Page 1 of 2 1 2 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 11
  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Saginaw, MI
    Posts
    27

    Default Wage Garnishment

    Wage Garnishment
    My question involves judgment recovery in the State of: Michigan

    I received a default judgement against me from a debt collection company "Midland Funding LLC" for failing to appear in court...something I NEVER received paperwork on (I have moved twice in the past year so I don't know if the mail didn't get forwarded?"

    From what I've read they are REQUIRED to send it via process server or certified mail with a signature to prove that I was served the court papers.

    Anywho, they are garnishing 25% of my wages as of this moment. I received in the mail a few days ago that Midland Funding LLC is subject to a class action lawsuit for violating the FDCPA and falsifying information on legal documents for their debt collections.

    I want to dispute my wage garnishment on the grounds I was never legally served court papers...who do I contact and how do I go about this?

    To add to my previous post, it says they used "false information in their affadavit." From what I've read on other sites, this company hasn't properly served others with court papers as well.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Posts
    38,867

    Default Re: Wage Garnishment

    I want to dispute my wage garnishment on the grounds I was never legally served court papers...who do I contact and how do I go about this?
    you go to the court that awarded the judgement and get a copy of the case file. In there, there will be the means of service the plaintiff claimed.

    what level of court were you sued in?

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Posts
    1,995

    Default Re: Wage Garnishment

    Looks like you asked it under a different thread and answerd here.

    http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=119753

    Keep in mind to prove false information in their affadavitt is an expensive and difficult process if you go hire a lawyer yourself, unless the state AG can come in and subpoena their records, prove a pattern of behavoir, and prove a signle person served several hundred summons a day, which is impossible. Your best bet is file a complaint with the AG's office.

    I handle payrolls, and when a writ of garnishment is served, it is up to the employee to take legal action to stop it. There's nothing an employer can do. On the other hand, if you really owe the money, you'll have to decide if you want to drag it out, or see if you can get this over and done with.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Posts
    38,867

    Default Re: Wage Garnishment

    while it might be true that Midland acted improperly, or even illegally, in this situation, the first thing the OP needs to do is investigate his particular case. For all we know, his case is the only one Midland has ever followed the legal requirements for. If there was no improper actions in the OP's suit, what happens elsewhere is irrelevant.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Posts
    1,995

    Default Re: Wage Garnishment

    Quote Quoting jk
    View Post
    while it might be true that Midland acted improperly, or even illegally, in this situation, the first thing the OP needs to do is investigate his particular case. For all we know, his case is the only one Midland has ever followed the legal requirements for. If there was no improper actions in the OP's suit, what happens elsewhere is irrelevant.
    That's what collections agencies here in NY been claiming for years, that everyone is served properly, and no one can prove a thing since the process servers affadavitt's been treated as gospel. All the OP is going to be told going to an attorney is that HIS was properly served even though thousand of other weren't. Even the process servers claimiing to serve 300 a day might have legitlmately served a few, with OP's among them.

    So the defense is as you aptly put it, "we might have screwed eveything else up, but you can't prove a thing that we screwed this one up", and with statistics showing only 10% of debtors show up in court anyway, it makes pulling off such a scam all the more easier.

    Under these circumstances, I would not waste any money hiring my own attorney, since the only thing he'll get is the server's affadavitt, and no one on earth would know how true it is, or when it was really written in the first place, like tomorrow. Here in NY at least, they turned out to be lies. Now, if an AG investigation shows he's a victim, then he can try to collect damages, which many people joining class action lawsuits have done. Trying to prove a process server done wrong in one case is a losing proposition, with the money better spent paying down the loan.

    In the meantime, if the debt is legitimate, he'll be paying if off, and any damages he can collect later on, is extra.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Posts
    38,867

    Default Re: Wage Garnishment

    I'm just saying that the OP needs to research his specific case before jumping on the "they are acting illegally" bandwagon. He may fit in that wagon quite well but he also may have been served properly and as such, the illegal activities of the CA would have nothing to do with him. Since time is of the essence if he has the right to contest the judgment, he needs to look at his specific case first. If he contacts 72 different people thinking he is withing the group of injured parties and he isn't, he could miss his time limit to object to the actions in his case.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Posts
    1,995

    Default Re: Wage Garnishment

    Quote Quoting jk
    View Post
    I'm just saying that the OP needs to research his specific case before jumping on the "they are acting illegally" bandwagon. He may fit in that wagon quite well but he also may have been served properly and as such, the illegal activities of the CA would have nothing to do with him. Since time is of the essence if he has the right to contest the judgment, he needs to look at his specific case first. If he contacts 72 different people thinking he is withing the group of injured parties and he isn't, he could miss his time limit to object to the actions in his case.
    I'm just saying the CA and AG approaches should cost him nothing to start with, as these folks have obviously done all the research, so instead of unnecessarity paying an attorney, this process is in fact "research", and if there turns out to be nothing there, then he can move forward to decide on hiring an attorney, or just pay the bill.

    And if he tried the "free stuff" first, if he doesn't fit in, at least he lost nothing, perhaps some time. I would go for the "time is of the essence" issue if I didn't owe anything. But if it is a legitimate debt, all he'll do is delay the collections by a few months. thus making the creditor angrier, and incur more fees that they would go after him. From what the OP said, it sounds like a legitimate debt.

    So if the debt is legitimate, he should just pay it, BUT if he checks out the CA actions, or what the state AG is doing, he might get himself in line collecing on some damages, which has nothing to do if he owed a debt or not.

    BTW, if the OP decides to hire an attorney, that's when the fun starts, and that's when he'll have to try 72 places. My wife and I had to hire an attorney on contnigency basis to sue a large company whose delivery truck went through a red light, and killed her sister. With witnesses, and the driver saying so, sounds like an easy case, right?? She had to approach almost two dozen attorneys before one would take the case because none felt there was enough of af payout for the amount of work involved. I'm trying to see what attorney would take a loser of a case like this for just a SINGLE client. In a CA situation, the research work is in the main all done, they're just waiting for the right clients to waltze in the door.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Posts
    38,867

    Default Re: Wage Garnishment

    What I am suggesting costs nothing other than the copy fees the court might charge.

    And if he tried the "free stuff" first, if he doesn't fit in, at least he lost nothing, perhas some time.
    and that time is limited

    I would go for the "time is of the essence" issue if I didn't owe anything. But if it is a legitimate debt, all he'll do is delay the collections by a few months.
    but is it a legit debt? OP hasn't said one way or the other. If it isn't a legit debt and OP fails to act within any time constraints, it becomes a debt he owes regardless of the validity of the original debt.

    I see nothing wrong with your directives other than if it delays investigating his personal situation with the courts, it could result in him owing money that he shouldn't. If he wants to take your actions concurrently with mine, no problem. The problem is if he ignores mine and service was proper, if he misses his time to contest the judgment, he is going to owe the money whether it is righteous or not.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Posts
    1,995

    Default Re: Wage Garnishment

    I agree some of what you said makes sense.

    From the original post, he didn't yell and scream he doesn't owe the money, so I assume it's legit. Then he went on to say he moved twice, and having handled garnishments for my employers, I often see that there's a long time lag between judgment and garnishment, so time has already passed.

    This is why I didn't push the time is of the essence issue. And if this is not a particularly large debt, it is not worth the bother of an attorney to look at on it's own merits, or even for the OP to incur fees. It only make sense to someone handling a class action, and that's where you can collect some nice damages. I added some comments in my prior post about the difficulties of finding an attorney who would even want such a case.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Saginaw, MI
    Posts
    27

    Default Re: Wage Garnishment

    I have since filed a complaint against Midland Funding LLC and the attorney who sued me with the Michigan Attorney General and the Better Business Bureau. Hopefully I can get this matter resolved. I just wish there was a way to stop the wage garnishments until my complaint is resolved.

    1. Sponsored Links
       

Page 1 of 2 1 2 LastLast

Similar Threads

  1. Compensation and Overtime: Wage Garnishment
    By d3ranch in forum Employment and Labor
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 09-05-2009, 04:40 AM
  2. Garnishment and Execution: Wage Garnishment
    By mjl1976 in forum Civil Procedure
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 07-18-2009, 09:26 AM
  3. Garnishment and Execution: Wage Garnishment
    By howard in forum Civil Procedure
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 11-18-2008, 11:19 PM
  4. Collection and Enforcement: Wage garnishment
    By divine_design_21 in forum Child Custody, Support and Visitation
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 11-02-2006, 10:03 AM
  5. Social Security Issues: Wage Garnishment and SSI
    By SCOEN in forum Social Security Law
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 03-24-2006, 11:05 AM
 
 
Sponsored Links

Legal Help, Information and Resources