Help Please

Evenin' Melissa -

Do you mean a garnishment notice? There wouldn't normally be a separate hearing to execute a garnishment, and thus no need for a summons. They just mail you a notice, and 'bam!' Sometimes, just send it to your employer (garnishment) or your financial institution (account levy), and let you find out by surprise.

Regardless of all that, the very first thing you need to do (tomorrow morning when they open!) is contact the court clerk's office for the court that issued this default judgement. Find out if there's a real judgement against you first. The inquire as to what forms you need to file to have the judgement vacated due to improper venue. You have to be sued in the county where you live.

Were you ever served a summons and complaint for this case? If not, the judgement could also be vacated due to defective service.

Following up on Wulf's advice, I would file to have the judgment vacated on both grounds--improper venue and improper service. Of course, this is only if you never got a summons for that case. Some debt collectors try this trick so they can get the judgment against you without having to actually prove the case. In other words, they cannot prove their case against you. If they could, they wouldnt resort to illegal tactics to try to get around such requirements.

I found out there really was a judgment against me but it's in the wrong location. It's in a county about 5 hrs from me. I was never served in the first case that was issued the default judgment. But I did receive the garnishment papers by a police officer last night is this the way they send the garnishment notice out? So far there is nothing wrong with my bank account but I don't have direct deposit so at least that's not an issue. Why would they serve me the garnishment notice but not the notice for the actual court case? I still also don't understand why they filed in a county over 5 hrs away from me, is this a reason to vacate the judgment?



Thanks

Melissa, defective service (you were not served in the inital case, and thus were denied your day in court) and improper venue (you were sued in a location where you could not reasonably appear to defend yourself) are both reasons to have a judgement vacated.

Contact the court clerk's office tomorrow morning when they open. They can tell you what paperwork to file in order to have the judgement vacated. There may be forms you have to complete, or it may be as simple as writing a letter to the judge. But please, do not delay in this.