Midland Funding Loses at Trial – Can’t Prove Case

Recently we here at the Arizona Consumer Law Group represented a consumer who had been sued by junk debt buyer Midland Funding. Midland Funding filed a lawsuit against a consumer in the Maricopa County Superior Court alleging that it purchased a Barclays Bank credit card and was now seeking over $22,000.

The problem was when we looked at the documents produced by Midland Funding nothing lined up. There were gaps in the documentation and other documents were simply missing.

Further, when Midland Funding disclosed its list of trial witnesses none of them worked for Barclays Bank, and in fact, none of them even worked for Midland Funding – they all worked for Midland Credit Management, Inc.

Midland Credit Management, Inc. is a sister company to Midland Funding, LLC and is the employer of all the employees associated with Midland Funding.

This turned out to be a problem for Midland Funding at trial because the witness they flew in to testify didn’t have any understanding or knowledge as to how Barclays created and maintained its business records.

Evidence in Arizona Midland Funding Cases

When a party wants to use documents as evidence at a trial they must have a witness appear at the trial to testify that the documents are authentic and must also tell the court how and when then documents were created.  If the witness doesn’t have the necessary knowledge to be able to testify as to those things the documents should not be “admitted” into court.

Without the documents debt buyers like Midland Funding do not have sufficient evidence to prove their case – and you end up with what happened in my most recent Superior Court case – judgment is entered in favor of the defendant / consumer.

The court specifically stated:

“Although Midland appears to have purchased a number of accounts from Barclays, which may include Defendant’s credit debt, Midland Funding has failed to provide the court with reliable evidence of the charges incurred and particular balance owed.

The Court finds in favor of the Defendant.”

Winning at Trial Against Midland Funding

In Arizona, if you win at trial against a junk debt buyer like Midland Funding you can request from the court that Midland reimburse any attorney fees you have paid as well as the court filing fees.

You will actually obtain a judgment against Midland Funding, and if they don’t pay you, then you can start the collection process against them.

Sued by Midland Funding in Arizona?  Need Help?

If you have been sued by Midland Funding or any other junk debt buyer and you live in the state of Arizona give us a call. We offer a free consultation to help you put together a game plan on how to prevail in your case.  Call (480) 420-4028.