Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

If your John Hancock isn't on the credit card receipts, they're going to have a tough time making it stick. Nevertheless you'll need to defend. If you win, they'll pay your attorney fees (which is something many attorneys don't realize). I don't know who "the lawyers" are you propose to involve, but you will need to respond to the complaint within 30 days, and I do lots of credit card defense at reasonable fees. I'd be happy to look over your lawsuit free of charge.

You should get a lawyer if you can, especially if the debt is a large one. It would be much better for a lawyer to call opposing counsel on your behalf than for you to make the call, since you might unwittingly say something that could come back to haunt you later.

If this really is a case of identity theft then you probably aren't liable. But creditors hear claims of identify theft fairly often and they are usually a bit skeptical. They will probably want proof, and in the meantime you will need to answer the complaint unless the other side agrees to give you more time.

By the way, you should presume that this is not the only debt the thief has racked up under your name. It's just the first one to reach this stage. Your problem may be much worse than you realize.

It is possible to overcome the effects of an identity theft, but the process can take a great deal of time and money. I don't know if I've ever heard of someone who did it easily, unless they had taken serious precautions beforehand.

Good luck.

Defending this case is easy, and it can probably be settled / dismissed by your attorney showing them the fraud. If serious about doing that, feel free to contact me. However, your real problem is reversing all the other ID fraud issues. Read up online how to do so, and start the process that could take a 'long' time.