American Express illegal actions

[tony6]

I've been sued by American Express for the amount of $9k. Unfortunately, $4k of that amount was disputed by me because the merchant never delivered the merchandise that I paid for. And, even though I disputed the transaction within the first 30 days, American Express didn't honor my dispute and without giving me any explanation for their decision. Well, they actually credited the amount of $4K right when I filed the dispute but then, they took it all back 3 months later. When I asked their lawyer for an explanation, he went ahead and filed a lawsuit against me and won a judgment by default because I didn't know that I needed to answer to his motion within 30 days and I was under the impression that I only need to go to the judge and defend my case on my court date which turned out to be a case management date. How can I sue these *******s? I can't just let them get away with this!
The so called lawyer's name is Richard E. Golden from Bleier and Cox law office. We gotta stop these people from doing these illegal actions, but how?

[outonbail]

Originally Posted by tony6

I've been sued by American Express for the amount of $9k. Unfortunately, $4k of that amount was disputed by me because the merchant never delivered the merchandise that I paid for. And, even though I disputed the transaction within the first 30 days, American Express didn't honor my dispute and without giving me any explanation for their decision. Well, they actually credited the amount of $4K right when I filed the dispute but then, they took it all back 3 months later. When I asked their lawyer for an explanation, he went ahead and filed a lawsuit against me and won a judgment by default because I didn't know that I needed to answer to his motion within 30 days and I was under the impression that I only need to go to the judge and defend my case on my court date which turned out to be a case management date. How can I sue these *******s? I can't just let them get away with this!
The so called lawyer's name is Richard E. Golden from Bleier and Cox law office. We gotta stop these people from doing these illegal actions, but how?

These are not illegal actions. On the summons you received, there should have been a top cover sheet that explained you're rights and advised you that you have to respond in writing and in a legal format, within a certain amount of time or risk losing by default. Did you read this information?

Did you appear before a judge prior to the deadline for submitting you're written reply to the suit? Not that it matters but if so, did you ask for an extension or was the case postponed to a future date? It doesn't make any difference as far as you're not filing a written reply within thirty days, since that is not what the extension would be granted for (unless agreed to by the plaintiff's lawyer) however the judge will usually suggest that you have an attorney represent you when you appear by yourself,,,,, and this is one of the reasons why they suggest this. The judge can not give you legal advice, which means the judge can not say, "Hey, I see you haven't responded to the suit yet, you're running out of time and you do know that if you don't reply in writing, that you will lose yada yada yada"
There must have been a court date where the award was read out loud and put on record, prior to the case management date you showed up for, so you're missing something as far as when you should have appeared.
Sorry to say, but you're probably SOL.
Posting the "so called" lawyers info, doesn't change the situation at all.

[racer72]

Ever hear the phrase "Ignorance of the law is no excuse"? You should now, you likely have no recourse.

[outonbail]

I've seen this happen many times when people procrastinate. They forget about the court date or set the paperwork aside thinking it's no big deal. Then after the judgment is awarded, they get the case management paperwork which states something about a warrant being issued for their arrest if they fail to show. That's what usually gets them where they should have gone, way before the case management process begins.

Also, American Express is a charge card not a credit card. Since the judgment they were awarded, totaled 9K and you're only disputing 4K, it sounds like you didn't pay the 5K you're not disputing when it was due. By the time they bill you're charges and then send delinquent notices and try making contact, then send the threatening letters about litigation and attorney fees,,, then file a suit, receive a judgment and schedule a case management hearing, I'd have to guess that at least 90 to 120 days have passed since you were first billed and certainly more than that since the purchases were made.
Even if you were disputing the 4K, you were obligated to pay all the other charges and you obviously didn't.

Now you can pay the whole 9K and try to go after the vendor you claim never supplied you with the 4K of merchandise you are now responsible for. You can do this in small claims court, just don't wait any longer to file you're case against this company which you claim didn't ship you're order. If the company is out of state, you probably have to file in their state. When you go to court against them, bring this judgment with you to court to prove you are being held accountable for the 4K. Then this company can show their proof of delivery to the judge, just like they did to American Express.

BTW, during one of these case management sessions, you can probably ask the person representing American Express for the reason why they decided the 4K was a legitimate charge and they may have the proof of delivery or whatever it was they used to determine the charge was legit, with them in the case file. Understand they don't have to show you diddly squat at this point, but if you're cooperating with them and you ask really nice and tell them you want to see what the company you plan on suing told them, they may show it to you. After all, you'll be showing them all you're private financial information and even if they show you something with someone else's signature receiving the merchandise, there isn't anything you can do to them about it at this point anyway. Never hurts to ask.