Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in California

So even if I prepare my own "answer" to the limited civil suit, instead of the PLD-C-010 I still have to pay to file it with the court right? I can't mail it certified mail? Also how do I find out if the bank actually still owns the account or was it a write off and sold to a collection attorney? When i contacted citifinancial they said the account has been purged and don't know where it goes from there? Does a debt validation request put a freeze on the 30 day window to answer??


Asked on 8/14/09, 2:21 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Larry L. Doan Law Office of Larry L. Doan

Yes, it does not matter if you are using the standard Judicial Council form or draft your own Answer. You still have to pay the filing fee to court to file it. You didn't specify what county you're in, but in Los Angeles County, for example, it's $330 to answer a limited civil suit. Don't file it certified mail, it probably will be rejected if you've missed something, and then the filing deadline will have passed. Just go file it in person.

As far as who owns the account, it may have been sold/assigned to another party or collection attorney, that's common. Read the complaint and see who is the named plaintiff and also, it should recite in the complaint if the account has been assigned or not. Or, call the law firm and ask. As for a debt validation, that should have done at the pre-litigation stage. At this stage, the laws and rules in court govern, so you must answer within 30 days.

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Answered on 8/14/09, 3:08 pm


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