Sued in Alabama by Midland Funding? Your FIVE Options.

You are here because you have been sued by Midland Funding in Alabama Circuit Court, District Court, or Small Claims Court and you want to know what are your options.

The great news is you are in the right place to find answers so you can solve this issue of the Midland Funding lawsuit instead of it creating chaos in your life with garnishments or other seizures of your property.  And the good news is it is almost certain that bankruptcy is not a good option — instead you have better options.

Here’s what we will cover — each of these points is a section heading so you can skim down to find the answer you want.

• Your timeline to answer the Midland lawsuit
• First Option:  File Bankruptcy
• Second Option:  Fight the Midland Funding lawsuit on your own
• Third Option:  Settle the Midland lawsuit on your own
• Fourth Option:  Hire a lawyer to help you fight the Midland Funding lawsuit
• Fifth Option:  Hire a lawyer to help you settle the Midland lawsuit

Let’s get started.

Your timeline to answer the Midland Funding lawsuit

The deadline starts the moment you were served.

If you were served in a Small Claims case, you have fourteen (14) days to respond.

The same is true if you have been sued in Alabama District Court — fourteen (14) days to respond.

And if the Midland Funding lawsuit is in Circuit Court, you have thirty (30) days to respond from the date you were served.

(Being “served” is when the papers are delivered to you in the right way — read this article to find out more about service in Alabama).

NOTE:  If you do not answer in time, expect a default judgment to be entered against you.  If you have missed your window to respond, still call us as there may be time to put an answer in before the default judgment hits you.

If you allow a default judgment, Midland Funding can garnish your wages, garnish your bank accounts, seize property including your home.

So what are you options to avoid this?

Let’s look at your five options now . . .

Option One:  File Bankruptcy

This is rarely a good idea but occasionally it is the right solution.  The advantage is (if you qualify), you can wipe out debt.  The downside is you now have this bankruptcy on your record.  Out of every 100 people who are sued that we talk to, we may recommend one go speak to a bankruptcy attorney as normally there are better options.

We only consider this seriously when there is a massive amount of debt and no way to pay it.

So do consider this but keep it as a last desparate resort if all else fails.

Option Two:  Fight the Midland Funding lawsuit on your own

The positive of this option is you spend nothing on lawyer fees.  Because you do not have a lawyer.

The downside or negative is you do not have a lawyer.

Let’s talk about this for a moment.

In District Court or Small Claims Court, it is easier to represent yourself.  Circuit Court is much harder.

I would consider this option if you cannot hire a lawyer or do not want to.  If you like to do things on your own, relying on yourself to learn what to do and then do it correctly, this can be a great option.

We talk about this option of representing yourself in more detail here.

If you want to know what it is like to handle a case on your own in small claims or district court, this article and video can be helpful.

Option Three:  Settle the Midland lawsuit on your own

What if you don’t want to go to court and don’t want to hire a lawyer?  Then look at settling the case on your own.

Normally Midland Funding will want about 75% of the amount sued for in a lump sum, or basically the whole amount sued for spread out over monthly payments.

Keep in mind that if there is forgiveness of debt — you pay less than the full amount — there may be tax consequences.

Midland will normally keep their credit reporting, but they will need to show you as having a zero balance once you have paid off the settlement.

The advantage of this option is, again, you pay no money to a lawyer.  The downside is you do this alone.

So you need to make a choice to see if you like this option or if you would prefer a lawyer to help you with your case.

Option Four:  Hire a lawyer to help you fight the Midland Funding lawsuit

The immediate negative of this is you have to pay the lawyer.

The positive is you now have someone fighting for you.  Presumably you have hired a lawyer who knows what he or she is doing and is very experienced handling Midland Funding lawsuits.

You need to know exactly what the cost is of the lawyer and then also know how confident the lawyer is that the case can be won.

Feel free to ask the lawyer how they plan on winning the case.  If they tell you this is a “secret” and they can’t tell you, my suggestion is you are dealing with someone who doesn’t know what they are doing.  There are no secrets.  There are solid, time-tested strategies that have proven themselves over many years to work.  The lawyer should be willing to share these with you.

Option Five:  Hire a lawyer to help you settle the Midland lawsuit

The last options is to hire a lawyer to help you settle the case.

You need to know the amount of the lawyer fee and how much it will cost to settle.

Personally, we don’t pay Midland any money.  We offer them a chance for everyone to walk away, they come off of your credit report, you pay them nothing, and the case is dismissed with prejudice.

How Does Watts & Herring Handle Midland Funding Cases?

We take a very simple approach.

We give you a flat fee so you know exactly what it will cost.  After answering the lawsuit, we ask Midland if it prefers to try the case or prefers to settle where you pay no money.

We have been doing this for many years and have written about the primary strategy since 2007.  That strategy is to force companies like Midland to prove they own the debt.

If you would like to chat with us, call us at 205-879-2447 and ask for Carolyn.  She’ll look up your case and answer your questions and she can schedule a time for us to talk by phone also.  Or you can fill out our contact form and we’ll get right back with you.

Thanks and talk to you soon!

John Watts