notice of judgement after filing ch 7

[kjg812]

I filed for ch 7 on Nov. 22. in middle district of Florida. I had my 341 on 12/27. I received a forwarded letter (originally sent to my previous address in Ma.) from a Ma. district court stating a default judgement was issued against me to one of my creditors. I never received notice of the court date. The complaint was filed on 10/21 and the order was issued on 12/21. The creditor was listed in my ch. 7 and notified. There is a demand for payment with in 30 days and a follow up meeting scheduled for the end of January. Should I file a motion to vacate? My attorney is out of town until middle of next week and I will get in touch with him when he gets back. I am just stressing out over it and figured I would ask here.

Thanks

[tobee43]

it's one of the "lost" in the mail notices...you're ok since you listed them on the bk...however, if the judgment was actually issued and you can prove they were served by the court with the bk notice then the creditor is in violation of the stay....just give it to your atty and they should handle it for you.

now...here's the "worse" scenario....let's say it just got "lost or missed" in the mail...and the judgment was in fact granted due to improper notification...well then you would just wait until the discharge of your bk and then have your atty or yourself file a motion to vacate the judgment and it will be ordered to be removed provided it was listed. it might cost you a bit more...however, well worth it having it removed asap after your discharge.

good luck..you'll be fine...it happens to many people.

[justbroke]

Should I file a motion to vacate? My attorney is out of town until middle of next week and I will get in touch with him when he gets back. I am just stressing out over it and figured I would ask here.

Just hand this to your attorney.

Three words for you... void ab initio! The judgment is void because it happened after you filed. Your attorney may file a motion to Vacate the judgment via the bankruptcy court and then file that order with the Massachusetts court. I don't know the procedure for dealing with the local State non-bankruptcy court, but you will need to find out what it takes to vacate that judgment since it is "void".

No worries... the judgment is "void from the beginning" (void ab initio) as a matter of law.

(As a matter of fact, if your creditor asked for the judgment after they knew that you were in a pending bankruptcy, they have violated the automatic stay and your attorney may be able to sue them for damages. Or, you may just nicely ask that they vacate the judgment and leave it at that.)

[kjg812]

Thank you for the responses