David Apothaker & Assoc

First, when did you get this notification about being sued? Was it before, or after the court date where they won the judgement? If you were properly served papers, then you should of known when the court date would be. It seems to me that you might not have been properly served, and thus were never givin the court date. They want that to happen. When you don't show up, that is an automatic default judgement win for them. If you were never properly served any legal paperwork by the courts, then you need to go down to the court house and file an objection to the default judgement due to improper service. However.. This is tricky because it has to be your word against their's. To be served, someone has to phisically hand you the paperwork. Or someone. They usually can not just mail it to you, but some places do, and think that is ok.

I live in NJ, And i just got done dealing with these guys and won. They did the exact same thing to me. I was never properly served either, and was able to get the judgement thrown out and had the entire case started over. But in order to give you better and correct advice, we just need a little more info. How old is this debt they are trying to collect on? Im new here, and i know other people will be around shortly to give you better advice, but do not worry.. This place is wonderful help, and i won my case against these jerks because of the info and help i recived here.

I received the first paperwork from the sheriff back in july.It stated I had 20 days to contact them.I did contact them and said I wont claim the debt that they had to prove it and requested a court date.I have not received anything else from them or the courts stating any dates.I received a letter from the lawyer/collector stating they won judgment by default.I check out local courthouse's website and they did win.I was told I have ten days to peption to open or strike.It is now past the ten days.The letter was misplaced in my house by another family member and I only read it 2 days ago.The age of the debt if it's the one I thinking it may be is about 4 years old,could be more.

Update.I just contacted the Prothonotary office and explained the situation.They said I never answered the complaint.I explained I did contact the Apothaker and they said I should have contact them (prothonotary)I can hire a lawyer or partition myself because they do not have any forms that I want the judgment opened or stricken.It will then be sent to a judge for his consideration.The original notice of being sued only read that I needed to contact them or a lawyer,never said anything about contacting the Prothonory office.Is there any chance I can win this or should I just call Apothaker and pay them 5 bucks a month?I also received a letter from Apothaker requesting information on everything I own and if I didnt supply it I would be in contempt of court.I immediately shredded that paper.

Yes, they sent me that paper too. Do not give them that information. Mine looked extremely fake. I would say not to give up. Definaty look into how old this debt really is and what kind. It may be past the statue of limitations. Each state is different on how long those can be, so look into that. If the date of your last activity on this debt is past the SOL, everything these guys are doing, is illegal.

I want to say not to give up. If you can fight these guys, by all means, do so! Hopefully someone who knows a lot more about legal stuff will be along shortly to give you more in deph help.

I felt stuck and backed into a corner as well by these people. There was a time where i felt like maybe it wasn't worth it and i should just give in and pay them. You never know what actions you take can indeed work in your favor. I was able to get the judgement vacated, and the entire case to start over. Once i did i started sending them letters demanding they prove they legally can collect on the debt. After everything that happened, it turned out they couldn't even prove it, and so backed out and said things were settled. Getting nothing from me.

Someone will come along soon to help you more.. while you wait, you might want to read this.. http://www.budhibbs.com/collectorpages/apothaker.htm Just so you know who exactly you are dealing with.

I have decided to petition the court to vacate the judgment.I am going to use the grounds that I did not answer the suit as I was waiting for the debt validation I requested.I did not do so in writing but I did by phone.Is this the best way to handle the situation?

I found out a few days ago that [COLOR=black]David Apothaker & Assoc has a default judgment against me here in PA.Can they freeze my bank account?[/COLOR] [COLOR=black][/COLOR][COLOR=black][FONT="][/FONT][/COLOR]

If they filed a judgment through your local courts, yes, they can.

Even if it is a joint account?I am the only one listed in the suit.

If it is a spouse they can garnish the account but if it is a sibling or relative they can not. You will need to talk to your bank about that in order to stop it though.

If your name is on the bank account and the attorney gets a court order, yes, even if it's a joint account they can still freeze it. Creditors don't care about anything except getting what they feel you owe them.

How did you find about the default judgment? Were you ever served papers to appear in court? From what I understand, if you have a default judgment, you either were served and failed to appear in court, or you were improperly served--rendering you unaware that court action was taken against you--and failed to appear in court. The latter could happen if they served papers at an address they have on file for you and you've since moved. Companies hell bent on suing won't try too hard to find you.

Check with your local court to see if they have a public record of your judgement.

[QUOTE=Anonymous;496986]If it is a spouse they can garnish the account but if it is a sibling or relative they can not. You will need to talk to your bank about that in order to stop it though.[/QUOTE]


I stand corrected.

I was never given a court date because I didnt know I had to submit a answer to the prothronary office.

I cant seem to find a good template for a petition to open or strike and judgment.Does anyone hace access to one that will be accepted in PA?

I just read from another post that if I add a 3rd party to my joint account that it can not be frozen,is this also true in PA?

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First things first. I'm going to merge this thread with your other one, to keep things together.

[QUOTE=rewindthatdvd;496938]I found out a few days ago that [COLOR=black]David Apothaker & Assoc has a default judgment against me here in PA.Can they freeze my bank account?[/COLOR] [/QUOTE]

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Spoke with a lawyer here in PA and was informed that they can not freeze my bank account because it is a joint account with my wife and she is not listed in the judgment.

Excellent!

I am going thru this same thing now. I tried to check the Docket Number with the court of common plea's records and I'm not on there. I don't know what to do. it's saying I have 20 days to respond but it doesn't say who to respond to. I also have a joint account with my husband should I take my name off of it?

Tara: There is nowhere on the papers that list what court it is with? Court papers always tell you where to file.....I would be highly suspicious of this if there is no listing of the court and your county court has no record of any such case......how did you get served?