Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Missouri

Hi. I am a Missouri debtor representation attorney. In order for a creditor to prevail in a collection law suit against you, there is a legal requirement, under the Missouri Rules of Civil Procedure, that you are "served" with process. In Missouri, this generally means that a summons and papers indicating the court date and time must be delivered to you in person by a process server, which is often a police officer or a private process server from a company that serves papers. If not handed to you personally, the papers must be left with someone whom resides with you. Were you ever served with a summons/papers requesting your presence in court?

If not, there is a possibility that you have a legal defense to the case, which will require that the creditor dismiss the case against you. I have handled many of these cases, and I have seen judgments taken improperly where a defendant was never served with papers. It does happen.

If this is the situation here, a motion would have to be scheduled with the court, usually by having an attorney assist, and the attorney would then argue why the case should be dismissed to the judge.

Also, most attorneys can negotiate with the attorneys for the creditor to work out a re-payment arrangement and prevent the creditors from taking a judgment against you. Dealing with the creditor/loan company on your own can be very tricky, and they will fight to get a judgment against you, if you are not aware of your legal defenses.

I can be reached via e-mail at [email protected]. I hope this helps at least some.

NOTE: This answer is for educational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. The use of this site does not create an attorney-client relationship or privilege between the user and the attorney responding.