A family member was given my summons to a location i no longer live.(another state)
Which Midland Fundings is plaintiff.
It is requesting to file appearance with fee and file an answer.
How can any of this be accomplished if i am not in the state of Illinois at the moment and will not be in Illinois by this date?There are mixed answers about being able to mail this documents if found printable on the website.
It is sent from Richard Daley Center.. I have only seen forms of this nature on south suburban court houses such as district 6 & 5 for this forms.
This dept is under 4000,00.I am interested not only as the party wanting the question,but as i am interested in law to understand the counter defenses in situations as this.
Answers should be given by lawyers who fighter for the small guy
It is a bit difficult to understand what exactly is going on from what you have posted, but hopefully I can provide you with some helpful information here.
Given the amount, the case is what is referred to as a “small claim” (see Illinois Supreme Court Rules 281-288, http://www.state.il.us/court/supremecourt/rules/Art_II/ArtII.htm#281).
Here is a link to information about service of process (the means by which a court obtains jurisdiction (power) over a person): http://www.illinoisprobono.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.dsp_content&contentID=3587. It seems like, here, the plaintiff may have attempted to obtain service via mailing (Illinois Supreme Court Rule 284).
If service was bad, it needs to be quashed (and if a jugment is entered after bad service, that judgment needs to be vacated). Make sure you get a copy of any proof of service (you can pull up the court file and make a copy). You can track what's gone on in the case here: http://www.cookcountyclerkofcourt.org/?section=CASEINFOPage&CASEINFOPage=2400.
If service was good, you need to get your appearance filed, and perhaps attempt to settle the matter, providing documents if you want, including a personal financial statement, to help the attorneys convince their client to take whatever offer you care to make.
If you appear, there is no requirement that an answer be filed, unless the Court orders otherwise. (Illinois Supreme Court Rule 286).
Debt buyers like Midland Funding get many of their judgments by default, meaning that defendants fail to get involved in the case. Their attorneys are debt collectors.
You may have defenses. For example, the statute of limitations in Illinois for a credit card case is 5 years. So, if a plaintiff files suit outside of that period, the suit is time-barred, but the defendant needs to raise that as an affirmative defense and move to dismiss the complaint, with prejudice.
You may want to sit down with an attorney and all relevant documentation to discuss.
Click on the following link for the some very good information: http://www.illinoisprobono.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.dsp_Content&contentID=296.
Good luck.
