I received a civil summons--HELP!

My husband and I had an auto reposessed in 2006 and it was then sold for less that was owed on the acct. The loan was then sold to Midland Cunding LLC (which I have heard alot of bad things about) and they are sueing us for the remaining balance of $18000.00. We received a civil summons and was told by the Sheriff that we have to answer the complaint. However, we have no idea how to go about this. We did not receive any sort of answer form with the summons. We were told we have 30 days to answer. Can anyone help with this? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks

First of all, the "Sheriff" was a process server---this is not a criminal complaint and it should have nothing to do with warrants or jail, etc. Now, when the car was sold, how much was it sold for? $18,000 is the original amount, or the deficiency judgment? What does the complaint say exactly? Also, I am not sure that the loan was sold if the car was repossessed. If the car was taken back, that means the original creditor has the collateral--and cannot sell the loan and keep the collateral. If they did, it would mean someone else is attempting to collect payment for collateral a third party has in their possession.

Apparently they sold the outstanding balance due ---i.e. the difference between the loan amount and the amount for which the vehicle was sold. Are the attempting to collect the full amount of the vehicle or just the amount of the deficiency judgment amount? OR was the loan sold BEFORE the car was repossessed?

When they say you have to answer by a certain date, they are referring to your verified reply to the charges they have stated on the complaint that came with the summons.

You can actually do that yourself. You simply state that it is your reply to their summons and complaint... and type it up exactly as they typed it....

It is possible that you are without specific knowledge of some of their assertions. You can state that you do not know. You can state that you agree with the statement, or you can deny their statement. That does not mean you have to tell them why, just that you deny it. Just don't lie. Your statements should be notarized and returned to the court in the envelope they provided.

You probably need a lawyer, but personally, I think you won't find it very taxing to answer simply so that your reply can be returned to the court within the proper time frame.

Then go looking for a law student or a young lawyer with a lower fee structure. If the loan has been sold, you need to force them to show proof all the way along.