Out of state judgment
Date: Tue, 06/28/2011 - 12:55
Was in military from 97-09. Was stationed in NC from 04-09. Signed into a stupid contract in 07 for purchase of furniture. It has provisions for venue, jurisdiction, and choice of law. It also had a debt cancellation agreement that said if I was totally and permantly disabled "The condition in which the primary buyer is unable to perform all of the duties and functions customary to his/her occupation, or any other occupation using the same skills and experiance which he/she may be qualified for." Goes on to talk about dr's signing etc, but that is the jest of it. Well come 09 I was forced out of the military due to an injury. I was trained as a US Marine, that was my job, now I can't do it any more. I contacted the company and they said they would get with higher ups and get back with me. Later I was told I didn't agree to that section, and had declined it. (I had lost my paperwork in several moves upon getting out). I argued but was told for 2 years I didn't agree to that. Flash forward to this month. I pull my full credit report to find out they have a judgment against me in Virginia over this and have been trying to garnish my wages. No summons/service/notice nothing. Talking with the company no mention of it. Now, I am a resident of TX, stationed in NC at the time, and back living in TX. The company is based in Virginia of course. I'm working on fighting this from both ends, but pretty much at a stand still right now. I am really wondering though, for the violations of FCRA (incorrect dates, double reporting, running multiple checks without consent etc) do I really have to file in their county for that stuff to sue them? Or can I do it in my current county since that is where I lived when the false reporting happened? Any good ideas for fighting the main issue would be appriciated as well.
Thanks in advance
It will be very difficult for you to prove that you have agreed
It will be very difficult for you to prove that you have agreed to that clause without a document. No one will believe your statement. Since the judgment has been issued in Virginia, so I think you'll have to contact the county court in Virginia. You can appeal in the court for vacating the judgment as you didn't receive any court papers. However, it will be best to contact an attorney regarding this issue.
Judgment
Hi,
Yours is quite a complex situation and so it would be much better for you to get advice from an attorney. But, you can file a motion in court to vacate the judgment as you were not served the summons.
However, you may think as to where you can file this motion. First of all, contact the court where the judgment has already been issued. Request them to transfer the case to the sister court of the state and place where you live (if possible) or the place where you had incurred the debt.
But there is no way in which you can prove that you had agreed to the clause. You have no proof that you had agreed to it.
Thanks,
Marvel Becks
Few things... They sued you knowing your correct address but us
Few things...
They sued you knowing your correct address but used an old address to serve you. This judgment should be easy to have set aside. However they may just turn around and sue you in your county.
You live in a non garnishment state...so they cannot garnish you.
As for your credit report, they have permissible purpose to pull your credit report since you owe a debt.
