I got served papers on June 8th and would like advice on how I should proceed. I have been browsing these forums for the past week and searching videos on YouTube but have come across some rather confusing and conflicting information on how to proceed. Thanks for both your time and help. It is much appreciated.
1. Who is the named plaintiff in the suit?
Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC
2. What is the name of the law firm handling the suit? (should be listed at the top of the complaint.)
Lori N. Williams
3. How much are you being sued for?
2,254.39
4. Who is the original creditor? (if not the Plaintiff)
Synchrony Bank / Amazon.com
5. How do you know you are being sued? (You were served, right?)
Served
6. How were you served? (Mail, In person, Notice on door)
In Person
7. Was the service legal as required by your state?
Process Service Requirements by State - Summons Complaint
8. What was your correspondence (if any) with the people suing you before you think you were being sued?
Received written letters of amount owed and phone calls over the past year. Might have answered one or two of the calls, accidentally – acknowledged it was I, and asked the person on the end of the line to send written documentation.
9. What state and county do you live in?
California
10. When is the last time you paid on this account? (looking to establish if you are outside of the statute of limitations)
Maybe 2015, still within SOL
11. What is the SOL on the debt? To find out: 4 Years in CA
Statute of Limitations on Debts
12. What is the status of your case? Suit served? Motions filed? You can find this by a) calling the court or 
looking it up online (many states have this information posted - when you find the online court site, search by case number or your name).
Status is Pending. Suit has been served.
13. Have you disputed the debt with the credit bureaus (both the original creditor and the collection agency?)
No.
14. Did you request debt validation before the suit was filed? Note: if you haven't sent a debt validation request, don't bother doing this now - it's too late.
No.
15. How long do you have to respond to the suit? (This should be in your paperwork). If you don't respond to the lawsuit notice you will lose automatically. In 99% of the cases, they will require you to answer the summons, and each point they are claiming. We need to know what the "charges" are. Please post what they are claiming. Did you receive an interrogatory (questionnaire) regarding the lawsuit?
I was served June 8th.
Here is an example of what the summons/complaint may look like: Sued by a Debt Collector - Learn How to Fight Debt Lawsuits
16. What evidence did they send with the summons? An affidavit? Statements from the OC? Contract? List anything else they attached as exhibits.
Two Statements. 1 from 2015, 1 from 2016.