Just had suit filed against me!!

[Beeheery]

Oh man......to make a long story short, just checked the mail and received a letter from a law firm representing a bank I owe $ to that a lawsuit was filed in my county's court. I was never summoned as they sent it to my old address. But I checked public record and it's there. I have a few questions, since I was not personally summoned, do I need to go to court? Also, in the letter, it states that the original contract was destroyed or lost. Does this work in my favor at all? Also, I do not have a job, own no property etc. I have nothing for them to take. Should I go to court? File an emergency bankruptcy petition? Never thought in a million years that I would be sued since I'm basically judgement proof. Oh, and should I contact the law firm and tell them I am filing? Any help would be appreciated! Thank you!

[Beeheery]

Oh and I want to add that I am not being sued by the original creditor (a bank). I am being sued by a law firm/collection agency. Does this make any difference? Thank you.

[backtoschool]

If you have a bank account, then they can put a levy on that if they find out where you bank.

It sounds like you are somewhat judgment proof though.

When are you filing for bankruptcy? If you file soon, it will take care of the judgment, although you will have to file separate paperwork to vacate the judgment officially. The bankruptcy will discharge the debt of the judgment though.

You have 30 days from when you were sued to reply. This will buy you some time to file for bankruptcy. Since even if they get a judgment, they will not find your bank account right away, you do not have to rush into a bankruptcy, but can take your normal pace and file in an organized way.

I think if you know you are going to file bankruptcy very soon (within 30 days) then don't bother replying. If you need several months to plan your bankruptcy and pay your lawyer, then reply to the lawsuit, ask them to verify the debt, ie, buy yourself some time.

[Juls]

When are you filing for bankruptcy? If you file soon, it will take care of the judgment, although you will have to file separate paperwork to vacate the judgment officially. The bankruptcy will discharge the debt of the judgment though.

Hi Backtoschool,
When you have a judgement do you have to wait for discharge of you BK to file the paper work to have it vacated or can you do that once you have filed?

I assume you have to wait for discharge but if I don't have to wait I rather do it know to get it taken care of.

Thank you,
Juls

[backtoschool]

Hi Backtoschool,
When you have a judgement do you have to wait for discharge of you BK to file the paper work to have it vacated or can you do that once you have filed?

I assume you have to wait for discharge but if I don't have to wait I rather do it know to get it taken care of.

Thank you,
Juls

Yes you would have to wait until you are discharged, because you have to send a copy of your discharge papers to the court where the judgment is in order to get the judgment vacated.

[Beeheery]

Hi Backtoschool,
Thanks for your reply. I did not find out today that I was sued but they filed with my local court a month ago today. I never received any summons, nothing certified, and almost through away what they sent me because it was in a plain envelope. Can they receive a judgement against me even though I was never properly notified? I thought that by law I had to acknowledge I was being sued. And I didnt find out till 29 days later. There is no court date, nothing. Just a piece of paper giving me a case number and that it is a notice of filing. So...how can I go to court when I don't know where to go, what date, time etc??? It just seems a bit odd and not entirely legal....

[kenshirley]

I think all you really have is a threat to sue.
You have not been served and they have no proof you are even aware of the issue.
I think until I heard something else I would keep my mouth shut about it.

[MSbklawyer]

They HAVE TO serve you with a summons. Otherwise, the court does not have personal jurisdiction over you and any judgment they take is void ab initio -- to use some lawyer Latin lingo on you. It is black letter law that actual knowledge of the suit without service of the summons on you, does not give the court personal jurisdiction.

But if you're judgment proof and / or filing for bankruptcy, why are you worried about it?

[Kingxray]

Yes you would have to wait until you are discharged, because you have to send a copy of your discharge papers to the court where the judgment is in order to get the judgment vacated.

Don't mean to hijack the thread but if one is discharged is it necessary to vacate the judgment? If so, why? My dad has a judgment against us in another state. I thought the BK took care of it. Thx.

[whipster1]

If they claim they don't have the note, seems like if you go to court you win...what proof of the debt will they have?

Also, in the letter, it states that the original contract was destroyed or lost.

[backtoschool]

Don't mean to hijack the thread but if one is discharged is it necessary to vacate the judgment? If so, why? My dad has a judgment against us in another state. I thought the BK took care of it. Thx.

The vacating is a separate process. This is done to get the judgment off of your credit reports. Basically you have to send a copy of your discharge papers to the court where the judgment is filed.

[MSbklawyer]

The vacating is a separate process. This is done to get the judgment off of your credit reports.

And also to get the judgment off of the judgment rolls.

Think about it like this: A judgment does two things. First, it adjudicates that you are personally liable for a debt. Second, when the judgment is enrolled in the county / parish judgment rolls, it makes any property you own in that county or parish liable for that judgment as well. That liability of your property is called a judgment lien.

A bankruptcy discharge only undoes the first part. That is, it eliminates your personal liability for the debt. But if the judgment lien is still out there on the judgment rolls, your property remains liable for the debt. The bankruptcy code allows you to avoid - i.e. cancel - a judgment to the extent that it is acting as a lien on exempt property.

[Kingxray]

The vacating is a separate process. This is done to get the judgment off of your credit reports. Basically you have to send a copy of your discharge papers to the court where the judgment is filed.

Ah, never thought of that. That is something I will certainly do if we ever get discharged.