I received a summons on Monday (9/10) for a court date on Thursday (9/13) for a bill which we had worked out, and been paying on, a payment plan with the original creditor.
Somehow we got sent to collections, and the company decided to sue for the full amount. We called the original creditor who said the payment plan was fine. They called the lawyer who refused to accept that and still insisted on taking us to court for the full amount.
We decided to pay the amount in full to avoid court costs and the like, to the original creditor, and have a receipt from them showing a $0 balance.
That said, since my court date is tomorrow morning, I assume I should still show to avoid any kind of default judgement. With a $0 balance, should I file a Motion to Dismiss or anything like that, or simply go in and show the judge our payment history in hopes he'll dismiss it on his own?

The was all filed in Johnson County, KS (though I reside in Missouri)

I received a summons on Monday (9/10) for a court date on Thursday (9/13) for a bill which we had worked out, and been paying on, a payment plan with the original creditor.
Somehow we got sent to collections, and the company decided to sue for the full amount. We called the original creditor who said the payment plan was fine. They called the lawyer who refused to accept that and still insisted on taking us to court for the full amount.
We decided to pay the amount in full to avoid court costs and the like, to the original creditor, and have a receipt from them showing a $0 balance.
That said, since my court date is tomorrow morning, I assume I should still show to avoid any kind of default judgement. With a $0 balance, should I file a Motion to Dismiss or anything like that, or simply go in and show the judge our payment history in hopes he'll dismiss it on his own?

The was all filed in Johnson County, KS (though I reside in Missouri)



The fast, easy way is to go to Court with your proof that it is paid in full.

Are you confusing a lawyer with a collection company? An Attorney works for a company or person. The person/company says to drop the case, the Attorney drops the case. I am not aware of any Attorney who pursues an action against the wishes of his client.

I was really confused about that piece too. My summons has the dentists name as the plaintiff; however he was very much behind our payment plan. His exact words were, "If that's what you can pay, we're fine with it as long as it keeps our customer happy."
I know there are quite a few "law offices" who are really just collection companies. I initially assumed that's what this lawyer was, but my understanding is that the debt was never transferred. The collection company was hired to collect the debt for the dentist. They didn't buy the debt from the dentist.
I suppose I'll get that part sorted out tomorrow. At any rate, thank you for the answer. I feel much better about going now.

The dentist apparently never bothered to tell his lawyer that he had settled with you.

At the time the case was filed, you owed money, right? So I expect that the court will award costs against you.