Court Date for Medical Debt from 2014

[Moofies]

Okay, so from what I'm understanding, the CRLJ 56 Summary Judgement states in section C that I have 15 calendar days before the hearing to file and serve documentation, and in the one that should have been sent, the CR 56 I have 28 calendar days before to do so.

Basically, I've missed my window if it's set for March 8 already, haven't I?

 

[quincy]

What motion? Do you mean when we go before the judge?

You did not respond to the motion for summary judgment, correct? That means you are accepting as true what was said in the complaint and there is no reason for a trial.

Here is a FreeAdvice staff-written article with general (not Washington-specific) information on filing or responding to a motion for summary judgment:

https://www.freeadvice.com/legal/filing-or-responding-to-a-motion-for-summary-judgment/

You will want to discuss timing with the Justice Project lawyer you contact. You can still go ahead with the Charity Care application even if a judgment is entered against you.

 

[Moofies]

You did not respond to the motion for summary judgment, correct? That means you are accepting as true what was said in the complaint and there is no reason for a trial.

Here is a FreeAdvice staff-written article with general (not Washington-specific) information on filing or responding to a motion for summary judgment:

https://www.freeadvice.com/legal/filing-or-responding-to-a-motion-for-summary-judgment/

You will want to discuss timing with the Justice Project lawyer you contact.

Yeah, I'm seeing that now. I think I misunderstood or was reading things wrong last night. I'm definitely going to inquire about it with JP.

I'm glad I have new printer ink for my poor printer.

 

[quincy]

... I'm glad I have new printer ink for my poor printer.

Paper and ink manufacturers love court cases.

I hope you get some good direction from the lawyer you speak to tomorrow.

 

[Moofies]

Paper and ink manufacturers love court cases.

I hope you get some good direction from the lawyer you speak to tomorrow.

Thank you. I'll probably come back and at least update everything. Maybe it'll help someone else.

 

[quincy]

Thank you. I'll probably come back and at least update everything. Maybe it'll help someone else.

That would be nice. Thanks.

 

[Taxing Matters]

You did not respond to the motion for summary judgment, correct? That means you are accepting as true what was said in the complaint and there is no reason for a trial.

I disagree with that. Failure to deny allegations in a complaint generally will result in the defendant being deemed to agree with the facts stated in the complaint. Similarly failure to respond to request for admissions in discovery can result in the other party being deemed to have made those admissions. But the same is not true for most motions. In particular, Washington's rules for courts of limited jurisdiction do not mandate replies to motions for summary judgment. One does risk the court granting an unopposed motion, however, as the court then only has the arguments of one side to consider. The court must still consider, though, what is before it. For example, the plaintiff here made a statement that the defendant failed to comply with rules for counterclaims and for claims under the FDCPA. The judge must look at the pleadings and see that in fact the defendant had no such failure because no counter claim or FDCPA claime was filed.

 

[quincy]

I apologize if I misspoke.

I hope Moofies consultation with the Justice Project was productive.

 

[Taxing Matters]

I hope Moofies consultation with the Justice Project was productive.

I do too, hopefully we'll hear how that goes.

 

[Moofies]

@quincy, @Taxing Matters

Some disheartening news: The NJP/C.L.E.A.R. program is swamped. I tried all morning but couldn't get in touch with anyone from their end. (They are available from 9:15am-12:15pm and do not do callbacks.)

I was able to get in touch with 211's hard of hearing hotline, which of course referred me to NJP, but also an organization called Moderate Means. MM can't handle me any time soon and suggested NJP.

In a nutshell, I've been bouncing from call to call in a big circle. All have stated there's a huge influx of callers and it's nearly impossible to get into the queue.

I was also contacted back from a separate law firm I contacted that seemed promising (and was also in my 411 referalls) but they will only handle this if the debt collectors are harassing me.

Also, I still haven't received any mail with my application, so I'm going to go ahead and print and fill out a form I think is the same thing. I'm not sure if I should call the debt collection agency now, since I was unable to talk to anyone over the phone that could advise me.

If anyone has any thoughts, I'd appreciate it very much. I'm thinking I have two options, the try again approach tomorrow, or attempting a DIY response.

 

[quincy]

I would try calling the Justice Project again tomorrow and check to see if there are other legal aid clinics in your area. Check out the resources in the first link I provided. Here is the link again: https://www.washingtonlawhelp.org/resources/getting-help-with-medical-debt-in-washington

I don't see any problem with you contacting the debt collection agency and telling them you are applying for Charity Care.

You have said that you owe the debt and you are concerned about your husband's wages being garnished. If the debt is yours alone that shouldn't happen. If you have a joint bank account, though, now would be a good time to open separate accounts. Don't intermingle funds.

Again, the Charity Care (if you are eligible) can be used on judgment debts, too.

 

[Moofies]

I would try calling the Justice Project again tomorrow and check to see if there are other legal aid clinics in your area. Check out the resources in the first link I provided. Here is the link again: https://www.washingtonlawhelp.org/resources/getting-help-with-medical-debt-in-washington

I don't see any problem with you contacting the debt collection agency and telling them you are applying for Charity Care.

You have said that you owe the debt and you are concerned about your husband's wages being garnished. If the debt is yours alone that shouldn't happen. If you have a joint bank account, though, now would be a good time to open separate accounts. Don't intermingle funds.

Again, the Charity Care (if you are eligible) can be used on judgment debts, too.

It says the link doesn't exist; I ran into that problem directly from their website as well.

I'm going to call the collectors right now to inform them and come back to the rest of this.

 

[Shadowbunny]

It says the link doesn't exist; I ran into that problem directly from their website as well.

I'm going to call the collectors right now to inform them and come back to the rest of this.

Try this link: https://www.washingtonlawhelp.org/resource/getting-help-with-medical-debt-in-washington

 

[Moofies]

Hooboy, okay, that was something else.

I contacted the law firm suing me and the woman I spoke with told me, "I could apply for Charity Care," but that it likely won't be approved for the reason that I'm being sued by the physicians that work for the hospital in the emergency department and not the hospital itself, and something about the date of service being from 2014 and how they (the E.R. physicians) already assigned the debt collection to them, I'd likely not qualify.

She explained if I were to move for dismissal I'd have to pay a $20 court fee in addition to the full cost of what they're asking, which is around $4500. No payment plans, nothing lower. She started to get a little snarky when she brought up my husband and his job, basically trying to make me feel bad for not paying them in a lump sum, to which I informed her I was homeless at that time and they knew it. I followed that up with something along the lines of, "I hear that you made communication with my husband, but I'm the one talking to you now and this conversation is for my benefit in efforts to work as peacefully and civil as possible with you right now on this phone call." For whatever that was worth, she did change tones and become a little easier to communicate with.

 

[Moofies]

I'm not entirely sure I understand what she means when she said the physicians are suing me and not the hospital. I understand the verbiage, but not the context. When you walk into the E.R. isn't an E.R. physician the person you're expecting service from as provided by the hospital? I'm unsure how this makes a difference and what it potentially means for me regarding this bill.