sued for credit card debt

What is the name of your state? ca

I was sued by citibank for a delinquent credit card bill. I filed a response with the court to their claim. Apparently they say their client is not willing to settle for less than 85% of the debt and that they are willing to set me up on a payment plan. I was unable to do this and they said they are going to file a summary judgement against me. The hearing is set for March 12th the day I am making a presentation (as part of my graduate training) to an international research group out of state (accepted prior to suit). The law firm is unwilling to postpone the date. I beleive due in part to the fact that their witness will have to fly out from dakota adn they have no intentions of doing so. How can i appeal to the judge in this case for a postponement given the present situation?Please help !

[bigun]

When did you last pay the orginal creditor?

i paid them about 7 months ago