Served, Judgment, but filing BK next week

[letigre76]

I had been served and I think there's a judgment coming up soon (what is Notice of Outcome of Original Service? It's on the judiciary search website in my state). I did not respond to the summons because I am already filing for BK next week (got all paperwork turned in to attorney). My question is....what happens next? Will my lawyer notify the courts once it is filed?

[keepmine]

I had been served and I think there's a judgment coming up soon (what is Notice of Outcome of Original Service? It's on the judiciary search website in my state). I did not respond to the summons because I am already filing for BK next week (got all paperwork turned in to attorney). My question is....what happens next? Will my lawyer notify the courts once it is filed?

Be absoulety certain your lawyer knows about the lawsuit.
Your lawyer will notice both the court and plantiffs attorney of your bk filing. You will be protected by the automatic stay and the underlying debt will be discharged.
If, you truely have a judgment against you, post discharge your lawyer can go to the court that returned the judgment and get it vacated.

[2manybills]

As soon as you file, have your attorney or even you can send a copy of your notice of bankruptcy to the plaintiff's attorney in the judgment case. They will get a copy from the bankruptcy court, but I wouldn't wait for that. Sometimes they start to try and levy right away. You can print the notice from pacer as soon as the case is filed.

[letigre76]

Thanks to both of you....My lawyer got the copy of the lawsuit. In my state it says that there is a 10-day automatic stay before they can start trying to get info about where I work, bank account, etc. so I think I'm good!

[letigre76]

Also, is it OK to notify the party that's suing me in writing that I am expecting to file for BK this week? They have been sending me one page letters about the lawsuit. I think they want me to work out a deal with them. I just don't want them to go ahead and work on the paperwork for the garnishment, etc. that they have to file with the courts.

[AngelinaCat]

Tell the party that they are to get in touch with your attorney. Let your attorney handle that for you. Do not under any circumstance, let them talk you into a 'side deal' when you are going to file BK. You will blow your case totally out of the water. If your attorney has not told you that, I would be very surprised.

[2manybills]

I'm not sure what State you are in, but here in CA, it is taking 2 or 3 weeks to get levies issued once a judgment is filed. But they are getting quicker, someone I have been working with has just been served by Chase for a $2K balance on a credit card. If you are concerned that you will not be filed prior to them being able to levy on one of your assets, I would do as AngelinaCat suggests and have your attorney get a hold of them. There is a law firm in California by the name of Hunt & Henriques. They operate like no law firm I have ever seen. They are debt collectors, and that's how they operate. Some of these guys are pretty slippery.

[letigre76]

OK. I called the court house today and I asked if I can still send the Notice of Intent to Defend and after 15 days he said "Yes". Maybe I should send it so it will delay it? What should I put on the explanation though? The debt is not beyond the SOL. Thanks AngelinaCat. My attorney doesn't give advice if I don't ask...kinda disappointed.

[AngelinaCat]

Once you file, the court and every creditor on your matrix will receive a notice titled: "Suggestion of Bankruptcy". That is notice enough to the creditors and the courts to cease and desist, because the Automatic Stay kicks in from the moment your paperwork is filed in the BK Court, and you are issued a case number.

You don't say whether there is already a Judgment in place against you. It sounds like you were issued a Summons and ignored it. If you still have the Summons, what is the date on which you were summoned to appear in Court? If it has not come yet, and you get your paperwork filed, this lawsuit will 'go away.' If the date has come and gone, and you did not show up, the court will have issued a Default Judgment against you. If that is in place, then after the BK is over, you can make a Motion to the Court to have it vacated..... but that is getting a little too far ahead right now. The main thing is to get your paperwork filed, and get your case number.

BTW, it is NEVER a good idea to simply ignore a Summons. When you show up, you can delay the process by at least a month if not longer, while you get your paperwork done and filed. But when you ignore a Summons, and don't show up in Court, the judge has no other choice but to issue a Default Judgment, and then *boom* any chance you had to delay that part of the process is gone.

I am distressed that your attorney doesn't give advice, unless you ask. YOU are paying him/her to look after your best interest, which includes giving advice--whether asked for or not. After all, you haven't been through this before, how would you know what to ask for? My husband and I also had an attorney, who could have been very good--when she wanted to be. But she did very little in properly educating us in the BK process. We did not know of this forum at the time we filed, and as a result made nearly every mistake possible. But attorneys like that is one reason that BKForum exists. Keep asking questions and reading.

Good luck with everything. Let us know when you have filed.

[letigre76]

AngelinaCat, the court date is set for October 29. Got served August 22. Lawyer just asked for a copy of the summons. I thought he was gonna respond to it, but he or his staff hasn't done anything. I've decided I will respond to it in case something goes wrong. There is no judgment yet. Is this a good explanation of defense: "plaintiff is unknown and/or not the original party to the contract"? That's all I can think of. Thanks.

[btbeme]

I received a summons from a creditor's "attorney" (debt collector) three days after notifying them that I intended to seek Ch 7 bankruptcy. In AZ, it takes a few weeks for a court date to be set, so my attorney said we could simply wait until I was ready to file and ignore the summons - but it would have been close to a judgement. So, I decided to write and file an Answer to the Summons, which bought me a safety margin of about 60 days - that was more than enough time to get my Ch 7 filing done.

Working with a summons and filing Ch 7 before it becomes a judgement is a much easier job than clearing the judgement afterward. Also, a judgement will allow garnishments, etc. So, if you file before Oct 29 you should be OK. If not, I'd file an Answer.

Depending on the state you are in and the court your Summons is from, it may be very easy and economical to file an Answer. There are some procedural rules that vary from state to state and court to court, but this is generally an easy thing to do (you can do it yourself). Your state likely has a website explaining how, and help is easy to get over the internet by Googling "answer summons for xxx court in xxx state"

[2manybills]

You don't need to put a good defense down. You should be able to get a copy for your court's website of a "general denial" answer to complaint. Basically you are denying each and every allegation contained in the complaint. That's really all you need to do. All Courts have a place for court forms on their website.