Palisades Judgement still Haunting me!

I'm a little confused. You said that Palisades won a default judgment, yet didn't serve you? Did you appear in court and get the case dismissed for lack of service?

If Palisades got a default judgment (which is usually given if you don't appear), then the NY firm cannot sue you again to collect on the debt, which is known in every state as estoppel (the civil form of double jeopardy). Palisades may assign the right to collect the debt owed to them even if they have been granted a judgment.

Your questions regarding SOLs are state specific legal questions and should be answered by someone licensed in Texas to give legal advice. I know you said you can't afford a lawyer, but have you tried a legal aid organization? All legal aid organizations are staffed by licensed attorneys, and are either free or low cost.

the only way i found out about the judgment is that i finally got the paperwork from the court in the mail one day, about it afterwards. no i could not appear in court in time before i found out. the only sanction from what they would/could tell me was to fight it but if i lost i would owe the court like $2k+ and would cost money to have a case? been 2+ yrs so dont remember all. i am a fighter so if there had been something i could've done i would have. believe me it sticks in my craw still today.
there are alot of people on here that are familiar with texas law/statues so hopefully they will catch this sometime today.
sol in texas for the original/this type of debt is 4yrs.
from what the clerk told me i didnt have time to do anything. believe me i ask all questions and there was nothing i could do at the time to stop it. that was a very challenging year.
any suggestions, please be specific of wording, what i should say in this letter to them before this goes any further? i do not want it to get to that stage again and have to go in, take off time etc to straighten this out. i've got 30 days so want to get this going asap.
thanks for help
ps i am going to be blunt...in texas alot of legal aid "money" is eaten up by minorities from the south. they have told me they do not take cases on such as this. mostly womens issues with children. there is no help for people like me.

Something like:
Palisades (use the full company name) has already won a judgment against me for this debt on (date of judgment). Attached is a copy of the judgment against me in this matter. If you have been assigned this debt by Palisades, then I respectfully request a copy of the assignment agreement.

Be sure to send your letter certified mail and to keep copies of everything for your records, if you need them to prove later.
I don't mean to sound like I thought you were rolling over for these guys. To be blunt my self, what happened to you sticks in my craw too. And I am disgusted at Texas's legal aid organizations. Have you tried looking on http://www.texaslawhelp.org? Anyone who needs legal help should be able to get it regardless of income.

thank you. is there wording that sounds alittle firmer? if you know what i mean? these are bottom feeders and i have no respect for them whatsoever. doesn't excuse that i had to default on a debt but i kindof wanted to sound more authoritive. how to use the term esstoppel so they know not to mess with me. and do i have to actually send a copy of my document as i was thinking of just sending the case #, court etc and make them work for it. as they would have to get someone to check on it before they spend more money or time on it dont you think?
yes i am a saver of everything. i have sent several validation letters for myself and others and have been successful so far but this situation, which i thought was at rest, was news to me.
thanks again and would appreciate any other suggestions.

Hi! Send them a debt validation letter. By Texas law, they HAVE to respond to it within 30 days. Also you will be happy to know that Texas is a NO garnishment state and that most things are protected, so they will have a HARD time enforcing this bogus judgment.

And this judgment IS bogus and the clerk gave you wrong info. You could have fought it. All you had to do was send in a motion to vacate due to improper service. You have the right to due process and Palisades took that right away from you buy not serving you properly. Unfortunately you can't do that now, so I would fight this every way you can.

Actually, maybe you can. Find out the court where this judgment was issued, get the name of the judge and send the judge a letter explaining that you were never served and that you were given wrong information and didn't know you could file a motion to vacate.

Did you live in Texas when you were sued in NY?

thx yes in texas always in tex newest law firm is in ny i dont think the clerk gave me wrong info...sorry if misunderstood. it was a timing thing and money. timing mostly as i didnt even know anything was going on. didnt have anyone to ask...clerks etc cannot give advice etc.
and i reg validation letter wont do the trick on this one. since a judgment has already been issued this will call for a diff letter. see the one he suggested above.
thanks

well a validation letter would be the one because likely they bought the judgment, you would want the info on the judgment and proof they bought it. But even with your timing you could have sent the court a letter, not only were you not properly served, but sued in the wrong venue.

You still can likely send that judge a letter now, what could it hurt? You have always been in Texas and it is your right for your case to be heard in a Texas court.

Oh the reason I was saying a validation letter is because they likely won't try to sue you on it again, but try to enforce the judgment they already have against you. Judgments can be sold and transfered....though I have heard of some people who fought that.