What to do about a judgement that I have no knowledge of?

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What to do about a judgement that I have no knowledge of?

I have a judgement against me from a law firm. This is from a credit card account that went delinquent almost 6 years ago. The bank provided me with a number to call and the person stated that I was served with papers and had the chance to defend myself but elected not to. He proceeded to tell me that the paperwork was delivered to an old address of mine and I wasn’t in the state. Needless to say, I never got it and this went to court.I requested paperwork on the judgement and have not received any response. They now sent a subpoena to my place of employment requesting all my information. Is there anything I can do at this point?

Asked on May 7, 2012 under Bankruptcy Law, Utah

Answers:

S.L,. Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 11 years ago | Contributor

Since you were not properly served with the summons and complaint (the complaint is the lawsuit), you did not have an opportunity to timely respond by filing an answer to the complaint with the court and serving it by mail on the opposing party or the opposing party's attorney.  Since you did not file an answer to the complaint, the opposing party had a default judgment entered against you. You can file a motion to set aside the default.  Your argument is that you were never properly served with the summons and complaint and therefore did not have an opportunity to timely file an answer to the complaint.  If the court grants your motion, the case will then be back on track and litigation will continue and you will have an opportunity to file an answer.  The answer to the complaint denies the allegations in the complaint.  You should file your motion to set aside the default with an attached proof of service.  File with the court and serve a copy by mail on the opposing party's attorney.  You should act promptly because the subpoena sent to your employer for your information will be used to obtain a wage garnishment.


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