Court Monday - is it really scary or all in my head.

[merime]

With court coming hard and fast on Monday I am freaking out!! Is it really scary? How long does it take? What happens after the judgement is given, can I go home? I actually called citi cards attorney and begged on voicemail to not go to court. I know pretty stupid, but iam terrified!!&

[Freddy03]

Well I'm not sure about NC courts but I'm pretty familiar with the FL court system...LoL

In FL - Prior to seeing the judge the rent a lawyer called me out to the hall and asked if I wanted to settle this before seeing the judge. I declined. Then we went before the judge and he stated his case and I stated mine and the judge gave her opinion and that was it. It was over and done with in less than 30 mins. I was given the judgment paperwork and a financial fact sheet that had to be returned completed in 45 days. Then I went home.

Good luck to you

[chicagoannie]

My court appearances were quick and easy. I was literally in a roomful of folks who all owed somebody something. I would say 80% of the time, a debtor's name was called and they were not even there, (of course that meant the creditor automatically won their case and got a default judgment) so the cases went by very quickly. The judge was nice, no-nonsense and seemed sympathetic. The creditors stated their cases, I stated mine (unemployed, can't pay) judgment was granted and then the creditor's lawyer asked me to meet with them in a conference room off to the side of the courtroom, in order to ask if I could pay anything. Answered "no" and that was it. No one is going to belittle you or be mean to you. It's just business to the creditor/attorney.

[ryan]

I think its worth adding that it is simple and quick in some courts and not so quick in others. In my court jurisdiction most breach of contract cases (like CC cases) start out with a brief hearing. The judge asks the defendant if he/she agrees about the amounts owed.

IF the defendant says he/she does not know if the amounts are correct, the judge will schedule an actual trial 8 weeks later, approximately. So, just answering differently than many defendants can buy 2 months of extra time in my district.
These kinds of events can always be subject to state and jurisdictional specifics.

[jacko]

Will you pull yourself together. I defaulted on at least a dozen CC two years ago. Only have 2 Judgments and they have never collected one cent from me. I lack full time income and have no health insurance. See no reason to file yet. I am collection proof and have taken pro active steps to protect my assets. Just chill. You can't go to jail due to debt.

With court coming hard and fast on Monday I am freaking out!! Is it really scary? How long does it take? What happens after the judgement is given, can I go home? I actually called citi cards attorney and begged on voicemail to not go to court. I know pretty stupid, but iam terrified!!&

[lillymarlene]

I would just go and maybe try and get it continued, even perhaps saying that you don't understand some things. BoA was suing me last July, and I went to court. (This was about one of my smallest CC creditors. I was afraid that these people would win and then this would attract the many others into suing me:-) This was supposed to be a "pre-trial." I claimed that I really didn't understand how to answer some of the questions, and the suit was continued to November.

That at least bought me some time, which allowed me to get everything together and later file BK.

Well good luck.

[GoingDown]

Will you pull yourself together. I defaulted on at least a dozen CC two years ago. Only have 2 Judgments and they have never collected one cent from me. I lack full time income and have no health insurance. See no reason to file yet. I am collection proof and have taken pro active steps to protect my assets. Just chill. You can't go to jail due to debt.

I agree with Jacko on this.

Most people are far too scared of lawsuits and judgments.

If you really have something to protect, then do whatever is necessary to file bankruptcy as soon as possible.

Otherwise, I wouldn't even bother going to court at all. If you owe it, they will win anyways. Make yourself as judgment (collection) proof as possible and then just sit back and wait them out.

Out of my many, many defaulted debts, only one ever sued me, and they have not yet collected a penny of that judgment from me, and it has been about 5 years since they got their judgment.

So, a judgment is not as scary as you think it is going to be.

Stop worrying about this stuff so much.

[Dmax]

Hello. Been lurking a while, first post. Please excuse me if I'm hi-jacking this thread.

I have a Hearing on a Motion for Summary Judgment coming up in 2 weeks. Would the court stories told in this thread apply to my type of hearing? The Plaintiff's attorney will appear by phone. Not sure how that works in a court room. Or maybe this would be held in a conference room of sorts?

I've been telling the court that they hadn't even provided an account number. But alas, yesterday's mail brought a copy of a statement from June '09. Funny thing is they show the number for an account that was "closed in good standing" as I had my wallet stolen and had to get a new card, with of course, a new account number. I stopped paying 4 different CCs in Nov '08 as business went sour. So I must have gotten the newer acc't number sometime in '06 or early '07. How did they come up with this statement... who knows?

As it is, I don't expect the attorney to play nice after I've contested and made him work a bit. So not sure if he'll want to set up payment plan or what not. Which brings me to another question. I don't own a home or any assets other than some $ in the bank and then my wages. Bank account levy and wage garnishment, how do they work? Is that something that would automatically go into effect that day? Probably should stop direct-deposit asap, huh?

I am in FL and don't qualify to file Chp 7 until May '11 (2-yr residency).
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

[WhatMoney]

Hello. Been lurking a while, first post. Please excuse me if I'm hi-jacking this thread.

Yeah it's a threadjack. Start your own thread and ask questions. It's not fair to poor Merime, who has started at least 20 threads here in the last 2 months about her lawsuit, that your problems should distract from hers.

[DYLAN150]

Jacko: can you tell us how you protected your assets? What, auto, house, Motorcycle or what? I know most states have the homestead act. I know some people get proactive and send the sueing attorney a list of their exemptions showing them their is nothing left to take. Me, my social security and VA disability can't be garnished.

[Dmax]

Yeah it's a threadjack. Start your own thread and ask questions. It's not fair to poor Merime, who has started at least 20 threads here in the last 2 months about her lawsuit, that your problems should distract from hers.

My apologies.

[GoingDown]

Jacko: can you tell us how you protected your assets? What, auto, house, Motorcycle or what? I know most states have the homestead act. I know some people get proactive and send the sueing attorney a list of their exemptions showing them their is nothing left to take. Me, my social security and VA disability can't be garnished.

As for protecting assets, the main things they go after are wages and bank accounts. Your wages [social security and VA disability] are already safe from garnishment. The next step would be to make sure that they are going to a pre-paid debit card instead of a checking account.

Unless your car is free and clear from any car loan, and unless it is worth a considerable amount of money, debt collectors are generally not interested in it. I personally drive a truck from the 1990s, so it is worth less than the vehicle exemption amount [$5,000] for my state. If they did try to take it, they would have pay me the exemption amount for my truck and then I would just go get another one. They aren't going to do that. I'm not worried about it.

If your home has a mortgage on it, debt collectors may place a lien on it, but they will almost never try to take it from you because they would have to pay off that mortgage first and then try to sell it at auction to someone else. That's a great way for them to lose thousands of dollars. So, if you just learn to see your house as a place to live rather than an investment, you can continue to live in for many years to come without having to worry about the debt collector taking it from you.

If you own your home and someone does sue you, there is generally a form to fill out and file with the court claiming your homestead exemption amount. You put the civil lawsuit case number on the form, file it with the same court they are suing you from, and then send a copy of the filed form to the attorney suing you by certified mail. They are then required to pay exempted equity to you IF they ever try to take the house to pay the judgment.

Or if you rent a house, like I do, they can't take that from you, either.

And yes, getting proactive and sending the sueing attorney a list of their exemptions showing them their is nothing left to take is a great idea. It lets them know they are wasting their time on you. [I also do this before it gets to the lawsuit phase by sending it to the collection agency and the creditor]. Make sure it gets directly to the attorney, not his staff. Look up his local address on the county property tax website and send it directly to his home address, if possible. This gets their attention like nothing else, and will generally make them lose interest in pursuing you.