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I Sued Debt Collector (NCO Financial) Need Advice
Hello Dear Warriors:
I am new to this site and I have been perusing it daily, and let me start by saying that ALL of you are brilliant. I thank you for your assistance in advance. Here's what's happening:
I sued NCO Financial in state court for violations of the FDCPA and infliction of emotional distress.
They responded and had my case removed to Federal Court (what's the purpose of this tactic?)
I filed a motion to remand citing concurrent jurisdiction, etc.
I received a letter from the district court informing me that I would be able to raise the issue at a scheduled federal conference.
Myself and NCO were ordered to submit a Joint Discovery Plan for the case before the conference. I wound up postponing the conference, etc., for some personal things I had to take care of.
Anyway, the new court date for the Federal Conference is on Feb. 20th. The Joint Discovery Plan is due on Feb. 11th. Below are some major points of the Joint Discovery Plan that myself and NCO had problems agreeing on previously. I have to get this done, but what should I answer in regard to these questions that would be advantageous to me, the Plaintiff? What should I ask for regarding these questions for Joint Discovery?
(c) Maximum of ___ interrogatories by each party to each party.
(d) A maximum ____ deposition(s) to be taken by each party.
(e) Fact discovery to be completed by ____________________.
(f) Motions to amend or to add parties to be filed by ____________________.
(g) Plaintiff’s expert report due on ______________________.
(h) Defendant’s expert report due on _____________________.
(i) Expert depositions to be completed by _______________________.
(j) Dispositive motions to be served within ___ days of completion of discovery.
(k) Set forth any special discovery mechanism or procedure requested, including data preservation orders or discovery confidentiality orders: _______
(l) The settlement pretrial conference may take place on ____________________.
(m) The final conference may take place on ______________________________.
11. Do you anticipate any discovery problem(s)
Yes ______ No ____X______
12. Do you anticipate any special discovery needs? Yes ______ No __X_____.
13. Is this case appropriate for bifurcation?
Yes ______ No _______
15. We [do _______ do not ____________] consent to the trial being conducted by a Magistrate Judge.
Additionally, NCO, in general, is denying that they have done anything wrong (a bold face lie). Here are some of their defenses thus far:
1) They are saying that there is no claim upon which relief can be granted.
2) Their violation of the FDCPA was unintentional and bona fide error.
3) My complaint is barred by statute of limitations. (I started sending them certified letters in April of 2007 regarding the alleged debt and they didn't verify the debt, they didn't validate the debt, they didn't report the debt as disputed, etc.)
4) I have failed to mitigate damages.
Any suggestions on how I can destroy NCO's weak defenses? Also please provide me with some insight on what I can expect as this case moves forward. I guess NCO is going to pull some cookie-cutter moves, so if any of you have tangled with them before, please tell me how you dealt with them.
Can someone also provide me with some preemptive attacks against NCO once this case really gets started? I want to be prepared. Thanks everyone.
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