If There's a Default Judgement Against me from Months Ago, What Can I Do If I Wasn't Serve
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- Опубликовано: 3 июн 2015
- Consumer Protection Attorney John G. Watts explains what you can do if you aren't served in a judgement from months ago.
John G. Watts
205-879-2447
Watts & Herring, LLC
Birmingham and Madison Alabama offices (Serving clients in all parts of Alabama)
www.AlabamaConsumer.com
www.AlabamaElderLawyer.com
No representation is made that the quality of legal services to be performed is greater than the quality of legal services performed by other lawyers. Our free weekly webinar is here -- my.demio.com/ref/ZHxa8NhYRNAp... -- on Thursday we'll be talking about some of the new FDCPA rules. Join us if you can!
"No representation is made that the quality of the legal services to be performed is greater than the quality of legal services performed by other lawyers."
thanks you so much for your help.
Thx for that info cause I have seen this with a lot of people
Very welcome -- it is sad. When a person with a legitimate defense loses by default judgment -- hate to see that.
Exactly. unfair and unconstitutional, I wasn't serve and now there is an order to withhold y Bank is giving say my money to this scammer. The biggest question is if I deserve the benefit of the doubt. I have no reason to not facing tricky liars/
I answered a complaint however I forgot to send a copy of the answer to the plantiff, now I got a final judgement. Can this happen? What can I do?
Its called sewer service! The debt collector will file the summons, complaint and an affidavit of service against a consumer and get a judgement. The consumer is unaware they are being sued until their wages are being garnished. It happens many times in the debt collecting industry.
Yes indeed -- why we always start with "Was there actual proper service under the rules?"
Thanks for your comment!
John
What happens if there was a ticket, and a court date (which I was not aware of) and then there was a judgement against my legal name(which I also was not aware of) and later found out my drivers license was suspended for failure to appear. The offense? Failure to pay for light rail transportation, first time, first offense. Did not know where to purchase ticket, thought it was on the train. :(
Whitney, thanks for your comment. Not sure as I don't do criminal cases. I would get with a criminal defense attorney ASAP in your state to see your options. I suspect they can help you pretty quickly to know what to do. Sorry I can't help you..... John Watts
I’m in Missouri my mom received a summons on my behalf and never told me it was never handed to me i don’t line with my mother is this legal?
I have a small business that was supposed to garnish an employee wages. I was never served those papers so i ended up with a default judgement to pay the total amount of the employees debt. And I wasn’t served papers for that court date either..what should i do?
Suppose someone got a letter in the mail but never got served in person. If the defendant never got served in person, can a default judgment still be carried out? And are laws about this different from each state?
I can tell you in Alabama just getting a letter in the mail (NOT certified) is normally not valid service.
You can be served by certified mail.
Most common way (at least before the virus) was personal service.
Each state is different -- normally the rule of civil procedure you want to look at is Rule 4.
I'll put a few example links below:
Federal Rules: www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/rule_4
Alabama Rules: judicial.alabama.gov/docs/library/rules/cv4.pdf
Hope that helps!
John
A friend of mine was never served but got a letter in the mail. Is that as good as being served? This happened in California does that matter?
Screaming Dean,
It does matter about California as each state has its own rules on what is "service" or being "served".
This normally will be in what are called the "Rules of Civil Procedure" and normally it is about Rule 4 (but some states have different rule numbers).
In Alabama just getting a letter in the mail (non-certified) normally will not count but I have no idea what the rules are in CA. Definitely check with a lawyer there.
Best wishes and thanks for your comment.
John Watts
What do you do once the judgment has expired. Meaning the SOL to collect has ran out and creditor never renewed. How do you go about dismissing it at that point.
Fredericka,
If there is an actual judgment, then in Alabama the judgment is good for 10 years. It can be renewed or "revived" for another 10 years. (Other states are different).
So if the judgment creditor never renews it or revives it (and most judges always let them revive it), then the judgment is not enforceable.
I'm not sure what you mean about getting it dismissed -- the judgment is there but it does the other side no good.
Now if they are trying to collect, that's a different situation and you may need to take action. We have sued debt collectors for collecting on judgments that were no good after the time period expired. Those are very nice cases to sue the collectors on.
Definitely get with a consumer lawyer in your state -- if you are in Alabama call us at 205-879-2447 and ask for Carolyn. She can look up the judgment to see if they revived it, etc.
Thanks!
John Watts
Without going into lengthy details, is there a statute of limitations on collecting a judgment?
Just had something resurface from much longer than 3 years.
Depends on your state. In Alabama a judgment is normally good for 10 years from entry of judgment. And then almost always can be extended another 10 years so about 20 years altogether.
I would focus on making sure the service was good as if the service of complaint was no good, you can normally challenge the judgment.
Best wishes
John
I live in Texas, and I have been served a lawsuit for credit card payment. And I'm in the 20 days to answer. But I can deny the the law suite because I couldn't keep up the payments. So what then happens when I answer to the court that I'm guilty.
Rolando,
I don't know how it works in Texas but I suspect you can require the Plaintiff (the one suing you) to prove its case. Particularly if it is a debt collector.
But definitely check with a consumer protection lawyer in your part of Texas to see what your options are.
Best wishes
John Watts
PS -- here is a good starting point when looking for a consumer lawyer -- www.consumeradvocates.org/find-an-attorney
Also ask if they have jurisdiction. My attorney told me when I hired him that they didn't have judisdiction but I never stated that so we had to let that alone. Not sure if he's going to throw that at them in the next court date... But maybe it's too late for that for me.
I looked up answering service within the 21 days... The day that I was served. The answers lawyers were giving was to deny that you owe the debt no matter what to give you time to get a defense together. But of course, let John answer this for you, or your Attorney answer this for you.
I was served with papers by my ex husband but my husband never told me anything now I have a judgement default against me…I moved out from my husband in July 2022, My husband was served in October & I didn’t receive this letter from him until January 2023…I have a new address because we are separated Can I fight this by showing my new lease and the time period that I signed over my rights & didn’t live there?
I have a question...I live in Michigan and I was served buy a debt collector for an old medical bill. They went to my old address, pasted the notification on the outside door to the apartment complex, and they considered me "served." I had not lived at that location for almost a year. I received notification from my payroll department that my next paycheck (in 3 days) was being garnished, and that was my first time hearing that I was even served. I called the attorney, no one returned my calls until the 3rd day, and I was told there was nothing I could do about it because I was considered "served" when they attached the notice to the previous apartment. That was almost 2 years ago, so I'm sure its too late to recoup anything, but is that a proper way to serve someone? By the way, I enjoy your videos, they are very informative.
I don't know the rule in Michigan -- in Alabama that would NOT be good service.
It has to be served on you personally, on you by certified mail, or left at your home with an adult who lives there.
So "serving" you at an apartment you no longer live at is not good service in Alabama in my view.
I would get with a consumer lawyer in MIchigan (www.consumeradvocates.org/find-an-attorney) to see what the rules are in Michigan. You may also want to look at the rules of civil procedure -- typically it is "Rule 4".
Best wishes and thank you for your kind comment!
John
@@johngwatts Thank you so much, I will do that!
Been 11 years since I stopped paying my credit card. I lost my job and moved overseas. I have no intention of returning to the US for another 4-5 years. Am I still subject to getting served?
Gill,
It is possible but in my experience unlikely. You'll need to check in your state where you lived (and presumably would return to) but in Alabama no payments in the last eleven years puts you beyond the statute of limitation unless something very unusual has happened.
I would check to make sure there has been no default judgment against you.
If you are in Alabama give us a call at 205-879-2447 and ask for Carolyn. She can look this up for you on the online court system.
Thanks and we wish you the best! Hope you are enjoying your time overseas.
John Watts
Gill Lawson no
Mr John Watts lets say i dont answer the lawsuit by this creditor and they win, but i live in Texas and they cant garnish wages here, what happens next? Im asking for a friend , i would never owe money i pay my bills
Bigg Rigg, I don't know the law in Texas but they may can garnish bank accounts. Apparently there is no wage garnishment so that would be good.
I would want to know can they put a lien on property? Can they force a sheriff's sale of the property?
All of these options are available to judgment creditors in Alabama -- so in Texas I would suggest your friend check out the options.
Sorry can't help you more!
John Watts
Hi I my name is Abraham Almonte I have a judgement in new York
but I live in miami florida, I was never served , but send them a letter made them an offer which they declined, my question is can this people still have the right to get my assets ?
Abraham I would get with a lawyer in NY -- www.consumeradvocates.org/find-an-attorney -- as you need to attack the judgment in NY I think. Otherwise it stands, and then they might be able to get to your assets. But if the judgment goes away, they can't get to your assets.
Best wishes
John
I had a local law group claim to leave lawsuit papers in a previous address of mine as a result I never knew that I was being served. Before I knew it the court granted a judgement because I didn't respond to the lawsuit but I never had the lawsuit served to me physically. I dont see how they were able to serve me a lawsuit just by leaving papers in a house doorstep and that's appropriate for the courts.
That is not appropriate in Alabama. If you are in another state, the rules may allow it.
But here in Alabama they must serve you personally (i.e. hand to you) or serve an adult living in your home.
Or do it by certified mail.
Leaving it on the front porch is not good enough in my opinion. We have been very successful in overturning judgments when service is bad. Some judgments have been over 15 years old.
So definitely contact a lawyer to find out your options in whatever state the judgment is in -- that's the rules that will apply.
I suspect you will have a good argument.
Best wishes
John Watts
I had an outstanding debt to a paint company. It was $2000. Then I believe they got a judgement and they tacked on $1000 attorney fees. and a month later it is now another $1000 of fees. $4000 total.
I live in WA. Never served just got a court judgement in the mail for the $3000. (debt plus first attorney fee.)
Now the lawyer or debt group has sent the debt bill with the $4000 total. 2 months or less later.
Is this legitimate?
If you lived in Alabama it would not be. Or stated differently, you could show you were NOT served and the judgment would go away. I just had a similar case this morning. Service is the key.
Now I don't know the laws in Washington but I suspect they would be similar.
Talk to a consumer protection lawyer in your state -- ask if you were served under the Rules of Civil Procedure.
And if you were not, then can you attack the judgment as being void.
In most states the rule numbers are 4 (service) and 60 (attacking a void judgment). Sometimes lawyers get hung up on Rule 55 which is setting aside a default judgment but this ONLY applies to when you were properly served. At least in Alabama that's the way it works.
Best wishes and hope you can get some good help!
John Watts
i received a writ of garnishment via mail that says judgment was awarded 8/12/19 but i was not personally served. i certainly do not know where i was on a specific date that many months ago....it is up to me to prove where i was or up to the person who supposedly served me to identify me as the person they served?
Chuck that is exactly my situation, it appears that e are loosing our Bank accounts, there is justice ,- just not for us.-
What if they serve you by email? Is that possible? Is serving by email legit?
Not that I know of -- at least in Federal Court and Alabama Courts I'm not aware of actual service happening by email.
John
@@johngwatts well I got default judgment by email. In CA but I’m in Nevada. Any thoughts?
I would check with a CA consumer lawyer -- maybe NV also. You can find consumer lawyers here -- www.consumeradvocates.org/find-an-attorney
Very odd -- maybe that's allowable in those states but I would ask a lawyer there.
Best wishes!
John