I went down to the courthouse today to file 3 separate small claim lawsuits against the CRAs and ran into some obstacles with the clerk. I was hoping someone could answer the following questions: 1.) Where did you find the information on each company's resident agent - the clerk said I needed this for serving the CRAs. 2.) Lizardking on one of your posts you mentioned needing an officer of the corporation - where does this go - on the form or is this for the purpose of serving the CRAs? 3.) Regarding the venue question on the form, I chose "F" (other) and put down the reason was because the FCRA allows you to enforce action in a US District court and that my claim was for less than $5,000 - but the clerk said that was not a valid reason. If you don't want to answer on the board, can you please email me: moeskii@hotmail.com. Appreciate all the help. I have been quietly following this board for awhile, but finally decided to do more than just validate with the CRAs. I am fed with their lack of response. - Moe
Resident agent and/or corp. officer are for service of process. You do not include their name on the summons unless you are suing them also. The agent or officers can be found by checking your state secretary of state or corporation commission online. What were the options for venue?
Thanks for replying so quickly LKH. The options for venue are: A.) a defendant lives in this judicial district or a defendant corp or unincorp association has its principal place of business in this judicial district. B.) a person was injured or personal property was damaged in this judicial district. C.) a defendant signed or entered into a contract in this judicial district, a defendant lived in this judidcial district when the contract was enetered into, a contract or obligation was to be performed in this judicial district, or, if the defendant was a corp, the contract was breached in this judicial. D.) the claim is on a retail installment account or contract subect to... E.) the claim is on a vehicle finance sale... F.) other. For options D,E or F you must specify facts.
That is tough. Why not go with C since they were obligated to perform your requests per the FCRA. Give it a shot.
C was my original choice also, but I wasn't sure. Let me make sure I understand on the Resident Agent/Corporation thing - basically either the Resident Agent OR the corporation itself can be served? Thanks, Moe
If a corporation does business in a particular state, they must have an authorized agent or a corporate officer to accept service. If there is no corp. officer within the state, they will quite often name a company such as C.T. Corp. as the authorized agent. Check your secretary of state website. When you do a search for the cra, it will show it's principal office location, the phone number and the agent for the company. What state are you in?
Re: To Lizardking or LKH - Please H You guys have it tough. Here in Tennessee, you aren't required to list a resident agent (or any human being at all, for that matter). You can simply sue the corporation and list its out-of-state headquarters for the address. The Tennessee Secretary of State offers to serve any lawsuit whose defendant is out-of-state, or you have the option of hiring your own process server.
Re: To Lizardking or LKH - Please H Go to this site. It's for the Cal. Sect'y of state. You should be able to find all the info you need there. http://kepler.ss.ca.gov/list.html
Re: To Lizardking or LKH - Please H PsychDoc, wow I wish CA was like that. LKH, I will definately check out that site. Again, your info is always helpful and very much appreciated. Wish me luck... Peace, -Moe
Re: To Lizardking or LKH - Please H Hey, I also live in CA and sued all 3 CRA's. I chose option 3 and also listed the people I used for the people I served.. search for my previous posts regarding my lawsuits..
Re: To Lizardking or LKH - Please H LOL, well it sounds like I was putting in a plug for Tennessee. (C'mon, everybody, come on over and live in Tennessee. We finally got cable TV, and most of us wear shoes.) Actually, I wanted to make the point that different jurisdictions handle the matter differently. Anyone who is thinking about filing a small claims lawsuit should call the local court clerk and ask if there are any restrictions against: 1) suing a corporation (rather than a person) as a defendant, or 2) naming a defendant whose residence is out-of-state. Doc
Re: To Lizardking or LKH - Please H I have a related question.... I'm getting ready to file small claims against OSI portfolio services (AKA Gulfstate) but I checked that site above & they're not listed (I live in CA). So what do I do if they don't have any offices in CA? They're based in GA. Do I hire a server in GA?
Re: To Lizardking or LKH - Please H Sometimes you have to dig a little deeper. I found this at the site listed above: LP/LLC GULF STATE CREDIT, LLC Number: 199915210018 Date Filed: 5/24/1999 Status: active Jurisdiction: DELAWARE Principal Address 2425 COMMERCE AVE BLDG 2100 STE 100 DULUTH, GA 30096 Agent for Service of Process CT CORPORATION SYSTEM You'll have to go back to that site and find the address for CT Corp.
