4 Tips to Winning Your Midland Funding Lawsuit

Midland Funding is a debt buyer that buys Arizona debts in huge volume.  If you have been sued by Midland Funding your first thought was likely “Midland who?”  After getting over the unsettling experience of being sued it is important you put together a game plan on how your are going to deal with this new debt problem.

The good news is you have a good shot at actually winning your lawsuit with Midland Funding.  Here are four tips that can put you on the path towards victory.

Tip #1 – Answer the Lawsuit

Here in Arizona (and in most places) if you get sued you have to file a written Answer with court.  If you don’t do this the lawsuit with Midland Funding will be over before it even really starts.  In Arizona you are going to have twenty (20) days to file your Answer with the court.

If you don’t Answer the lawsuit the court will enter a default judgment against you.  And if you thought being sued was awful, wait until the creditor has a judgment.  A creditor armed with a default judgment can inflict a whole new world of financial pain in the form of wage garnishments and bank garnishments.  If you do anything – Answer the lawsuit!

Tip #2 – Learn the Rules

In California, if you represent yourself in a lawsuit you will be held to the same standards as the attorneys for Midland Funding.  This means that you need to know the rules.  Admittedly  this can be somewhat confusing.  After all, you are not a lawyer and you don’t do this all day long.

However, the court does provide you with a copy of the rules.  As most of Midland’s lawsuits in Arizona are filed in the Justice Court, it is important that you have a copy of the Rules that apply specifically to that court.  You can access a copy of the Arizona Justice Court Rules of Civil Procedure here.

Tip # 3 – Show Up

When it comes to court proceedings showing is truly half the battle.  Strike that.  It can be the entire battle.  Again, in the Arizona justice court system there are usually a couple of times you will have to show up at the court house prior to the actual trial.

First, the court may require you to attend mediation.  This is the process where an independent mediator works to see if you and Midland Funding can reach some middle ground and settle the case.

Second, in almost all of the Arizona justice courts they will hold what is known as a Pre Trial Conference.  This is a meeting held prior to the setting of a trial date and is usually very short in nature.  However, if you don’t show up, there is a good chance that the court will enter judgment against you.

This is obviously the same with trial.  If you don’t show up judgment will be entered against you.  If you have an emergency and can’t be to any court proceeding call the clerk and let the court know what is going on.  There is no guarantee that you will avoid a judgment but the chance of the judge continuing it to a later date are much greater.

Tip #4 – Don’t Be Bullied 

Often, when a person represents themselves in a Midland Funding lawsuit – or any debt collection lawsuit – the opposing attorney will tell them it is best to settle this debt because they are going to lose the case.  However, if the lawsuit is by Midland Funding or almost any of the debt buyers that is not true at all.

Most – if not all- of the debt buyer lawsuits I see are legally insufficient. What I mean by that is that the evidence they have is not sufficient to support a legal judgment.  The X-Factor in all of these cases is the judge or justice of the peace – they can always rule against you.

But the fact of it is these Midland Funding lawsuits are anything but a slam dunk for the creditor.  Stick to your guns.  You are in a better position than you think you are.

Tip #5 File a counter suit

File suit for violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices act. Damages 1000 by statute remove to federal court. file for a bill of attainder to get documents and prove that there are no original documents validating the debt. I love these cases because even though the damages are limited the attorney fees for winning are sometimes very high.

Tip #6 Remove to Federal court.

Under rule 26 they will have to provide all documents sustaining their claim and they don’t have them

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