My question involves collection proceedings in the State of: Michigan
My husband was served with a S&C in December over a credit card we defaulted on during the auto company & housing mess a few years ago. It has been sold at least a dozen times and each time we are contacted by a new "owner" we request to see the assignment - not just to delay things but because at one point 3 different JDB's were claiming to own the debt at the same time. Every time we asked to see the assignment, though, we never heard from the JDB again. However, the last one was a collection attorney, hired by Velocity, who is local - and who I was once employed by. I sent the same letter as usual but the only response I got was the S&C. Having worked there, I wasn't surprised by the response. I filed an Answer, AD & CC in January. We didn't receive an answer to the CC but we did get a notice from the court mandating mediation - for tomorrow.
Should I have filed a Default when we didn't get a response to the CC - can I still file one? Should I ask to have the Mediation rescheduled and then file a motion for dismissal/judgment? I mostly didn't file the DJ because of uneasiness... I only filed the CC because I know this attorney works in volume and tends to let the difficult stuff go - I really don't want any money from him. While I was going back and forth on what to do, I got the mediation notice.
If I could just be pointed in the right direction, I have the knowledge to write & file the motions/paperwork with the court
THANK YOU IN ADVANCE!
Background & Other Info: We don't have the money to pay this now but plan to pay it in the future & are working towards that goal. We were in the middle of a home renovation when the Auto Ind & housing market collapsed and my husband took a demotion & huge pay cut to keep his Auto Industry job. The bank refused to follow through with our pre-approved & agreed upon (in writing) refinance on the house at the end of the renovation - not because of the change in income but because they claimed the rapidly declining market kept them from getting an accurate appraisal. We used all the retirement money/college fund money we had access to and settled a lot of the renovation debt but some still remains. We have 4 children (a toddler, 1 HS Freshman, 1 HS Jr and 1 College freshman) and are paying some college tuition now & will add more in another year. We are managing to pay our current bills on time (utilities, mortgage/EL, car/health/life insurance, medical bills, etc.) and feed our family but other than that we are on a very tight budget just trying to stay on track. We have no car loans & the 3 cars we do have are all at least 10 years old. We do have $150,000 in equity in our house BUT our credit was destroyed so we have not been able to refinance to settle our outstanding renovation debt. I suspect the equity & my husband's long term continued employment are the reason for the lawsuit but we are trying to avoid liens on the house in the hopes of refinancing in the next year (our Credit Score is working it's way upwards now) and any garnishment of my husband's wages would devastate our progress as well.

