. We do have a Debt Validation Letter available on our site. You can go over there and generate it. You have to mail it out on your own, but you can generate the document with us.

To learn more about how a Debt Validation Letter can help you stop debt collectors contacts, watch this video:

What should I do to prepare for my court date after I file my Answer?

Viewer Question: I used SoloSuit to Answer the court on being sued and need to know what to do next. I have a court date.

George: All right a lot of people come on to the webinar with the same question. Probably what I point most people to SoloSettle Premium. If you're interested in settling, that's a good choice. If you don't want to settle, then you could do something else, like maybe file our Motion to Compel Arbitration. That can also be an option if you want to settle. But I think right now I'm thinking about it currently, is that that's a better option if you want to try to get the case dismissed so you can file a Motion to File Arbitration, trying to increase the cost of the case, hoping the person will drop it because they don't want to pay for arbitration to collect. But if you want to settle and you have a hearing, you go to SoloSuit.com, then click on SoloSettle.

I could even show you real quick. I'll just pull up the website and it's pretty straightforward, but I think visual is oftentimes best. Okay, so here we go. So this is our home page. Here’s what you want to do. If you want to settle, you just go click settle a debt lawsuit that takes you here, and your debt will still settle. Click the Get Started button, and then you might have to log in. Or if you already have an account, you'll click already have an account, and you'll just go through, you answer a few questions, and then you can upgrade to premium at the end.

That's the general idea. And even with our partnering law firm, they'll show up at the hearing for you, so you don't have to in most cases not all, but in most cases, you won't even have to show up at the hearing, which is pretty sweet, right? And they'll actively work to get that case settled for you. That's a big win. All right. If you do that, stay even if the hearing is just a few days away, they'll probably be able to show up to that for you. A couple other thoughts on that. Once you file or once you upgrade the premium, the law firm will reach out to you. You'll engage with the law firm, you'll have to sign a few onboarding documents. Just watch your email for when those documents come through and make sure you are on top of those. Okay?

What if I was never served a Summons and Complaint?

Viewer Question: Sean, what if you were not served?

George: Unfortunately, yeah, that's a real thing, right? So you're supposed to be served right here when you get the Complaint and Summons. Unfortunately, sometimes people experience sewer service. What that means is, like, the first time you find out about the lawsuit is after you've lost it, or you find out after it's ongoing, but you just were never actually served the documents, right? And both of those options can be bad news.

They might have served, like, the guy down the street. They might have just put the documents in the sewer, thrown right down the little drain on the street and said, oh, yeah, I totally served that guy. All kinds of things that they could do, but it's a common thing that happens, unfortunately.

If you found out about the lawsuit and you still have time to Answer, then you'll want to contact your court. Hannah can put in our SoloSuit case status blog post into the chat. You can find out what the status is of your lawsuit, maybe online, and maybe download the Complaint and Summons. So then you can respond to them by filing an Answer with SoloSuit. If the time answer is already passed, you can do a Motion to Set Aside Judgment. You can email us. We have a template for that. Those are some options before you all right.

Can I still settle a debt if I haven’t responded to the lawsuit?

Viewer Question: What if you did not answer and you have a court date? Can I still use SoloSettle?

George: So kind of how that works right now. It can get a little bit complicated at the moment because things are work in progress. If you did the SoloSettle premium, then we could actually work that out for you. You'd want to do that ASAP. Like, absolutely, immediately.

If you do SoloSettle and then you do the premium, we can work on that answer with you once you get that done and we can talk to you and get that taken care of. So if you want to start with SoloSettle premium, you can do that.

Ordinarily we recommend people go and do the answer first and then SoloSettle. But in this case, feel free just to go over SoloSettle, upgrade to premium and get it done. All right. You definitely don't want to delay because ultimately you need to have an Answer to settle. You don't need to have an Answer, but you're going to get better leverage and a better settlement. If you have an Answer. Without filing an answer, there is a good chance they won't even talk to you about settlement.

What happens if I do not pay a judgment?

Viewer Question: Tenant won a civil suit for deposit refund. What happens if I do not pay this judgment? Tenant won a civil suit for a refund of the security deposit. Happens if I do not pay this judgment?

George: That's a new one. I haven't heard that before. So it sounds like you're a landlord. That's great. Good for you. Way to own land. So that's good. You're wondering if you don't give the deposit back to your tenant.

You know, usually we talk to people who are trying to get their deposit from the landlord, but happy to help landlords as well. Basically what happens? So if the tenant already won and you don't want to pay the judgment, so kind of what happens? Let's say the tenant has the judgment, they won. Case is over. How people have to collect on a judgment. Ultimately, it's difficult to collect on a judgment.

Collectors are probably the most proficient at it. But the reality is that billions of dollars, it's an estimate, billions of dollars go uncollected from lawsuits every year. That's because the courts aren't really that preoccupied with judgment, with actually collecting the money. They're actually just occupied with, like, giving the judgment. And they kind of consider their part to be kind of done once they've made a ruling.

Anyways, what happens is, so the judgment is given and then the winner has to collect on that. Usually how they'll do it is by garnishing someone's wages. They'll try to get the person just to pay them straight up, like, or agree to a payment plan of some sort. If they can't do that, then they'll garnish the person's wages. So they'll have to file a writ of garnishment in the court, and then they'll file a document with the person's employer, and then the employer will send a check for up to 25% of the wages, monthly wages, to the person with the judgment, to the person who won.

If they can't garnish the wages, then they'll try to get a lien against property. Being a landlord, you obviously own property. And the person I suspect knows their old address, so they'll probably know the location of the property and they'll be able to get a lien on that property so that if you sell it in the future, then a portion of that will go to pay off this debt plus interest that's accrued at that time, first. So the sale will first go to pay off this debt.

That's some ways that they'll try to collect. Of course, that takes quite a bit of effort on their part. Security deposit is probably worth less than, like, $3,000. There's some chance that they might not follow through with that. So you can certainly just kind of wait and see. Judgments are usually good for quite a long time, like ten to 20 years in most states. And they're infinitely renewable, usually. So even after the ten years has expired, a person can usually renew them.

Yeah, so those are some thoughts, but I mean, if you feel like you're in the right here, regardless of what the judge said, and you don't want to pay the judgment, then that's certainly something that you can do. Again, I'm not giving legal advice. I'm not an attorney. I'm not, like, going either way. But a lot of people don't pay judgments out there. All right, let's take a look at the next one's.

What if I owe debt for a car loan?

Viewer Question: I got a letter from an attorney on June 10 stating that I owe debt for a car loan. I did buy a car in 2009, and after becoming unemployed, I returned the car and haven’t heard anything since until now.

George: Okay, so you got a car with financing and you are unemployed. You returned the car. I'm not familiar with the process of returning a car. I feel like I've heard of people doing that only ending badly, like, once or twice. I'm not aware of this option to return a vehicle, but generally speaking, there's three people involved. If you bought a financed car with financing, you bought the car. And so there's you, there's the dealer, and then there's the bank, right? So if you bought the car with financing, the bank actually owns most of that car, right? If you had, like, a $20,000 car, you paid $1,000 down the bank owns, and bank paid other $19,000. The bank owns $19,000 of that car.

So then if you just take that car and you drop it off at the dealer and say, hey, I don't want this car anymore, and then you don't tell the bank, then the bank doesn't know, and they're expecting to own $19,000 of a car. And if you just stop paying payments without telling the bank, then that could be a problem.

I'm not sure if that's like, what you did here, but you'll certainly want to work things out with the bank in this case. And I'm not exactly sure how that would work. I mean, you get the dealer to pay the bank, possibly. Either way, if you're being sued for debt, most cases, almost all cases, you're going to want to file an Answer to respond, to protect yourself from default judgment. Then you can try to win your case. You can try to settle after doing that.

All right, moving along. I'm going to have to end about 530 Mountain Time today because it's, candidly, you know, it's my baby's nine month birthday today. I got a baby who's nine months old. So it's her in and out day, right? She's been out for nine months, and she was in for nine months. So we're celebrating that in a little bit. So I've got to go sign off here pretty soon. I'm going to try to get through these questions a little bit more quickly here. Okay, let's see. You got lots of questions coming in.

What do I need to send with my Answer?

Viewer Question: If I send the Answer myself, should I include a copy of the original Complaint with the Answer

George: Yes.

What happens in a pretrial conference?

Viewer Question: I filed an Answer and a Motion to Compel Arbitration with a pretrial next week. What can I expect to happen to this pretrial?

George: Pretrial conference is usually where it's you, the plaintiff, and the judge, and you guys are going to talk about scheduling for the actual trial. So the judge is going to ask you, have you guys tried to negotiate a settlement? Do you want to continue with this? If you aren't able to negotiate a settlement, if you both say yes, then I'll set a date for a trial. That's usually what happens. Just come prepared, bring documentation, look nice, decide whether or not you want to settle or not.

Do I have to respond to my debt lawsuit if I intend to settle?

Viewer Question: I intend to use SoloSettle to settle, hopefully, but I want to send the Answer.

George: Yeah, great. So click the reply to a lawsuit button on the site and then go over to the SoloSettle. Settle your debt. You can just do it all in the same day and take about an hour maybe, to get it both done.

Who has to prove you owe a debt: the debt collector or the original creditor?

Viewer Question: If the collector is suing you, don't they have to prove you owe them, not the original debtor?

George: Yes, that's totally right. That's how a lot of these lawsuits are won. So our latest research shows that about 25% of the time, at least for our customers, cases just get dismissed. And that's usually because the collector can't prove that you owe them the debt.

When will the court set a date for my debt lawsuit hearing?

Viewer Question: I followed the first step, replied to the courts, and no court date has been sent.

George: Yeah, great. So you want to make sure that you sent the Answer to the court as well as to the lawyer, and then sometimes cases get dismissed for lack of prosecution, meaning the plaintiff just drops the case, and never things never go forward, right? Lack of prosecutions. That's one reason why things get dismissed.

Totally possible that things pass on for, like, a year or more, and a court date never gets never gets set. Definitely.

When should I file an Answer to my debt lawsuit?

Viewer Question: Should I file an answer before court on June 30?

George: It depends on the state. Some states, you really don't have to file an Answer. There's only a few states, you don't have to file an Answer before showing up. I don't remember any of the states off the top of my head. Maybe Virginia is like that. But usually you want to file an Answer, and most courts will even allow you to file an Answer, even if they don't require it, and that will put you in the best position to win the case.

And sometimes people will get confused. Sometimes the Summons will say, you must appear in court by this date. And what they mean by “appear” is actually like, file an appearance. And what they mean by that is like, file an Answer. Oftentimes it sounds like they're telling you to show up in court in person, but actually, they're just asking to file the right Answer.

Use the calculator below to determine your state's deadline to respond to a debt lawsuit.

Deadline Calculator

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This calculator is for educational purposes only. It does not factor in weekends or holidays, so your actual deadline may be some days later.


How can I pay off a judgment?

Viewer Question: How can I get this paid if I want to pay the judgment? The magistrate won't facilitate payment.

George: Interesting. So, it sounds like maybe you lost the lawsuit and you want to pay it off. How do you do that? Magistrate won't facilitate payment. I mean, if you showed up at court, you'll probably just talk to the lawyer and arrange a payment with them. Or you can give a phone call to the collector and try to set up payment. Or you can go to the collector's website, and oftentimes, you can set up payments online. Or you can even try to make an offer through SoloSettle.

People settle after a garnishment or a judgment is granted, especially if you can do a lump-sum payment. If you got a judgment against you for, like, $3,000, you could do a lump sum payment for $2,500. They might take that all up front instead of trying to garnish your wages over time.

What if my business partner signed a contract and they’re coming after both of us for a debt?

Viewer Question: My initial hearing is in September, but he sent requests for a lot of paperwork I don't have access to due to moving. I closed my practice and filed bankruptcy for my business only, but they said I signed.

George: Okay, so it sounds like you had a business and you were a personal guarantor, and you had a business debt. They're not coming after you personally for that debt. Usually if you personally guaranteed a business loan, yeah, they can come after you pretty clearly in your personal assets, which is unfortunate.

If you already filed an Answer and you have a hearing scheduled and you want to get help with this and you did personally guarantee the debt, then, again, SoloSettle Premium is going to be a good option. You just go over solosuit.com/solosettle, fill it out, upgrade the premium. You can get a law firm to represent you and get that taken care of for you, especially if it's a business debt. There's probably quite a bit on the line, so even a better option for you. Just to clarify, usually businesses can't use SoloSettle Premium, but a consumer can. And it sounds like you're being sued as a consumer for the previous business debt.

Viewer Question: I guarantee one of the signatures on the contract is not my signature, so maybe a business partner signed it.

George: Again, if both of you signed it, they can come after one of you or both of you, or all of you.

What form should I file to get my debt lawsuit dropped?

Viewer Question: What form should I file to get it dropped?

George: I think Hannah might answer that as well. Generally want to file an Answer, then maybe a Motion to Compel Arbitration if it's a credit card debt lawsuit and there's an arbitration clause.

Should I send a copy of the Complaint with my Answer?

Viewer Question: If I send the Answer myself, should I include a copy of the original Complaint with the Answer?

George: In most states you don't need to do that. Maybe in some courts you do have to include the Complaint and Summons. Usually, almost always, you don't. For SoloSuit, we just include the Answer certificate of service and we send that for you.

Where do I find the contact information to send money for a judgment?

Viewer Question: I sent a text and email to an evicted tenant and got no response. The last known address was not verified, so I'm not comfortable mailing a check to pay off a judgment to them.

George: Interesting. Yeah, that checks out. That makes sense. Don't want to send the check if it's just going to get lost in the mail. If you want to pay the judgment, you just don't know where the person is, then usually you can file like a request for information into the court. Then the court can require a party to provide information. Usually it's the other way around where they're trying to get the debtor to give the information. But you provided this to get the holder of the judgment information.

How long does it take to get a response to my Answer to the debt lawsuit?

Viewer Question: I sent out a response to my debt lawsuit with SoloSuit using the standard package and I haven't heard back a response for months now. Is that normal for them to take that long response?

George: Yeah, we usually don't expect people to get a response for at least a month or around a month.

Should I include a copy of the paperwork I received when filing my Answer?

Viewer Question: I have the Answer draft ready to go. I'm wondering if I need to include a copy of the paperwork that's issued to me.

George: Yeah, generally speaking.

How can I deal with difficult attorneys?

Viewer Question: I tried, but they want a bigger retainer than the tried talking to their attorney, but he's being a jerk.

George: Okay, I'm not sure what we're talking about here with the retainer exactly. Yeah, sometimes attorneys can be jerks, especially if you aren't paying them. Yeah, if you want to settle, again, SoloSettle Premium could be a good option for you. Can I still use SoloSuit Premium to take over this case? Yeah, SoloSettle premium. It's a little confusing right now in the semantics. It's different from our answer. We have a premium Answer package you can buy. What you're looking for is the SoloSettle premium.

How can I avoid losing my case automatically?

Viewer Question: The service is amazing. I'll be back to help me settle. Just needed a little advice because I want to make sure I don't lose the case automatically.

George: Yes, that's great. Don't want to lose automatically. Honesty. Thank you, Jules. Thank you. Excellent.

Viewer Question: What if I don't have a court date set after filing from the other lawyer back in February 2023?

George: Yeah, again, depending on the jurisdiction, that can be pretty normal.

Is there still time to settle if my court date is this month?

Viewer Question: Chris, my court date is July 11. Is there still time to settle?

George: Yeah, there's probably still time to settle. You can try calling them yourself. Like, call them over the phone, emailing them, send them a letter. You can do SoloSettle Premium. Certainly a fine timeline, especially if you sign up like today.

How long does it take debt collectors to respond to a Motion to Compel Arbitration?

Viewer Question: Louie, since I filed a Motion to Compel Arbitration, the collection agency has gone silent. How much time do they or do I have to respond?

George: It's a good question. I don't have much visibility or knowledge, actually, on the deadline on that. Across the states, it varies from jurisdiction. A lot of courts have, like, a general deadline, around 30 days to respond to stuff, to respond to motions generally. But I've certainly heard of collectors taking longer than that and then filing a motion like a years later on. If they take too long, ultimately, you want to check out the rules of civil procedure for your state. And that will have a deadline there. And then if you really want to be proactive about it, you can file a Motion to Dismiss for lack of prosecution. We don't help with that document. But it is a document you could try filing. Just saying, like, they haven't done anything. So let's get this case out of court.

Viewer Question: I have a lawsuit that I responded to with SoloSuit, but I've not received a response from the attorney. It will be one year in August since I responded to the lawsuit.

George: Wow. What can I do to remove the debt? Yes. There you go. Good example. Been a year. So long. You can try filing a motion for lack of prosecution. We don't help with that document, again, you can try filing it.

How long does a collection agency have to respond?

Viewer Question: I have 30 days to respond or lose my case, but the collection agency has forever to respond.

George: Yeah, it seems pretty dumb, doesn't it? I think most rules of civil procedure are going to limit the number of days they have to respond. But it seems like, for whatever reason, that doesn't get enforced. Hannah, maybe that's like an article we can write on. By the way, Hannah, if you want to make a note of that, because this topic comes up quite a bit and I actually don't know the deadlines. Operating in 50 states is pretty unusual. That's what we do. I don't know the deadlines across all the states.

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Viewer Question: I'm being taken to court for credit card debt. I did submit an Answer, but they are motioning for them to win the case, but my last payment was sin 2017. How would I proceed?

George: Yeah, definitely. You filed an Answer. If they're filing a Motion for Summary Judgment, you want to file a counter motion. You can try to settle with SoloSettle Premium and get a lot from to take care of all those motions and weird stuff and hearings for you and also settle for you. That's a good option.

Maybe the statute of limitations has expired. If it has, you definitely want to fight that and bring it up in court and try to get total victory.

Can I use a form to respond to my lawsuit?

Viewer Question: I answered questions on a form in NYC that is now regarded as my first answer.

George: Okay, great. Yeah, some people. NYC, I've heard, makes it like New York City, I've heard, makes it kind of easy to file an Answer. You can go in person and orally respond. They'll draft an answer for you heard. That's the case. If you can get to the courthouse, drive through the traffic, et cetera.

How do you respond to a Request for Admissions?

Viewer Question: What do you do about a Request for Admission and production of documents?

George: So that means you're in discovery. That's like another stage. It's another stage of the lawsuit where they're trying to get evidence and get you to say stuff again. You can try to settle. You can get a law firm to represent you. You got to respond to the Request for Admission or Interrogatories. Responding to a rRequest for Admissions is kind of like responding to the Complaint and Summons. Oftentimes you just kind of say no to everything.

How long should I wait before I file a Motion to Dismiss after filing my Answer?

Viewer Question: I had you submit my general denial Answer. I would like to follow up the Answer with a Motion to Dismiss for specific reasons. How long should I wait before I ask the court to dismiss?

George: Really, no time at all. You can file a Motion to Dismiss right after the Answer. We don't help with that. I think we might have a template if you email us. We don't have, like, a product online for it. Yeah, certainly could be a good move.

How do I respond to a notice of intent to file a lawsuit?

Viewer Question: I received a notice of intent to file a lawsuit. What do I do?

George: You can send them a debt validation letter, or you can just get ready to file an Answer, knowing that you got a SoloSuit in your back pocket. We can help you win.

Can SoloSuit help me use the statute of limitations as a defense?

Viewer Question: The statute of limitations is three years from last payment. Can you all help with the next step?

George: Basically, in that situation, you're going to want to do, like, SoloSettle. If the statute of limitations did expire, we don't really have, like, a route specifically for that. You just want to keep on filing documents until you get a hearing and then bring it up in the hearing, prove that it was expired, and then win your case. You can be one of the happy 25% to 30% of people who get their case dismissed.

SoloSuit is rooting for you

All right, well, good to see everybody. We're going to call that a wrap for today. Again, we are always rooting you guys here at Solo Suit. We want each and every one of you to get the victory in your lawsuit that you are hoping for. Let us know we can do to help. Good to see you. Take care.

What is SoloSuit?

SoloSuit makes it easy to fight debt collectors.

You can use SoloSuit to respond to a debt lawsuit, to send letters to collectors, and even to settle a debt.

SoloSuit's Answer service is a step-by-step web-app that asks you all the necessary questions to complete your Answer. Upon completion, we'll have an attorney review your document and we'll file it for you.

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

>>Read the NPR story on SoloSuit. (We can help you in all 50 states.)

How to answer a summons for debt collection in your state

Here's a list of guides for other states.

All 50 states.



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Win against credit card companies

Is your credit card company suing you? Learn how you can beat each one.

Going to Court for Credit Card Debt — Key Tips

How to Negotiate Credit Card Debts

How to Settle a Credit Card Debt Lawsuit — Ultimate Guide

Get answers to these FAQs

Need more info on statutes of limitations? Read our 50-state guide.

Why do debt collectors block their phone numbers?

How long do debt collectors take to respond to debt validation letters?

What are the biggest debt collector companies in the US?

Is Zombie Debt Still a Problem in 2019?

SoloSuit FAQ

If a car is repossessed, do I still owe the debt?

Is Portfolio Recovery Associates Legit?

Is There a Judgment Against Me Without my Knowledge?

Should I File Bankruptcy Before or After a Judgment?

What is a default judgment?— What do I do?

Summoned to Court for Medical Bills — What Do I Do?

What Happens If Someone Sues You and You Have No Money?

What Happens If You Never Answer Debt Collectors?

What Happens When a Debt Is Sold to a Collection Agency

What is a Stipulated Judgment?

What is the Deadline for a Defendants Answer to Avoid a Default Judgment?

Can a Judgement Creditor Take my Car?

Can I Settle a Debt After Being Served?

Can I Stop Wage Garnishment?

Can You Appeal a Default Judgement?

Do I Need a Debt Collection Defense Attorney?

Do I Need a Payday Loans Lawyer?

Do student loans go away after 7 years? — Student Loan Debt Guide

Am I Responsible for My Spouses Medical Debt?

Should I Marry Someone With Debt?

Can a Debt Collector Leave a Voicemail?

How Does Debt Assignment Work?

What Happens If a Defendant Does Not Pay a Judgment?

How Does Debt Assignment Work?

Can You Serve Someone with a Collections Lawsuit at Their Work?

What Is a Warrant in Debt?

How Many Times Can a Judgment be Renewed in Oklahoma?

Can an Eviction Be Reversed?

Does Debt Consolidation Have Risks?

What Happens If You Avoid Getting Served Court Papers?

Does Student Debt Die With You?

Can Debt Collectors Call You at Work in Texas?

How Much Do You Have to Be in Debt to File for Chapter 7?

What Is the Statute of Limitations on Debt in Washington?

How Long Does a Judgment Last?

Can Private Disability Payments Be Garnished?

Can Debt Collectors Call From Local Numbers?

Does the Fair Credit Reporting Act Work in Florida?

The Truth: Should You Never Pay a Debt Collection Agency?

Should You Communicate with a Debt Collector in Writing or by Telephone?

Do I Need a Debt Negotiator?

What Happens After a Motion for Default Is Filed?

Can a Process Server Leave a Summons Taped to My Door?

Learn More With These Additional Resources:

Need help managing your finances? Check out these resources.

How to Make a Debt Validation Letter - The Ultimate Guide

How to Make a Motion to Compel Arbitration Without an Attorney

How to Stop Wage Garnishment — Everything You Need to Know

How to File an FDCPA Complaint Against Your Debt Collector (Ultimate Guide)

Defending Yourself in Court Against a Debt Collector

Tips on you can to file an FDCPA lawsuit against a debt collection agency

Advice on how to answer a summons for debt collection.

Effective strategies for how to get back on track after a debt lawsuit

New Hampshire Statute of Limitations on Debt

Sample Cease and Desist Letter Against Debt Collectors

The Ultimate Guide to Responding to a Debt Collection Lawsuit in Utah

West Virginia Statute of Limitations on Debt

What debt collectors cannot do — FDCPA explained

Defending Yourself in Court Against Debt Collector

How to Liquidate Debt

Arkansas Statute of Limitations on Debt

Youre Drowning in Debt — Heres How to Swim

Help! Im Being Sued by My Debt Collector

How to Make a Motion to Vacate Judgment

How to Answer Summons for Debt Collection in Vermont

North Dakota Statute of Limitations on Debt

ClearPoint Debt Management Review

Indiana Statute of Limitations on Debt

Oregon Eviction Laws - What They Say

CuraDebt Debt Settlement Review

How to Write a Re-Aging Debt Letter

How to Appear in Court by Phone

How to Use the Doctrine of Unclean Hands

Debt Consolidation in Eugene, Oregon

Summoned to Court for Medical Bills? What to Do Next

How to Make a Debt Settlement Agreement

Received a 3-Day Eviction Notice? Heres What to Do

How to Answer a Lawsuit for Debt Collection

Tips for Leaving the Country With Unpaid Credit Card Debt

Kansas Statute of Limitations on Debt Collection

How to File in Small Claims Court in Iowa

How to File a Civil Answer in Kings County Supreme Court

Roseland Associates Debt Consolidation Review

How to Stop a Garnishment

Debt Eraser Review

Do Debt Collectors Ever Give Up?

Can They Garnish Your Wages for Credit Card Debt?

How Often Do Credit Card Companies Sue for Non-Payment?

How Long Does a Judgement Last?

​​How Long Before a Creditor Can Garnish Wages?

How to Beat a Bill Collector in Court

Not sued yet?

Use our Debt Validation Letter.


Out Debt Validation Letter is the best way to respond to a collection letter. Many debt collectors will simply give up after receiving it.


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"Finding yourself on the wrong side of the law unexpectedly is kinda scary. I started researching on YouTube and found SoloSuit's channel. The videos were so helpful, easy to understand and encouraging. When I reached out to SoloSuit they were on it. Very professional, impeccably prompt. Thanks for the service!" - Heather



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