question about summons from dave

[quin]

I received a summons from dave today,I was just wondering, what could happen if I did not appear to answer the summons? Or should I just go ahead and contact a lawyer? I'm not syre what to do. THANKS..bty:I did not sign anything

[hitme101]

Just My Opinion:Get a lawyer & appear for summons,postpone as long as you can,more time the better maybe,Your lawyer may advise something else.Good Luck Bud.Also you'll get more response in this forum..
http://www.dsschat.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?forumid=15

[kmac]

Contact a lawyer ASAP.

If an appropriate response is not filed on your behalf within a certain amount of time, a default will be entered against you. A default judgment will quickly follow.

Do not ignore the summons.

[chavell]

Were you a member of DecoderNews ?

[safety]

Well some people do not have any other option but to ignor it. It is a thing called MONEY...No dough, no representation. Yes, you can get free legal advise, but where will it get you if you have NO money.

Safety

[quin]

Originally posted by chavell
Were you a member of DecoderNews ?


No I wasnt

[quin]

Originally posted by kmac
Contact a lawyer ASAP.

If an appropriate response is not filed on your behalf within a certain amount of time, a default will be entered against you. A default judgment will quickly follow.

Do not ignore the summons.

what does default mean? and what is normally the fee for a laywer in a case like this. The reason I ask is I cant afford to pay a lawler a lot of money being that I am laid off of work.

[safety]

quin, well for my summons stating 20 devices purchased a lawyer told me around $5,000 to go to court. Same with me, no money for lawyer, no money for settlement, and everyone just keeps on saying contact a lawyer. Well for free advise, well I can give you free advise, I a screwed for a while. So, you called a lawyer, he tells you the fee bascily, then what, no money, so what can you really do..

Safety

[safety]

Oh, default means more than likely they will automaticly win against you because you did not show to court, or respond to the summons. Then they will probably get maximum judgment for the illegal activities. That is between 10,000 and 100,000. Mine would be 100,000 since they considered me to be a dealer since I allegedly purchased 20 devices.

Safety

[TooPoorToFight]

I am waiting to confirm I'm on this weeks list of new court cases, but I am pretty sure I am. I would not avoid the court date no matter what. You are guaranteed to lose that way. You can do some studying and try to represent yourself which is free, but could cost more in your settlement. You could pay a lawyer to try to represent you in a settlement or in court. That will cost you about 5000 for the lawyer plus the cost of the settlement if you lose or settle. I don't know what is the best thing there. If you have no money, then try to fight it (by yourself with training or a legal consult at the least). If you lose and are willing to file bankruptsy then go that route. Good luck. Just don't ignore the summons. We haven't gotten ours yet, but I did get a letter from a lawyer referring to my docket. *sigh*

[safety]

Fight, fight what, a pack of hungry sharks...As much as I love a fight, I do not see winning as a posibility since I do not know what evidence they have against me other then a purchase of 20 items.

Safety

[dizzyworld]

No money for lawyer. No money for settlement. File motion for an extension and then file bankrupcy. All Dave wants is money. When there is none to be had he will move on.

[quin]

Originally posted by safety
Fight, fight what, a pack of hungry sharks...As much as I love a fight, I do not see winning as a posibility since I do not know what evidence they have against me other then a purchase of 20 items.

Safety

Well the way I look at it, I dont have any thing for dave to get in a settlement,because the only thing that I have in my name is a beat up ford ranger,I will give him that if he wants it.I will put my bank account in my sons name to be on the safe side. I figure if he cant get anything from me, he will go away(hopefully)

[safety]

Well nothing ever in my bank account now anyway. I might have a $100 in the bank now, but when pay day comes it is all gone. The one bad thing is NO ONE know just how far it will all go. A lawyer told me it can for sure go past 10 years if they want it to. He said they can sell the debt for pennys on the dollar and the company will fight to get it for a long time. But once again, no one knows what will happen..

Safety

[Endeavor]

This is one subject that hasn't really been discussed in detail. Filing Bankruptcy. Will it cover a default judgment? Will it stop a proceeding case? Now I know that most people don't want to have a bankruptcy on there credit, but in my case it would be an improvement over my current credit rating. I don't own anything a except a beat up truck also. So in my case I think it might be a feasible option that maybe should be chewed over in here from some more people that maybe have the knowledge of filing for it and what it would cover. I don't know call me stupid for thinking about it. But if you don't have any money to spend on it it might be tempting. I'm open for input what do you guy's and gal's think?


[EDIT] Missed words added, my brain was moving to fast for my hands.

[mi0809]

I went through Bankruptcy in 1989. Worst thing I ever did. It takes about 10 years to clear off your record. You should not use this to ward off Dave. The harm to your credit may not be worth it. Besides, (I'm not a lawyer just speaking from experience) I think a court would have to have a judgement on file against you to include it in a bankruptcy. Even if you do list them as a creditor in your bankruptcy filing Dave's lawers could send a representative to your bankruptcy hearing and force you to pay over time.

Also, if Dave knows your in bankruptcy they can just wait till after your discarge date and you would be back to square 1.

It's a crap shoot at best.

Good Luck.

[quin]

I filed chapter11 in 1996, Since I cant afford to pay for an attorney, I am going to call legal aid monday and see if I qualify for pro bono. There is a legal aid office close to my home, If I dont qualify, I guess I will just ignore the summons. Because I have nonthing dave can take or will probally want. Has any one had a default judgement brought against them yet in this matter?

[^Falcon_65^]

The most important thing to know is that one you recieve a summons, you have to appear or the judge will issue a summary judgement against you and DirecTV will get what they are filing for ($10,000 per device ordered)

First I have to ask (because its easy to confuse the two) did you get a threat letter (requesting you to contact them and settle) or a summons (which is a notice to appear in court on a certain date, and is usually served by a deputy sheriff or P.I.)

If it is the letter, then you are not in any immediate danger of a judgement... but if this is an actual summons to appear in Fedral District Court, then you need to file a response to the comlaint as soon as possible. A lawyer is the best way to handle these cases, but the truth is that not everyone can afford a lawyer.

Although many people warn against it, it is possible to defend yourself in court against one of these civil complaints. As I said earlier, the first step is to file a response to the complaint with the District Court the summons came from... This is you saying, "OK I got your summons, here's what I have to say about your civil complaint:...."

You can contact the court clerk to ask if there is the response has to be on a certain form, or what the format for it should be. They will give you all the general info you need to do it.

After this, the court will set a preliminary hearing to discuss the details of the case. For instance, whether or not you want a jury trial or the judge to decide the case. I have been told that in highly technical issues, its better to have a judge trial. Juries can be confused by technical lingo and big words thrown around by the complaintant's attorneys and possibly confuse the facts. If DirecTV has no actual proof that you did what they are claiming (in the letter cases its ususally that you recieved smartcard programming devices through the mail and knew their primary purpose was to illegally get DirecTV's signal.) , then you need fight them and make them prove what they are saying.

More good info on the summonses and letters can be found at Satlaw.org ... this is a sister sight to legal-rights.org, TTRK's sight, and has alot of good info and current posts from others who are in your situation.

Good Luck

[quin]

Falcon, thanks for the info, My summons was not delivered by the sheriff, some guy(I assume a messenger) deliverd the summons. As I stated, I cant afford a lawyer,I do want to fight this case, but I dont want to defend myself.

[rockfordpi]

In terms of bankruptcy you might want to read the Story in the post below about a Guy in East TN named Earl Turnip.

http://www.dsschat.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=138946&highlight=Earl+Turnip

Not any real legal advice there, but it might take your mind of things and make you smile about our common woes. Everybody should have a friend like Earl.

[quin]

LMAO,Man that was funny