Bank Lien/levy against judgement

hi--

The first place I would start, honestly, is with the fact that you were not served the summons. This would make the judgment illegally obtained, because the plaintiff is required by law to have you served notice of the suit with sufficient time that you can be prepared and show up in court. What state do you live in? Each state has its own rules of civil procedure, this is where I would start.

You will want to check with the court clerk's office for all of the docket info on this case. You are specifically looking for the early part of the docket--you want to look at everything that discusses service of summons. It is possible that your landlord lied to the court in order to gain a default judgment on you. When a plaintiff files a complaint/lawsuit, they are required to show the court proof that they properly served summons on the defendant. If your landlord did this maliciously--if they intended to not serve you so they could get the default judgment--then they will have had to lie to the court and claim that they did in fact serve you the summons. Many states require proof of service, such as your signature, while others consider it sufficient to take the sworn statement of the process server that it was delivered. Again, this info is in your state's rules of civil procedure. Thats your first stop.

If you can show that the plaintiff did not properly serve you the summons, or if you can show that they downright lied about it, then you should file a motion to vacate judgment to both the plaintiff and the court. You would be making the motion to vacate on the grounds of improper service. In this motion you should also mention that the plaintiff has frozen your bank account and that you are requesting that the court release the levy on your bank account, because it was obtained due to violation of your state's rules of civil procedure and you were denied your right to due process. Courts have ruled in the past that money taken due due to illegally-obtained judgments has had to be returned....so you stand a good chance of getting this dropped for the moment, based on what you have said. But again, it all comes down to what those laws say in your state.

Also, keep this in mind--even if you do this, it is likely that the lawsuit will simply be restarted, and that you would still be getting sued. The difference is that the court may grant you the chance to actually know about it and state your defense. But if you do legitimately owe the money, there is no way at that point of getting out of paying it. Is the landlord's claim legitimate--do you actually owe the money? If so, perhaps you can work out some arrangement in court if you can get the judgment thrown out.

i was able to get my judgment set aside today and I ran to the bank and withdrew my money at least now, they don't have a hold on all my dough.

NdMike,

That's good to hear :D

ndMike....was this dismissed with or w/o prejudice. If w/o prejudice, your former landlord can refile.

If you were not served with the complaint, then you can file a motion/petition to have the default judgment vacated. You really should consult with an attorney to do this, as each court has different rules about how this should occur. You can get an attorney referral from your local county bar association - and you may be eligible for free legal assistance from your local legal aid office.