Judgements

[endro]

How long does it take for a credit card company to try to sue and get a judgement? What happens if they do? Can it be stopped in court and bankruptcy filed then?

I am in California.

Thanks.

[HHM]

You have a couple different questions rolled in there, so let me parse them out...

1. How long from first default on a credit card will a credit card underwriter (bank) sue you.

Unfortunately, there is no set time, but it tends to be a long a time. Most credit card companies will put your account through various non-judicial collection efforts before ever considering filing a law suit. A good rule of thumb is that most credit card companies don't sue for about 12+ months (Discover and MBNA tend to sue quicker, within 6-9 months).

2. Once they sue you, how long before a judgment is issued. Generally, the process of obtaining a judgment is this, (a), creditor files a complaint (b) the creditor must personally serve you with the complaint and summons, (c) once they serve you, they must wait 20 days to see if you respond, (d) if you don't respond, then they must request from the court a default judgment. The total process can take anywhere from 3 1/2 to 6 weeks.

3. You can stop the entry of a judgment by filing BK so long as you file BK before the judgment is entered. However, even after the judgment is entered, you can usually vacate the judgment as part of your bankruptcy.

[endro]

Thank you.

[ChainSmokin]

Great reply HHM!

[BKTango]

HHM is correct. I will add one thing, as it was my personal experience, the larger the credit card company (MBNA, BOA, Citibank, Chase), sued my butt in no time. MBNA was already on the suit bandwagon when I was only 30 days late and had never been late before. All the others, sued within 6-9 months of non payment. I have seen others float through past the statute of limitations for years and never be sued, it's just the luck of the draw really.

Chainsmokin - On a sheet of paper delivered with one of our complaints and lawsuit papers (the creditors hired "carriers" to serve us) it stated that after three attempts they could mail it. Also someone I knew had their's mailed via certified return receipt mail as they were never home.

[HHM]

Great reply HHM!

Yes they can, and some states allow for simply using the post office. It will really depend on your State's rules of procedure and what court they sue you in (i.e. Small Claims courts generally allow service by mail). For a typical lawsuit, the creditor must send someone to your last known address to attempt personal service. If (or once) that fails, then they can ask the court to allow service by mail (if allowed), or service by publication. Service by publication is where they publish the summons in a newspaper for a 2 to 3 weeks. Avoiding personal service usually only buys you 2-3 weeks.

[ChainSmokin]

[BKTango]

You are welcome chainsmokin!
It kinda is better to just bite the bullet and take care of it the only way you can at the moment instead of always not answering the phone or ducking when the doorbell rings. We didn't even make it to one year before the lawsuits started and the SOL for here is 4 years so we definitely could not continue with that insanity for another three years let alone have the 5 lawsuits and judgements. I never thought I would ever have to do the things I have done in this past year, like hiding. Now even though we still have a ways to go and it's not over yet, at least I can breathe and the most important thing is I am looking forward instead of over my shoulder.

Sorry for the hijack endro.