Yesterday was my scheduled court day for my case against a local CA regarding 2 paid collections from 2 years ago. My case was based primarily on the CA's failure to mark the accounts in dispute. Now remember, this CA immediately hired an attorney who sent me a somewhat threatening letter stating a counterclaim for abuse of process, etc.....I had proposed deletion for dismissal several times over the course of the last 30 days and the defendant did not give in [I truly believe I am one of the few CreditNetters who has not had the CA "cave in" upon lawsuit] LOL. The CA attorney had filed a motion to move the case to district court stating that the issues at hand were far too complicated for the simplified procedures of small claims. I argued that a claim under the FDCPA or FCRA could be filed in any court of "competent jurisdiction" and that the CA's counterclaim was nothing more than an intimidation tactic designed to have a "chilling effect" on my case. The female judge (as well as the on-lookers in the courtroom) seemed overwhelmed at my eloquence and strong knowledge of the law, however, she admitted that her personal knowledge of the FCRA was lacking and that small claims was not the best venue for this case, adding that either she or one of 5 other other district judges would hear the case in district court. This was truly disturbing to me, since this uninformed judge could possibly hear my case in district court. I immediately moved to dismiss my small claims case (which surprised her). Looking at the CA's attorney, I said " I will be filing in United States District Court next week." He then left the courtroom without so much as a look in my direction. So, I'll see how things go from this point.
Please keep us posted....I am working on the same thing at the moment - a small claims lawsuit. If I need to go to a higher court, I will need all the info I can get. Thanks.
