Love, Beal & Nixon, P.C. Stressed out and fed up! Oklahoma City Oklahoma

Go with Steve's comment on the time frame for filing an answer. Unless I know specifically otherwise (which is usually only in cases in Michigan and Indiana), I always state the "majority rule" which, in state courts is 21 days.

Steve has apparently performed research into your particular time-frame, I did not, so it looks like OK gives you a couple more weeks than most states. How generous! Not as generous as federal courts, though: you can have up to 60 days to file an answer in federal court.

I'm not a big fan of Bud Hibbs, but if anyone can refer you to a good lawyer for this type of case, he's the guy.

"C",

Tim is the only competent lawyer you have gotten advice from.

However, I will add a few things as I have actually been sued by LBN twice, and I have handled these dealings myself in Oklahoma Courts.

The other "lawyers" you spoke with must be genuine idiots. You should post thier names here so others can avoid them.

These "lawyers" overlooked the obvious.

The first thing being, is the debt legally collectable? Is it past the legal statute of limitations in Oklahoma [5 years] ?

The second is proof of service? Was the summons properly served? Did they even ask you questions about the service of the summons?

The third being the automatic one. DENY EVERYTHING!! The legal burden of proof is on them to prove that you owe them the money! Can they meet this "burden of proof"?

The fourth is the fact that you should have been advised not to speak to them or make any payment arrangements as this could "validate" the debt.

These guys must be genuine morons and should be disbarred.

I have beaten LBN TWICE, and I think you can beat them too.

Contact Budhibbs.com for a referral of a lawyer who specializes in collections matters.

Good luck.

ps..The response time to a summons in OKLAHOMA is 35 days from the date on the proof of service. You MUST respons to BOTH the court AND the attorney for the plaintiff.

After a lot of research and hand wringing I've answered the summons. Thanks to everyone for their helpful advice. I'm not going down without a fight!

You are not in small claims, and that is why there is not trial date set. The normal procedure is as follows:

1) Complaint and summons are served;
2) Defendant has 21 days to respond to Complaint in accordance with court rules;
3) If Defendant fails to respond, default is entered. If Defendant responds, a pre-trial hearing date is set.
4) At the pre-trial hearing, timelines for discovery and "dispositive" motions (i.e. motions to dismiss, motions for summary judgment) will be set. A trial date may or may not be set at this time.
5) If a trial date was not set at the first pre-trial heaing, and if the parties fail to reach a settlement agreement before a certain point, a trial date will likely be set.

So it is not odd at all that there is no date, at this point, other than your deadline to file an answer or motion to the Complaint.

At ANY rate, you MUST answer the Complaint, or file a motion in reponse to the complaint, within the given time frame, which is probably liste on the summons, and is probably 21 days.

Your answer should not be a simple letter stating that you deny everything. An answer such as this does not comply with any state's court rules and could potentially be thrown out. Rather, you must take the Plaintiff's Complaint and answer each individual allegation. Look to your state's court rules for acceptable answers (usually they are "admitted"; "denied because . . ."; "Cannot be answered due to lack of sufficient knowledge"; "presents a legal conclusion and does not require an answer" or "Object to allegation as any answer would reveal privileged information."

If they simply filed a form stating that you owe X amount of money for "goods and/or services rendered and not paid for," file a motion for a more definite statement. State to the court that, with nothing but a single, conclusory allegation, you are without sufficient facts to answer the Complaint, and therefore require a factually specific Complaint. This will buy you some time and make you a big pain in their a*s.

Now to address a few comments in your last update:

"I've spoken with two attorneys today and both advised me to call LBN and make a payment plan or they could do that for me. And after hearing what LBN has done to others who have agreed to a payment plan I'm not even going to attempt it."

This isn't bad advice in general, but you are correct in being wary of setting up a payment plan with this outfit. The attorneys should at least answer the complaint and perform minimal discovery to determine whether the claim is invalid in any way.

"I was told by a friend that most attorneys don't really care about little clients and prefer to settle out of court. I guess my friend is right. I sure don't want to pay an attorney for the privelege of paying some bottom feeders like LBN."

VERY few attorneys want any case to go to a trial. It is not about you being a "little client," it's the whole "bird in the hand" thing. A trial is always a gamble, but a settlement agreement is an enforceable guaruntee. Again, no competent attorney would enter into a settlement agreement without first ensuring that the debt is in fact valid.

"So I think I'm going to respond myself to the court. Since people with or without an attorney have ended up paying anyways or having their wages garnished I've nothing to lose."

I would advise finding a good attorney but, if you choose to go it alone, then may the force be with you! (And by the way, people who represent themselves are usually given a little bit of leeway in adhering to specific procedures, so don't get too panicky once you start researching the procedures).

I've spoken with two attorneys today and both advised me to call LBN and make a payment plan or they could do that for me. And after hearing what LBN has done to others who have agreed to a payment plan I'm not even going to attempt it.

I was told by a friend that most attorneys don't really care about little clients and prefer to settle out of court. I guess my friend is right. I sure don't want to pay an attorney for the privelege of paying some bottom feeders like LBN.

So I think I'm going to respond myself to the court. Since people with or without an attorney have ended up paying anyways or having their wages garnished I've nothing to lose.

""except small claims, and I'm not familiar with any small claims court that doesn't set a trial date when the suit is filed)""

Well, around here in small claims (as well as ALL courts here) the defendant has to be SERVED before a trial date can be set.

Normal proceedure is:

1. File suit.

2. Defendant served and allowed an opportunity to respond (in writing) to the summons.

3. Trial date set (if not resolved or summarily dismissed.)

4. Trial and adjudication.

The summons I received did not have a court date, so I checked the dockets for my county. There is a suit against me by LBN, but no court date has been set yet. I'll keep checking online because I know they're scum that will try to go behind my back.

I beat these idiots TWICE!!

Also, FYI...They are involved in JUNK DEBT BUYING!!

They have dummy companies that they actually own that buys JUNK DEBTS.

First, never, ever be a "no show" on a court date. This is exactly what they want you to do...ignore the date so that they'll get a default judgment against you for not showing up.


BudHibbs.com has a lot of good info about this firm:

=========

This is a law firm that gives me the impression that they don't have a clue about what they are doing.

I don't have any idea what type of law this collection agency law firm practiced prior to getting into debt collections, but they may need to go back to it.

LB&N appear to me, to be severely lacking in the manner in which they approach debt collection law. Their paperwork is sloppy, shoddy, incomplete, lacking in substance and (in several cases) perjured.

Their clients include some of the most disgusting, sleazy debt collectors in America. This includes the ever-slimy World Wide Asset Purchasing, LLC out of Atlanta, for old 'Bank of America' cases and Colorado Capital Investments, Inc. out of Hurst, TX.

Love, Beal & Nixon need a refresher course on the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). Consumers dealing with LB&N need to realize that perhaps this law firm is NOT as smart as they would think, nor are the court papers they file, always accurate.

Legal debt collecting is NOT for anyone who has a law license and looking for easy money. There is some skill, knowledge and experienced required to become a successful litigator, an area where LB&N appears to be sorely lacking.

If you are being sued by Love, Beal and Nixon on anything associated with Bank of America and/or Worldwide Asset Purchasing, DO NOT ignore their court summons. They are hoping you will lose by default, when you may be able to show them you are smarter than they are.

Having a law license does NOT necessarily mean that you are smart. It just means that...you have a law license!

Because if it has been filed, a "letter" won't suffice with the court; you'll need to respond to the lawsuit in an appropriate legal manner which is usually called a response.
I'd contact a local attorney to assist if a case really has been filed. Court dates aren't set until a lawsuit is moving along the way it should. (except small claims, and I'm not familiar with any small claims court that doesn't set a trial date when the suit is filed)