A story about a 10 year old judgement being renewed and executed
Date: Wed, 10/29/2008 - 12:03
In 1998 I was served by the court saying a judgement had been awarded against me for an alleged $11k by a cc company for non repayment.
I had nothing at the time and never responded even though for the purposes of this forum I do not agree that the debt was even mine.
Fast forward five years later and unbeknown to me, the "judgement" was sold to some third party CA for $11.00.
It never showed up on my credit report or anything and just when I thought ok its been 10 years must be dead, in january of this year the constable shows up at my house with a writ of execution saying the judgement had been renewed. I told him I would not sign anything without an attorney present and so he left.
So imagine my surprise when monday morning this week I try to use my bank account and find out that is has been frozen and all my assets removed. when I finally figure out the receiver of my said assets and call them they send me a court order from a judge whom I was never required to appear in front of allowing them access to all my "stuff".
so since then I have been searching around and found this forum and you seem to be pretty knowledgeable group.
So a few questions related to my sob story.
Based on the fact that the judgement was awarded 10 years ago and was recently revived is it too late to file a "motion to set aside a default judgement" or to request "proof of validation that the debt is mine"?
Any other recourses I can take?
I am going to talk to an attorney in a few hours and present him the facts so I will publish his thoughts and advice here for the rest of you but any ideas or related threads you can post back to me would be greatly appreciated.
What state do you live in? Maybe nascar can help you here, he is
What state do you live in? Maybe nascar can help you here, he is familiar with SOL's and judgements.
update
Thanks.
I live in Texas.
I met with an attorney this afternoon and here is their advice.
there were portions of the case that were entered improperly and rubber stamped by the judge. Such as "assigning a receiver" to collect the debt. though not technically illegal it is very rare for the judge to award a receiver in a consumer credit case.
the lawyer basically told me my best option here since I let this go on for 10 years and just avoided the issue is to attempt to settle by hiring an attorney that has a good track record at negotiation and lowballing an amount that is about 5-10% of the total debt. If the people with the judgement is a collection agency and not the original debtor there is a good chance they will settle for a much lower amount since they dont have a lot invested in the case anyway and a small profit is better than no profit. this method works better if you have cash to make the offer contigent on their acceptance immediately and threatening to protract it out in court or threatening to file banktruptcy in which case they would get 0.
Either way judgements are pretty difficult to eliminate completely once they have been awarded so the next best thing is to settle as cheaply as you can.
For those of you reading this that have an open judgement that has not be awarded yet, show up in court when summoned, dont neglect or ignore it otherwise the judge will 99% of the time award a default judgement because you werent there to contest it.
Once you do showup have your attorney file a motion to set aside the judgement and if that doesnt work then at least require validation of proof that the debt is yours.
The burden of proof that you owe the debt is on the plaintiff so make them prove the debt is yours and that the amount is accurate. If it is a fresh case they may be able to do it but if they cant then the case is dropped and you walk away.
Unfortunately 10 years dwon the line, you have lost all recourse
Unfortunately 10 years dwon the line, you have lost all recourse to have the judgement set aside. Wages are exempt form garnishment but you must prove that the money in your account was from wages.
Nascar, thanks for the info. I finally registered so here
Nascar,
thanks for the info.
I finally registered so here is my new screen name.
the good news is, I think I can settle with them for less than about $3k out of pocket after I pay attorneys etc.
The moral of the story is to me, dont avoid lawsuits when they come, attack them head on and deal with it up front.
basically in this deal I am screwed for now but I brought it on myself by not addressing it 10 years ago.
I will keep this forum updated regarding what happens going forward.
it seems there is alot of support here.
