Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Update on the ALLEN ADKINS AND ASSOCIATES/CITIBANK LAWSUIT


On January 12, 2011, unbeknownst to me, ALLEN ADKINS & ASSOCIATES needlessly filed suit here in Collin County against me on behalf of CITBANK. CITIBANK had been the ONLY creditor that refused to work with me in any way, shape or form while my health worsened, I lost my job with the school district (you can’t work with violent not verbal autistic children if you can’t walk, chase them, and also just flat out fall on your own at random times among other issues) and applied for state assistance while I waited for my Social Security Disability case to proceed.

I had no idea that the lawsuit had been filed until a process server showed up on the Saturday, January 15, 2011 and after taking one look at me, shook his head, and told me how sorry he was as he handed me the paperwork. Their lawsuit resulted in my first blog column here about the case on back on January 16, 2011 where I explained I had been served on behalf of ALLEN ADKINS & ASSOCIATES representing CITIBANK in a lawsuit for $1701.71 plus court costs, etc. I noted at that time that I had (and still have) severe medical issues, no job, no income, had applied for food stamps, etc. I noted that we had no money and had tried to work out a payment deal with CITIBANK. They had absolutely refused all efforts and ignored the documentation I had provided before turning it over to a collection agency based in Lubbock, Texas d/b/a as ALLEN ADKINS & ASSOCIATES.


I’m sure the folks at ALLEN ADKINS & ASSOCIATES expected me to do like most folks do and just ignore the deal so they could get their quicky judgment and move on. That wasn’t going to happen. On Thursday, January 20, 2011 I blogged about how I had filed my twenty page plus answer to the court and all parties and detailed the true facts of the case using my extensive and detailed records.  I also pointed out to all parties that CITIBANK and their collection agency, ALLEN ADKINS & ASSOCIATES, were the ONLY creditors that had refused to work with us.

I was notified by the Court in early April the trial was now scheduled before Judge W. M "Mike" Yarbrough’s Justice of the Peace Court Precinct 4 located in Frisco, Texas on Monday, May 16, 2011 at 9:30.  Once I was notified that we were going to trial on the issues, I had to comply with the voluminous information requests generated by ALLEN ADKINS & ASSOCIATES that were designed only to bury me and not generate any new information as they already had the items requested as did CITIBANK.  I was not happy about it but did so extensively with copies of everything to everyone including the Court.
                                                                                                                                    
Since that time where I supplied about seventy pages of material they already had as the Spring of 2011 progressed, I also provided updated copies of our approval for food stamps and my status regarding my appeal of Social Security disability.  In my extensive correspondence, I noted the fact that the caseworkers in both cases had remarked that the fact we were approved for food stamps should have made it clear to all involved that we had nothing of value.  I further noted again and again that I owned no home, no land, etc. and that what very little I had was exempt under Texas law. I again and again requested that ALLEN ADKINS & ASSOCIATES stop wasting the court’s time, withdraw their lawsuit, and work with me.

Having received nothing from anyone besides the court in months, I was prepared to go to court in May and further document the facts of the case and my situation at trial. Sandi was now home on unpaid medical leave for her knee injury. It seemed inevitable that ALLEN ADKINS & ASSOCIATES as well as CITIBANK were ignoring the reality of my situation.  Then suddenly, just days before trial, I received a copy of a continuance request dated May 6, 2011 that ALLEN ADKINS & ASSOCIATES had filed with the court. “In the interests of justice” they wanted 120 days to negotiate a settlement of their claim and needed time to contact me. I had to read it twice to understand they now wanted four more months to discuss things with me. Considering they had filed their unnecessary lawsuit four months ago almost to the day, it made me laugh that they had waited till now to want four more months so they could talk to me about settling.

Thankfully, the continuance was granted and we were then scheduled for trial on Tuesday, September 13, 2011 at 10 am. I was absolutely thrilled their request for time has been granted.  I hoped they would finally work with me as they knew in detail then as well as now what the situation was here.

Weeks passed into months with no contact from them. Sandi’s knee surgery was delayed over and over again due to our lack of money as well as huge errors by her insurance company. Then, Sandi had her strokes and cardiac deal at the end of July and was hospitalized for a week. We were still on food stamps, still waiting on the appeal of my social security disability case and still surviving only because of charity.  I kept ALLEN ADKINS & ASSOCIATES and the Court fully apprised of everything by written letters detailing the facts and copies of food stamp award letters, medical paperwork including doctor notes, billing statements, etc. and other paperwork.

Early September 2011 found me making my own motion to the court for a continuance. I did it because four months plus later, I still had yet to hear from ALLEN ADKINS & ASSOCIATES regarding a settlement of their unnecessary lawsuit. Remember, they had filed for a continuance back in May asking for time to contact me. Having heard nothing from them, I filed my motion for continence citing their reasoning. Thankfully it was granted by the court. No date for trial was scheduled at that point.

Then finally, I got their first and only settlement offer. DEBT COLLECTOR MICHAEL A. MOSS of ALLEN L. ADKINS & ASSOCIATES offered to settle the case for a total amount of $900.  I agreed immediately as that was about the amount I owed when CITIBANK instructed me by phone and in writing to not make any payment unless I could make the full monthly payment owed. 

So the case was settled for a total of $900. We were making progress I thought.

DEBT COLLECTOR MICHAEL A. MOSS of ALLEN L. ADKINS & ASSOCIATES also wanted after his extensive review of my case for me to sign paperwork guaranteeing monthly payments of $85.00 to ALLEN ADKINS & ASSOCIATES.  I could go ahead and start sending payments and then at some unspecified point at the future after I had made some unspecified number of payments he would file a motion to withdraw the case. Considering how they had misrepresented the case to the court in their initial filing,  how they had misrepresented their involvement to me in writing and other issues, as well as what I had read online from others that had received this kind of paperwork from this debt collection company, I wasn’t at all inclined to sign anything from them. Beyond their record with me and others, considering the fact that we were still on food stamps and charity, Sandi had suffered permanent brain damage thanks to her strokes which meant ever going back to work was very questionable and she still needed knee surgery if we could get the insurance straightened out, and my own worsening health among other issues, $85.00 a month simply wasn’t remotely realistic or even possible. 

I explained reality again---that a real review of my case would show that we were on food stamps  and charity with various medical situations, that we had no land, homes, or property to sue for and no resources. I pointed out yet again how hard it is to get food stamps in Texas and that if we had anything at all, we would not have been recently approved yet again for assistance. I informed DEBT COLLECTOR MICHAEL A. MOSS of ALLEN L. ADKINS & ASSOCIATES that the absolute best I could do was the same payment that had been refused and sent back to me by CITIBANK---$5.00 PER MONTH. I would immediately begin payments and all I needed from him, besides filing paperwork with the court to withdraw their still unnecessary lawsuit, was the mailing address at CITIBANK to send my direct payments on our settled case.

No reply at all. Of course, like everything else I have done in the case, I once again supplied copies of their letter and my response and supporting documentation to Judge W. M "Mike" Yarbrough’s Justice of the Peace Court Precinct 4 located in Frisco, Texas. I wasn’t concerned and figured that if it took nine months for their first and only offer to be made, it would take them a couple of weeks anyway for a letter to be sent with the address to make payments.

Nothing from them as the weeks passed. Knowing the case was settled, we had more pressing issues. Sandi had her knee surgery back on October 1, 2011 and it was successful. She started rehab for the knee and the deficits from the brain damage she had suffered from the strokes at the end of July got somewhat better. The neurologist and cardiologist had her stabilized and things seemed to be getting better on all fronts.

November arrived and still nothing from DEBT COLLECTOR MICHAEL A. MOSS of ALLEN L. ADKINS & ASSOCIATES or anyone there. Sandi’s knee was healing nicely and there was some talk from various doctors that just maybe she was going to be able to go back to work on a very limited basis by sometime in early December. I now had legal representation for my appeal of my social security disability case as BINDER & BINDER had agreed to represent me. I also had been informed that in Texas it can take 12 to 18 months before one has his or her hearing before the Administrative Law Judge.

Then, Sandi’s breathing problem started around November 14 and our world shattered.

It was while she was in the hospital being diagnosed with her two forms of Hodgkin’s Lymphomas  and being told that both were very advanced and aggressive and her prognosis was not good at all, that I was informed that the Court---because ALLEN ADKINS & ASSOCIATES had once again done nothing--scheduled the trial for MONDAY, JANUARY 30, 2012 AT 11 AM.

Obviously, when the doctors tell you horrible news, the last thing you are worried about is going to court in a couple of months. I spent hours upon hours at the hospital watching as they put her through surgical procedure after surgical procedure to determine the status of her cancers, to help her breathe by draining liters of fluid from her lungs and belly, and numerous other tests. Mail piled up on the kitchen table and it was only in December, just after she got home and had started chemo therapy to try and save her life, that I realized there was finally a letter here from ALLEN ADKINS & ASSOCIATES. Instead of withdrawing their case, somebody else at the collection agency had filed with the Court a list of designated EXPERT witnesses---all eleven listed being employees of the business including DEBT COLLECTOR MICHAEL A. MOSS of ALLEN L. ADKINS & ASSOCIATES.

Despite the fact we had settled the case back in September, the intimidation by paperwork had continued on their part. How they would testify regarding the paperwork they sent me and what they told the Court would be interesting at some level, not only to me but to the public at large as I noted in my response, but there was no need to continue to waste the Court’s time on their unnecessary lawsuit. I had agreed to their settlement offer months ago and documented the fact that I had begun my monthly payments by money order directly to CITIBANK using the last payment address I had for them.

As I have done the entire time, I provided copies of everything I asserted to both ALLEN ADKINS & ASSOCIATES and the Court. Therefore all parties received copies of the payments, Sandi’s diagnosis/prognosis at the hospital, the first billing of over 65 thousand dollars from the hospital, the schedule for chemo therapy, etc. I again requested DEBT COLLECTOR MICHAEL A. MOSS of ALLEN L. ADKINS & ASSOCIATES to withdraw the lawsuit since we had a settled case and I had clearly begun payments.

Still nothing from him or anyone there. No response at all.

On Thursday, January 12, 2012, I filed my MOTION TO DISMISS the lawsuit with the Court and sent copies to DEBT COLLECTOR MICHAEL A. MOSS of ALLEN L. ADKINS & ASSOCIATES. As of this morning, the Court has not ruled on my motion nor has there been any response from anyone at ALLEN L. ADKINS & ASSOCIATES. That same day, we completed our phone interview for re-certification for food stamps and did our phone interview for Medicaid.

On Friday, January 20, 2012, we were notified by Texas Department of Health and Human Services that we were once again certified for food stamps. We also were notified by them that, due to her cancers which they had verified as well as our financial situation, both Sandi and I now qualified for Medicaid. Something I have long needed as I have had no insurance for more than a year now. But, I never wanted it because of her like this.
 
 I sent copies of the award letters to DEBT COLLECTOR MICHAEL A. MOSS of ALLEN L. ADKINS & ASSOCIATES as well as to the Court keeping all involved fully updated. Nothing has changed. We still have nothing and unless we get some help very quickly, we will be homeless next week.

Despite all of my efforts I am still scheduled to have to be before Judge W. M "Mike" Yarbrough’s Justice of the Peace Court Precinct 4 located in Frisco, Texas on Monday, January 30, 2012 at 11 AM. So, assuming Sandi’s old car will start (mine is still dead in the parking lot) next Monday morning, I will go up to Frisco with my extensive documentation and my cane and limp into court to appear.

If you would like to join me and witness the hearing, the court is located at

Collin County Courthouse     map
8585 John Wesley
Frisco, TX 75034

More information about the court can be found at http://www.co.collin.tx.us/justices_peace/jp4/jp4.jsp



Kevin

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Let them get their judgment. You have no money that they can collect. No assets they can garnish. The judgment will be for future assets or income. Your future income it seems will be Social Security disability. Achord can award a judgment against you but cannot collect from you not from Social Security disability income it is the law. Only, another federal agency can garnish your Social Security disability income such as the IRS, federal student loans, Veterans Affairs medical bills. No one not even the state can garnish or collect from your Social Security disability income that is the law it is just that simple. Stop fighting the system that is built against the common man on the street and not Wall Street. Wall Street uses the law even the nooks and crannies of unknown obscure financial laws. They gamble and lose your money in illegal ways and are not held accountable by law. Now listen to me, use the law, use the same laws they use to protect themselves. Let them have their judgment the state cannot force blood from a turnip there is a legal term for that. Once you get your Social Security Disability award submit that. Please google this and read this for yourself. I told them under similar circumstances I was in a homeless shelter and they still wanted the telephone number for the shelter and the address and they sent me the documentation knowing that. Once I got my social security disability award I mailed it to them and every single thing stopped. Do what the insurance companies do, wait them out until you get SSDI.