A Motion to dismiss is a request to the court to “kick out” the case against you. It isn’t based on evidence that you have or could produce or show (a motion for summary judgment is the way you do that), but rather is designed to “test the sufficiency of the pleadings.” Debt defendants tend to overuse the motion to dismiss – or to “over-rely” on them. They often do not work, but filing them can be a way to familiarize yourself with the law and to slow the pace of the lawsuit – things which are helpful to pro se debt defendants.
In plain English, a motion to dismiss argues that the plaintiff has not alleged enough facts – even if everything it does allege is considered true – to make a claim against you that the law would recognize. I have, in other articles, compared it to a speeding ticket for “driving 25 mph in a 30 mph zone.” It just isn’t illegal to do that, and the case would get kicked out.
Of course it is rarely so simple. From time to time I suggest possible violations of the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA). For example, I have suggested that including the supposed right to verify in the Petition is deceptive and unfair. Eventually someone will allege that in a counterclaim, and the debt collector will probably file a motion to dismiss, arguing that including that language in the petition does not violate the FDCPA. So you can see from that example that motions to dismiss can be brought against counterclaims as well as claims in a Petition.
Procedure for Motions to Dismiss
Motions to Dismiss are controlled by the Rules of Civil Procedure for your jurisdiction. Find the appropriate rule by looking up “motions” or “motion to dismiss.” You will see that there are many enumerated bases for motions (at least in Missouri). In general, if the argument is that there simply isn’t a right to the relief requested from the court (as in my examples above), you can usually file this motion at any time because the court really lacks the power or authority to do something the law doesn’t allow. If the argument is about whether the court has authority over you, on the other hand (because you weren’t served correctly, for example), you would probably need to bring a motion to dismiss before answering the petition.
You can, and probably should, in general, bring a motion to dismiss before you answer a petition. In other words, if you file a motion to dismiss, you almost certainly do not need to file an Answer. The motion stops the clock on the time for responding. If you lose the motion, the court will order you to respond to whatever part of the petition or claim that remains.
It isn’t always clear who needs to “set” the motion to dismiss for a hearing. In general I suppose it is whoever wants the case to move forward – and that usually means the debt collector. The case will not move forward until the motion to dismiss is resolved. Sometimes courts will dismiss the entire action for “failure to prosecute” if the debt collector does not call the motion. Sometimes the judge will pressure the defendant to argue the motion or will deny it if it isn’t set for argument. This seems to depend on the personality of the judge.
For a sample Motion to Dismiss a simple debt collection, please click here.
Incidentally, these motions are sometimes called “motions to dismiss for failure to state a claim,” and that is the name of federal rule 12(b)(6) (and many state court rules as well, which are usually identical). Remember that you won’t be bringing your motion under federal law but whatever your applicable state law is.
For People Sued or Threatened with Debt Suit
Debt Litigation – Early Stages of Suit
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Debt Litigation Manual – Pre-suit
If you are in the “pre-suit” stage, you are at least pretty sure that you are either going to sue or be sued. Of course this is not true of most debts – a vast majority of them never get litigated at all. But you almost never know for sure whether a debt will, or will not, go to litigation. Therefore you must make efforts to protect your rights.
As soon as the possibility of litigation enters the picture – and for as long as it stays there – you must remember that you are playing by different rules than you would in ordinary life. In ordinary life, for example, people think it admirable to admit your wrongs and try to make them right. To pay at least a little even if you can’t pay it all. And above all to communicate with the other people to minimize bad feelings and maximize possibilities.
This all changes if the possibility of litigation is there. All those usual things would just hurt you then. For example, admitting the debt and trying to work out terms might – and most likely would – constitute an admission that made it easier for them to sue you. And making it easier to sue you means making it more likely. Making any partial payment would “re-age” the debt, making it start all over from the point of view of the statute of limitations.
Thus if litigation seems at all likely, you need to start acting more strategically: make them think that suing and winning isn’t likely or at least that it will be expensive. Any doubts you can encourage about their ability to get any money even if they win are good ones. And if you don’t see how you will pay it all, you probably shouldn’t pay anything.
Time line of Debt Trouble
Like most things, trouble can be analyzed as a series of discrete steps you can consider. And you can fix them one thing at a time, too.
Timeline of Trouble
This time-line probably doesn’t tell you anything you don’t already know. Our point here is to “build system” to help you approach things systematically. It’s easier to take things one step at a time and in order than to take everything on at random. So much of what makes debt troubles so hard is that they are overwhelming and dispiriting. If you break them into simple steps and allow yourself the patience to do them one at a time trusting the results to add up over time, you can handle the problems.
We also suggest that you think “strategically,” which means keeping your end-results in mind from the very beginning.
Strategic Thinking
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Be Aggressive – Sue the Debt Collector
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Right to Verification Can be Deceptive
The Right to Verification of the Debt
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When a debt collector communicates with you the first time, it is required to give you written notice of your right to dispute the debt and require “verification.” In my opinion, the level of verification required by law – if you make your dispute in writing – is pretty minimal. Still, the fact is that requiring validation seems to make a significant number of debt collectors go away, so it is apparently worth doing for that reason. It’s also an important first step in preparing to defend yourself from a law suit if it happens.
Remember, they don’t HAVE to verify – they simply have to verify before taking any further actions to collect. If they leave you alone, they don’t have to do anything else.
Deceptive Notice of a Right to Verify
A Dirty Trick by Debt Collectors: “This is a Communication by a Debt Collector” on the Lawsuit
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The essence of this trick is the habit debt collection lawyers have of putting on the legal pleadings that “this communication is an attempt to collect a debt… [ and on to the right to require verification].” The problem with this is two-fold. If it WERE a qualified communication, it would violate the FDCPA because the fact of the lawsuit and the timing required by that would “overshadow” the right to require validation.
HOWEVER, A LAWSUIT IS NOT A COMMUNICATION attempting to collect a debt under the FDCPA. Suggesting that it is one, and offering a “right” to require verification, can lure consumers into disputing the debt and requesting validation instead of answering the suit. Then, while they’re waiting for the debt collector to answer their dispute, the debt collector is getting a default judgment against them.
I know they do this trick, and I know that some people fall for it. If you have, you have a strong case for a motion to vacate the judgment. And the whole thing is probably a violation of the FDCPA and would give you a counterclaim under the appropriate circumstances.
Sample motion to Dismiss
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Motions to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim
A Motion to dismiss is a request to the court to “kick out” the case against you. It isn’t based on evidence that you have or could produce or show (a motion for summary judgment is the way you do that), but rather is designed to “test the sufficiency of the pleadings.” Debt defendants tend to overuse the motion to dismiss – or to “over-rely” on them. They often do not work, but filing them can be a way to familiarize yourself with the law and to slow the pace of the lawsuit – things which are helpful to pro se debt defendants.
In plain English, a motion to dismiss argues that the plaintiff has not alleged enough facts – even if everything it does allege is considered true – to make a claim against you that the law would recognize. I have, in other articles, compared it to a speeding ticket for “driving 25 mph in a 30 mph zone.” It just isn’t illegal to do that, and the case would get kicked out.
Of course it is rarely so simple. From time to time I suggest possible violations of the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA). For example, I have suggested that including the supposed right to verify in the Petition is deceptive and unfair. Eventually someone will allege that in a counterclaim, and the debt collector will probably file a motion to dismiss, arguing that including that language in the petition does not violate the FDCPA. So you can see from that example that motions to dismiss can be brought against counterclaims as well as claims in a Petition.
Procedure for Motions to Dismiss
Motions to Dismiss are controlled by the Rules of Civil Procedure for your jurisdiction. Find the appropriate rule by looking up “motions” or “motion to dismiss.” You will see that there are many enumerated bases for motions (at least in Missouri). In general, if the argument is that there simply isn’t a right to the relief requested from the court (as in my examples above), you can usually file this motion at any time because the court really lacks the power or authority to do something the law doesn’t allow. If the argument is about whether the court has authority over you, on the other hand (because you weren’t served correctly, for example), you would probably need to bring a motion to dismiss before answering the petition.
You can, and probably should, in general, bring a motion to dismiss before you answer a petition. In other words, if you file a motion to dismiss, you almost certainly do not need to file an Answer. The motion stops the clock on the time for responding. If you lose the motion, the court will order you to respond to whatever part of the petition or claim that remains.
It isn’t always clear who needs to “set” the motion to dismiss for a hearing. In general I suppose it is whoever wants the case to move forward – and that usually means the debt collector. The case will not move forward until the motion to dismiss is resolved. Sometimes courts will dismiss the entire action for “failure to prosecute” if the debt collector does not call the motion. Sometimes the judge will pressure the defendant to argue the motion or will deny it if it isn’t set for argument. This seems to depend on the personality of the judge.
For a sample Motion to Dismiss a simple debt collection, please click here.
Incidentally, these motions are sometimes called “motions to dismiss for failure to state a claim,” and that is the name of federal rule 12(b)(6) (and many state court rules as well, which are usually identical). Remember that you won’t be bringing your motion under federal law but whatever your applicable state law is.
Real Talk about Debt Lawyers
We appreciate most debt lawyers. Many of them are dedicated to the well-being of people being harassed or sued by debt collectors, and most of them can, if they know the law, increase your chances of beating the debt collectors. However, almost all of them are too expensive for a lot of people, and some of them really do not know the law.
The main problem facing debt lawyers, however, is simple economics. The debt buyers and collectors are able to do things on a large scale, and this includes attending several hearings at the same time. If you have a pretrial conference, for example, you go there and wait for the judge, participate in the conference, and drive back to the office. If you can set five hearings at about the same time, you nullify the waiting and driving time and do things for one-fifth the price. Defense lawyers can’t often do that, but it is routine for the debt collection lawyers.
And debt collection lawyers, who specialize in debt collection, have all the documents saved on their computers so that paralegals can make the necessary changes to individualize them. Debt defendant lawyers, because they must wait for individual clients, usually don’t have this advantage, so they create new documents every time – at great expense.
The economics change when you represent yourself, especially if you use a service like ours. In that case, you can attend the hearings yourself at modest cost and create your own documents using our models. It is somewhat more trouble than hiring a lawyer, and there will be moments of anxiety, but if you can handle those, you make it more expensive for the debt collectors to chase you than to let you go. And that’s the first step in winning.
The second step, of course, is to do the things you need to do in order to win.
If you think you’d do better on your own, we can help.