How to beat Westwood Funding in court

Chloe Meltzer | October 19, 2022

Legal Expert
Chloe Meltzer, MA

Chloe Meltzer is an experienced content writer specializing in legal content creation. She holds a degree in English Literature from Arizona State University, complemented by a Master’s in Marketing from California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo.

Edited by Hannah Locklear

Editor at SoloSuit
Hannah Locklear, BA

Hannah Locklear is SoloSuit’s Marketing and Impact Manager. With an educational background in Linguistics, Spanish, and International Development from Brigham Young University, Hannah has also worked as a legal support specialist for several years.

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You'll feel like a real winner when you beat Westwood Funding in court.

Summary: If Westwood Funding is suing you for a debt, you can fight back and win with SoloSuit's help.

If you have ever needed money fast, you may have looked into a loan from Westwood Funding. Although this can get you the money you need upfront,, it can eventually lead you to being in more debt than before. If you are unable to pay your debt, Westwood Funding may end up suing you in court.

If you have received a Summons and Complaint in the mail from Westwood Funding, it is essential that you answer it. If you do not answer it, then a default judgment may be placed against you. This will open up other avenues for debt collection, such as wage garnishment, liens on your property, or money being taken directly from your bank account. This article outlines everything you need to know about Westwood Funding and how to beat it in court.

Who is Westwood Funding?

Westwood Funding is a loan office located in Florida, New York, and New Jersey, that offers many different financing options to businesses. These include merchant cash advances and small business loans. Merchant cash advances are loans that help businesses get quick access to money. They often have very high interest rates and APRs. The catch with merchant cash advances is that they end up being very difficult to pay off.

Since Westwood Funding offers business financing up to $3 million, businesses from the following industries often obtain funding from them: commercial real estate, trucking, car lots, salons and spas, construction, medical offices, liquor stores, hospitality, and auto repair.

Steps to answer a debt collection lawsuit

If you are being sued for a debt, you will receive two documents in the mail called the Summons and Complaint. Listed on it the Summons will be the deadline for you to file your response (14-30 days, depending on which state the lawsuit is in).. The Complaint contains all the specific accusations against you.. You must respond to the Summons and Complaint with a legal Answer document to avoid automatically losing the case with a default judgment against you.

There are three steps involved in responding to the Summons and Complaint:

1. Answer each allegation listed in the Complaint

Answering a complaint is essential. Be sure to thoroughly read the complaint before you decide how to respond to each part of it. You will need to either admit, deny or state that you do not know, for each allegation listed. Generally, it's best to deny as many allegations as possible.

2. Assert your affirmative defenses

Affirmative defenses are legal reasons that Westwood Funding's claims against you are invalid.. They are another way of saying why you feel you do not owe the debt. Relevant defenses should be listed in your Answer.

Examples of common affirmative defenses include:

The indebted account is not yours
The contract was previously canceled
The statute of limitations has expired (or in other words, the amount of time you have to be legally sued for a debt has expired)
The debt has already been paid or excused
The debt has been partially paid

It is good to note that not being able to pay the debt is not a legal defense to the debt.

Make the right defense the right way with SoloSuit.

3. File the answer with the court and serve the plaintiff with answer

Filing the Answer correctly is very important. If you do not have an attorney, then you will need to file your Answer by mail or in person. Be sure to print two copies and mail one to the court. You will then need to pay the filing fee to the court, which can range from $7 to $450 depending on your state. Finally, you should mail the other copy to the plaintiff's attorney.

You can typically find the address for where you should send your Answer on the Summons and Complaint you received in the mail. This is the attorney's address which should be on the top left of the first page, while the court's address should be in the first two paragraphs.

Check out this video for more information on these three steps:

Challenge Westwood Funding's right to sue

One way to respond to a debt lawsuit is to challenge Westwood Funding's right to sue. This means that they will legally need to be able to prove that the debt belongs to you and that they have the right to sue you. For example, they must provide a credit agreement signed by you, and documentation of the chain of custody of all paperwork.

Push back on burden of proof

When you are served papers for debt, the burden of proof rests with the plaintiff. This means that Westwood Funding will need to prove the following:

That you are responsible for the debt
That they have the right to sue you
That you owe a specific amount

Demanding proof is one of the best ways to respond to a debt collection lawsuit. You can do this by denying the claims against you that are listed in the Complaint. If you do this, Westwood Funding must show that the balance was increased when you made purchases, that it was increased via fees and charges that were within the original credit agreement (signed by you), and that the current balance is accurate.

Look into the statute of limitations

The statute of limitations governs how long you can be sued for a debt. The rules are different in each state, but it is typically somewhere between 4-6 years. The beginning of this time period will start on the last day you were active on that account.

Oftentimes a creditor or loan officer will attempt to get you to pay on an old debt. If you start to make payments, it will restart the clock on the statute of limitations. This allows them to sue you for the debt. As such, you should always check the statute of limitations on a debt before you agree to make any payments on it..

How to beat Westwood Funding in court

The best way to beat Westwood Funding in court for a debt collection lawsuit is to file a written Answer, assert your affirmative defenses in the Answer, and avoid admitting responsibility for the debt. Implementing these tips will increase your chances of winning in court and settling the debt with the collector.

SoloSuit can help you file an Answer in all 50 states.

What is SoloSuit?

SoloSuit makes it easy to respond to a debt collection lawsuit.

How it works: SoloSuit is a step-by-step web-app that asks you all the necessary questions to complete your answer. Upon completion, you can either print the completed forms and mail in the hard copies to the courts or you can pay SoloSuit to file it for you and to have an attorney review the document.

Respond with SoloSuit

"First time getting sued by a debt collector and I was searching all over YouTube and ran across SoloSuit, so I decided to buy their services with their attorney reviewed documentation which cost extra but it was well worth it! SoloSuit sent the documentation to the parties and to the court which saved me time from having to go to court and in a few weeks the case got dismissed!" – James

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