“What are request for admissions I received in my debt collection lawsuit?”
“What are request for admissions I received in my debt collection lawsuit?”
If you have been sued in circuit court by a debt collector in Alabama, and you received “Request for Admissions,” you may be wondering what in the world these things are and do you need to answer them.
What is a request for admission?
This is a type of discovery request where the debt collector asks you to do one of two things to the question asked:
- Admit that it is true OR
- Deny that it is true.
What are some examples of request for admissions?
- Admit the Plaintiff [LVNV, Midland, Portfolio, etc] owns the debt.
- Admit you took out the _______ credit card and did not pay all of the charges.
- Also, admit there was no identity theft on the account sued on by the Plaintiff.
Is it important that I answer the request for admissions?
Yes.
If you don’t answer in time, then the question is automatically considered “admitted” which means you agree with what the question or statement says.
How do I answer these?
Most important rule is to answer truthfully — this means no guessing or speculating.
For example, “Admit the Plaintiff [LVNV, Midland, Portfolio, etc] owns the debt.”
How would you know the answer to this?
Have you seen the paperwork where someone — whoever that might be — actually sold the loan to the company suing you?
Do you know the company that bought the debt has not already sold it to another company?
If I ask you to “Admit I’m wearing a blue shirt right now” you would have to say, if you don’t for sure, that “I deny this because I don’t know what color shirt you are wearing right now.”
In trials the debt collectors say “John’s client owes the debt.”
So what?
Who does my client owe the debt to?
This debt buyer who has sued my client?
Well, they have to prove they own it.
Considering debt buyers guard their “purchase agreements” like the formula to Coke, they aren’t going to let you (or their own lawyers!) see the agreement.
Kind of hard to be able to “admit” they own the debt…
When do I need to answer the request for admissions?
30 days after you received them unless you got them with the lawsuit then the time is normally 45 days. You should read the request for admissions from the collection lawyer because it will tell you how long you have to answer them.
What happens if I don’t answer the admissions?
They are deemed admitted so it is the same thing as you saying “I agree with what the collection lawyer is saying.”
How does this hurt me for the admissions to be deemed admitted?
The critical thing for the debt buyer/collector to prove in a lawsuit is that it owns the debt. If it can’t prove this, nothing else matters.
This is the pivotal issue in the lawsuit.
Debt collectors and debt buyers struggle to prove this — so much so that we have sued them many times in federal court for bringing collection lawsuits against our clients without offering any evidence of ownership. (See our article on stopping frivolous suits by debt collectors).
But.
If you fail to respond to the admissions, and one asks you about the ownership issue — like the example above — and you don’t answer, then you admit that the debt buyer owns the debt.
This may prove fatal to your case.
Why is admitting that the debt buyer owns the debt fatal?
Because the debt buyer will file a motion for summary judgment.
This is where the debt buyer asks the court to enter judgment against you without you even having a trial.
Part of the proof will be to show that you admitted that the debt buyer owns the debt.
But this doesn’t seem fair for me to not have my day in court?
Well, if you handle these cases on your own — without a lawyer (“pro se”) — then the court will hold you having the same knowledge as lawyers who try cases. This means you have to know the rules and the rules include understanding the consequences of not answering admissions.
You only get to trial if you meet the requirements for going to trial and if the other side is granted summary judgment, you lose the right to go to trial.
What if I let the time pass — is it too late?
No — you can always request the court to let you answer the questions “out of time” and often judges will let you do this, especially the better your reason for missing the deadline. You have to make sure you do this in the right way and in the right time to maximize your chance of success.
What should be my next step if I have received these admissions?
Study them carefully and answer them truthfully if you are handling the case on your own. If you have a lawyer, then your lawyer will receive the questions.
They will ask you about them to be able to answer them for you truthfully.
If you have questions about a debt collection lawsuit, feel free to give us a call at 1-205-879-2447.
Or you can fill out our online contact form.
Just simply tell us who is suing you, when you were served, and how much you were sued for.
Also put any questions or other information you think would be helpful to us.
Thanks for reading, and have a great day!