being sued over student loan

[bgborkosky]

What is the name of your state? FL
I had a defaulted student loan, which I satisfied in 1997. I have the certified satisfaction of judgment from then. Now a collection agency (DCS) has told me they are going to sue to collect the very same loan. In case they due, is there anything I can do, ahead of time, to prepare? such as:
1. file a motion to have the case heard in FL (rather than Oregon, where DCS is).
2. File a motion in a county other than the one I live in, so that if they file any liens, it does not affect my home?
Thanks for your kind attention....

 

[stevek3]

What is the name of your state? FL
I had a defaulted student loan, which I satisfied in 1997. I have the certified satisfaction of judgment from then. Now a collection agency (DCS) has told me they are going to sue to collect the very same loan. In case they due, is there anything I can do, ahead of time, to prepare? such as:
1. file a motion to have the case heard in FL (rather than Oregon, where DCS is).
2. File a motion in a county other than the one I live in, so that if they file any liens, it does not affect my home?
Thanks for your kind attention....

Can you prove the satisfaction of judgment is for a judgment relating to the exact same student loan? Students often receive multiple loans.

 

[bgborkosky]

being sued for student loan

Yes, I believe I can. DCS has not sent me copies of the original loan documents, but the number and amounts and total amount of the loans are exactly the same. The documents I have from the original case do not have any loan 'numbers' or other specific identifying information on them. I have not received any notifications from the Dept of Ed or anyone else since 12/97 until now. Oh, and something I just noticed DCS sent me a payment history that shows payments made on 1/27/98 (totally $8598.17)- don't have my checking account in front of me at the moment, but I seem to remember checks in the same amounts. The attorney must have kept them, and turned them in all at once.....
Thanx

 

[stevek3]

Yes, I believe I can. DCS has not sent me copies of the original loan documents, but the number and amounts and total amount of the loans are exactly the same. The documents I have from the original case do not have any loan 'numbers' or other specific identifying information on them. I have not received any notifications from the Dept of Ed or anyone else since 12/97 until now. Oh, and something I just noticed DCS sent me a payment history that shows payments made on 1/27/98 (totally $8598.17)- don't have my checking account in front of me at the moment, but I seem to remember checks in the same amounts. The attorney must have kept them, and turned them in all at once.....
Thanx

Well, payment is an affirmative defense in court, so you'd better be fully prepared and ready to prove payment if that's what you're intending to assert. The burden of proof is on you, not them. The identical amounts of the two debts means nothing. Students often obtain multiple loans for the identical amounts.

 

[bgborkosky]

thanks

Steve - thanks for the response. I am still wondering about the questions I had:

1. is it possible to have the case heard in FL (and not Orgeon, where DCS is located)?
2. Is it possible to have the case heard in a different FL county (other than where my house is located)?

Also, your response made me think - These loans were the ONLY student loans I took out at that time (I did have some smaller loans, which were paid, from earlier dates). Is there a way to find out from the Dept of Ed (or otherwise) ALL loans that were taken out by me? In other words, if I could obtain a report that showed ALL loans, and these were the only loans with the same amounts and dates, would that work as proof?

Additional info, just in - now they are acknowledging that the loans are the same - however, they state that the satisfaction of judgment was in error, that I did not actually pay the full amount owed..... Isn't a certified letter of satisfaction, filed with the court, the END of the matter? Is it possible that, if they sued, they could win?

Thanks, bruce

 

[stevek3]

Steve - thanks for the response. I am still wondering about the questions I had:

1. is it possible to have the case heard in FL (and not Orgeon, where DCS is located)?
2. Is it possible to have the case heard in a different FL county (other than where my house is located)?

Also, your response made me think - These loans were the ONLY student loans I took out at that time (I did have some smaller loans, which were paid, from earlier dates). Is there a way to find out from the Dept of Ed (or otherwise) ALL loans that were taken out by me? In other words, if I could obtain a report that showed ALL loans, and these were the only loans with the same amounts and dates, would that work as proof?
Thanks, bruce

I don't know all your factual details, and I am sure there are many. If you're unsure what to do, and if litigation is indeed impending, then you would be prudent to retain counsel before an action is brought. The dumb debtors are always the ones who wait. I'm not saying you're dumb, but free advice is not going to help you. Sometimes you get what you pay for. Unless you want to be a hopeless loser like so many of the posters around here, who almost always blame everybody else but themselves for their ultimate predicaments, be proactive, not reactive. Nip it in the bud. You're not going to be able to do it online.

At the very least, instead of sticking your head underground like a groundhog and waiting for the other shoe to drop, directly communicate with the collection agency right now. Get more facts and discuss it with them. Keep the lines of communication open. Confirm your questions and your discussions with them in writing. They certainly are not going to sue you if you can show them it is the exact same debt. For lawyers, time is money. No lawyer wants to waste his time.

From what you're saying, it may not be the exact same debt. If you wait until suit is already filed before you choose to directly confront your problem, then you've just been looking for trouble.

 

[seniorjudge]

At the very least, instead of sticking your head underground like a groundhog and waiting for the other shoe to drop, directly communicate with the collection agency right now. Get more facts and discuss it with them. Keep the lines of communication open. Confirm your questions and your discussions with them in writing....

Despite the mixed allusion (sorry...I can't help it...too many English courses) this is excellent advice.

 

[bgborkosky]

right on

Yea, you are probably correct. I thought it might be an easy question to answer. For anyone else who might be listening, this is what I have done so far:

1. Sent them the paperwork:
a. order granting motion for judgment (which details the dates, amounts, and originating schools for each loan - showing they are the same loans as the ones in question
b. letter from atty authorizing settlement
c. payment letter from me, with handwritten notes from my ex detailing the 2 credit cards and one personal loan used to pay off the debt, with the correct total amount
d. fedex airbill used to send the payment
e. letter of satisfaction from atty
f. certified letter of satisfaction filed with the court
2. sent an email to the student loan ombudsman, requesting help
3. called the original atty, who will research with their records and DOE

So, now I am waiting on the ombudsman, the old atty, and DCS, and will see what they do before I hire a new atty. I thank you for the advice. Guess I was hoping I didn't have to spend any $$$, but MB I will have to. Never seems fair, when you are in the right, does it?
Bruce

 

[seniorjudge]

Keep copies of everything (including notes of phone conversations).

You'd be surprised how many times when discussing a case with an opponent, you score points when you say, "My file indicates that on X I told you Y and you replied Z." (Pregnant pause.) "What does your file indicate?"

 

[bgborkosky]

good point also

True Dat - More often, I find, is the case where you start out doing business with someone, and then later, when things go sour, you wish you had notated...
BB

 

[stevek3]

Despite the mixed allusion (sorry...I can't help it...too many English courses) this is excellent advice.

There's absolutely nothing mixed about my allusions. It's a scientific fact that groundhogs hiding from shadows are often crushed by shoes. Most often by those faggy sandal and clog things. I can't remember what they're called.

Oh, yeah, now I remember...Birkenstocks.

 

[seniorjudge]

Birkenstocks.

Well...yeah, you're right. What was I thinking?

 

[stevek3]

Well...yeah, you're right. What was I thinking?

You should read more National Geographic, less Hustler. Fortunately, I have time to do both.

 

[seniorjudge]

You should read ... Hustler.

There are printed WORDS in Hustler!?

Mirabile dictu!

 

[stevek3]

There are printed WORDS in Hustler!?

Mirabile dictu!

There is a lot of mirabile in Hustler, but there's not much dictu. If you're into dictu, you'll have to subscribe to Playgirl or Blueboy.