Were you sued by Nextgear Capital, Inc. in Hamilton County, Indiana?
It appears that Nextgear also sues a lot of dealers. Although I usually represent car buyers, not dealers, it just so happens that int he past month I was contacted by two people relating to suits against them by Nextgear Capital. These people had very different stories, but I was surprised to get two business loan intakes involving the same company within weeks of each other. I checked to see how many lawsuits Nextgear files, and it apears that recently they have been filing about a dozen a month. That’s a lot for business-to-business cases. It’s not illegal, just unusual.
Nextgear finances dealerships all over the country, but their contracts specify that venue for disputes will be in Hamilton County, Indiana. Because Nextgear finances a lot of small mom and pop dealerships, nextgear frequently gets third party guarantees on the loans. Many people who Next Gear sues may have a tough time defending the case in Indiana.
Understand that the restrictions on where businesses can sue consumers don’t apply to business-to-business contracts. It is very likely that if you signed a contract with Nextgear either as a dealer or as a guarantor, that Nextgear can enforce the venue clause and require you to defend yourself in Hamilton County, Indiana. That being said, you are entitled to get service of process and to know about a lawsuit before a default judgment is taken against you. If a creditor gets a default judgment against you, and you had no notice at all of the suit, there is a good chance that if you hire a lawyer, the lawyer can get the default judgment set aside. After the judgment is set aside, you likely will have to fight Nextgear on the merits of the claim, and fight in Indiana.
I am available to take defense cases on behalf of out of state car dealers and guarantors who are sued by Nextgear Capital, Inc. You need to understand though that commercial litigation cases are expensive to defend. You might have to come to Indiana to defend the lawsuit. If you are a consumer or a business person, think twice before you sign a contract that has a jurisdiction and venue clause. These clauses are only sometimes enforced against consumers, but they are almost all the time enforced against businesses.
If you are sued by a complany that alleges you signed a contract, but you didn’t really, it is still crucially important that you defend yourself in court if you are sued. Your defense costs might partially or entirely be covered by your homeowners insurance if you have identity theft coverage. Check your policy and or talk with your insurance agent.
Advice for Would-be Cosigners:
If anybody asks you to cosign or guarantee a loan – as a general rule – don’t. The mere fact that you are asked to guarantee suggests that the would-be creditor isn’t secure that the borrower will pay the loan, and the lender is in the business of knowing these things. Instead of cosigning, if the loan is for a loved one, offer to put up collateral that you could afford to lose, or subsidize the downpayment to the extent the lender doesn’t require a cosigner. I have been asked many times by cosigners if I would represent them to sue a borrower who defaulted on the loan. I have never taken one of these cases. My retainer is always more than the expected recovery against the defaulted borrower.
In two cases I did represent cosigners who alleged their names were forged. One involved a student loan. These cases are interesting. I will consider taking these cases. Generally they are the tip of the iceburg for a more complex identity theft case.
