Whether the defenses raised by the debtor are valid or not, a debtor defending a debt collection case can delay collection. A debtor can buy themselves time just by filing an answer to the summons and complaint. The amount of time afforded depends on the court’s caseload and the timeframe to hear the case at trial. That is unless your case includes undisputed facts.
Let’s say you sold and delivered goods to your customer and the customer accepted them without any objection. You invoiced the customer, but they did not make any payments. If your customer does not deny these facts as part of their defense, then the facts are undisputed.
There is no need to wait for trial if your case involves undisputed facts.
If the case involves undisputed facts your attorney can request a summary judgment wherein your counsel makes a motion to the court requesting it applies the law to the undisputed facts and grants a judgment.
Examples of Summary Judgments Resulting From Undisputed Fact Patterns
Below are some claims we worked on that we won by way of summary judgment due to the claims’ undisputed fact patterns.
Foreign Judgment
The best way to proceed with a judgment from a foreign country is to domesticate or register the judgment in New York through a summary judgment in lieu of a complaint. In order to do so, you will need to produce the appropriate documentation to the court and meet the requirements of the NY Civil Practice Law and Rules.
Mill Worker (Subcontractor)
Our client had enough documentation (statement of account, invoices, checks paid on account) to illustrate that the non-paying client requested the services billed for. The court granted a summary judgment to our client without the need to proceed to trial.
Architect
Our client had an underlying proposal with terms and conditions with benchmarks. The client had progress meetings with documentation reflecting the work done in the prior period. After the meetings, the client invoiced the next day.
Accounting Claim
Our client had statements, demands, the underlying engagement letter, the redacted work product showing the work completed, and proof of filing the taxes. The debtor’s defenses were general in nature. The motion for summary judgment was successful. The court did not give credence to the debtor’s sham defenses.
Manufacturing
The debtor’s answer was a boilerplate answer with general denials. No issue as far as merchantability or quality of goods, the agreement, PO, invoices, proofs of delivery, and demands for payment.
Education Claim
Our client had the underlying enrollment and re-enrollment contracts, the statements sent to the family or guardians requesting payment, email correspondence, and enrollment deposits. Very few motions for summary judgment in education are unsuccessful. Education clients are often great record keepers and are able to support their affidavits with clear and convincing documentation.
Claims That Have No Written Agreement
You may be able to obtain a summary judgment even without a written agreement. Facts can be undisputed by way of the debtor’s conduct. The debtor, by way of their own action, may have supplied the information for the client to perform the services on their behalf. Supporting documentation, in these cases, is of great help.
More information about using summary judgment in debt collection claims can be found in our article outlining summary judgments.
