Out of State Judgement /Wrong Name/Helper Responsible ?

Does it appear on his credit report? If so then you have to contact the court for improper venue....he would have had to be sued in the county where you live. Was a police report filed on the ID theft?

Contact the attornies office handling the account too. Dispute the debt.

Thank you Soaplady for your reply. I think I'm in the wrong forum. A member named Jason kindly moved my post here from "Debt consolidation...." forum. Should be in "Collections Agencies and Creditors" forum ?

Froze credit files/fraud alerts/police report done, etc prior to even being aware of debt/lawsuit. Credit file does show the OC entry. Brother (with my help) disputed debt with the OC lawyer but it didn't matter. The county of the judgement allows suit either in county where you live or in county where the creditor is. (Suit initiated by OC lawyer). At this point I'm trying to do damage control since the judgement is a done deal. Nothing they can get from brother and never will be. Just wondered if they can go after me once they realize his situation. I'm not legally or financially responsible for him, just his rep payee for SSDI. I of course would file suit should they come after me. Just wonder is they can. Thanks !

Check your state laws, some states have a law that states that no matter what another state says, if you are a resident of THAT state they HAVE to sue you there. Texas has a law like that. But I was under the impression that you HAD to be sued in your own county, but it may be tricky if there is law saying otherwise in the state they sued in.

Either way, if your brother is permanently disabled and on SSI then they pretty much sued him for nothing. You don't have to worry about them coming after you. Being a payee representative does not make you financially responsible for him in any way shape or form. They may try to tell you you are responsible to try and get a payment out of you, don't let them. Its Bull.

forget that--if they have the wrong person, you/your brother need to file an order to show cause with the court that issued the judgment, ASAP. This is basically where youre telling them that the judgment was improperly obtained. The court will consider your motion and rule on it. In that motion, I would definitely include the fact that you informed the plaintiff's attorney before start of trial that they definitely had the wrong person.

as to the location of the lawsuit, they are bound by federal law to sue you in one of two places--either where you live at the time the complaint is filed or where the debt originated. by suing your brother out-of-state, they probably knew they were breaking this law.

I would definitely go to www.naca.net and look for an attorney in your area--you have a very good case on this one. Speak to one of those lawyers and you could possibly have this whole mess handled fairly quickly.

I agree that he could have a very good case...I was just wondering is the sister, as the payee representative could go to all of that trouble (it could end up being alot of trouble and headache....for the OC could try to claim the debt originated where the OC is....it would turn into a court battle.)

Normally I am the first to say FIGHT! But in this situation if the brother is permanently disabled and will be for the rest of his life where nothing will change, then the judgment can't really hurt him at all.

but here's the thing--it wont be a court battle. It will be basically as simple as this:

CA--"the debt originated in this state, so this court has jurisdiction."

DEFENDANT--"then in that case, prove that I originated this debt in the first place.....I have never resided in that state and did not ever open this account."

At that point, there's no battle--they either can prove it or they cannot. If they cannot, then request dismissal with prejudice. If they try to produce something, this is where preparation comes into play. I have personally had to deal with this issue before, where a CA claimed I lived in a place I never did. All I did was provide documentation of my address during the time period that they claimed I was living in the other state. They had nothing to stand on....and they gave up and went away. That was the last I heard of that account and it was 8 years ago.

And while the judgment may not hurt the brother in this case, EVERY false judgment that these bottom-feeders obtain collectively hurts us all. All it will do is empower the debt collection industry to continue going after the wrong person--we need to fight them in EVERY case like this.

That is definitely true. So can you do all of this through the mail system? I was under the impression that you had to actually go to court to plead your case. If this can all be done by mail then Heck ya...fight them tooth and nail!

through the mail, no. But part of it could be---for example, as far as I recall, when you file an order to show cause/motion to vacate judgment, you dont have to appear for that to happen. There are three typical outcomes possible when you file this motion:

1--the judge will vacate the judgment entirely.
2--the judge will not vacate and the judgment stands.
3--the judge sets aside the judgment, and orders that the trial be restarted.

I would definitely provide proof of residence with my motion to vacate--it may save a trip to court if you can show the court right off the bat that the plaintiff's case is against the wrong person. I would also consider speaking with that attorney, and consider having them appear on my behalf in this situation. The court should have to make some kind of allowance for a permanent disability--imagine the repercussions if they didnt?

to the OP--was your brother permanently disabled when they claim this account was opened?

Thank you all for your replies ! Skydiver7673, brother was disabled at the time of this alleged debt. It gets better.....it's a medical bill for treatment at a hospital out of state! The suit was filed in the county of the OC. I know FOR A FACT that he was not in that city on that day and I know for a fact that he only goes to any medical thing with me and it's only his local clinics, etc. He has no ways and means to do otherwise and he is a paranoid schizophrenic who never leaves the house.

I see some interesting options here to consider and I appreciate the info. My first thought was to let the judgement stand since brother is perm disabled per Social Security and local authorities and will never be otherwise. It's a catch-22 situation.... he can't defend himself mentally, so it's up to me to speak for him but I really don't have the legal authority to do so. He can't travel alone, so someone has to go with him. Neither he nor I have the funds to do that. I actually kinda want them to come after me so I can teach them a lesson.....I guess I'll go the lawyer route just didn't want to unless I had to. Thank you all !

You can go to court and get yourself appointed guardian and that would provide you with th elegal authority to do this. Since he is in on disability you can probably get a fee waiver or reduction.

Might be something to consider in case other problems arise so that you don't have to let the court or authorities decide for you.

This does not make you responsible for his debts just gives you the legal right to talk and act on his behalf

it is still important to go after this and not let the judgment stand though, for example, if your brother were to come into money, like an inheritance, they could then come after that money. thats why it is so important to go after this--to protect his rights and his future.