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I have a default judgment where i wasn't served and have a hearing this week to vacate. I have solid proof that I was somewhere else and wasn't available to be served but there is an issue. I disputed and asked for verification by sending 5-6 letters over a years time. The debt collector is claiming they responded to my 1st dispute with a letter giving information on the judgement. It seems the judge was giving this a lot of weight. I never received the letter and don't even believe they sent it but am learning it is tough to prove. It seems with the mailbox rule the court presumes i received it. The letter they say they responded to they claimed was sent 6/2020 My disputes/ request for specific documents after that didn't acknowledge the judgement either (because i didn't know about it). All they submitted as evidence is a PDF of the letter. No postage. I have strong meritorious defenses to the debt but need to have success getting default overturned. Is there a better way to argue against this? I'm in IL

Synopsis- Sued by Midland Funding. I responded in the proper amount of time with denying all the the items in the complaint. I was prepared to go to the pretrial settlement hearing. Date in my planner and in my phone. Made a huge mistake and put in on the Tuesday of the following week, so Nov. 13 instead on Nov. 6. My daughter was ill on November 6th and had to go to the doctor. Missed school for 2 days. Since we were home, I opened my huge file to last minute prepare for the pretrial settlement hearing the next week because I had done nothing to prep. My plan was to ask the judge to stay or dismiss pending contractual arbitration. When I opened my file, saw that I had missed the court date the day before. I freaked out, called the court and was advised that a default judgement had been entered. I was told that before I could do anything else that I needed to file a motion to set aside the default judgement and that I could do so at the court. The woman advised that they had the forms and I would fill them out and pay $20. My naive thought was I would fill in the blanks and write that my daughter was ill, I could prove so with paperwork from doctor and attendance documentation from school. When I showed up at the court on Tuesday 11/12 (Monday was Veterans Day and court was closed), I was told that I needed to write in why I didn't owe the money for the default judgement. I explained that I had planned to ask the judge to stay or dismiss, etc... I was then advised that I should come back with more documentation. Do I have any chance of getting the default judgement set aside? Should I just call Midland and set up payments? Amount is around $2,100 from the default judgement. Debt is 5 years and 9 months old, so not out of the statute of limitations. I appreciate any help or advice.

First off, thank you to everyone who provides info on this forum. I never would have gotten to where I am with my defense against Midland Funding. I'm being sued by Midland Funding in MN civil court. They filed a motion for summary judgment and the hearing is next week. I did not file anything during discovery and instead elected to elect arbitration with AAA (alleged contract with Citibank NA states AAA is only option). At the same time I filed a motion to dismiss/compel arbitration. Anyway, the firm representing Midland was served properly and with enough notice and the motion hearing was this morning. No one from the firm showed up. The judge was not too happy obviously, and said that the date originally for the summary judgement next week will now be used for my motion, she will discuss what happened with the judge scheduled for that hearing and also mentioned the possibility of a default judgement in my favor due to no one showing up. So, they are in trouble. My question is what should I do to keep the boot on the throat, so to speak. I believe I have some momentum in my favor, I want to be able to take full advantage. At a minimum, they wasted my time and the court's time -- how do I hold them accountable and demonstrate to the court I respect the court's time, unlike the firm suing me. Thanks in advance.

Hello, I was served papers by Capital One Bank a few months back. I filled out a form for the plaintiff to prove their allegations against me and turned it into the court here in my town, as well as sent a certified copy to Capital One Bank. I now received a Notice of Bench Trial paper in the mail from the Civil Clerk of the Court. Can anyone tell me what to expect? I know that if I do not show up I could get a default judgement against me. This is all new to me & I'm trying to self-navigate. Is it likely for a representative of Capital One Bank or their lawyer show up? Is it also possible to work out a payment plan granted they win and I get that default judgement? Thanks in advance for any direction!

I am about to argue a motion to vacate a default judgement. The original complaint was filed against me without my knowledge in late 2011. The alleged date of default is from 12/5/08. I only learned about the lawsuit in April 2016, when I was sent a Notice of Wage Garnishment. I am arguing pro se. I did already object to the wage garnishment but in addition I have filed this motion to vacate. The Plaintiff (Midland Funding) and their attorney (Pressler & Pressler) sent everything from the initial 2011 complaint to the wrong address, even though I had formally changed my address with Motor Vehicle back in early 2010. The original debtor was Target National Bank. My primary defense is lack of personal jurisdiction, improper service. In addition, the city I moved to was in an entirely different county from where the lawsuit was filed. (Filed in Cumberland County, NJ and I reside in Salem County, NJ). I am hoping to win the motion without putting much emphasis on the County difference. I am comfortable with the current judge and don’t wish to change venues unless it is my only option left. Soon after I filed the Motion I received a letter from the Plaintiff's attorney asking me to prove my address from November and December 2011, when service occurred. As far as I know I already did provide proof of address change and enough documentation to show a pattern of my whereabouts during this time period. I am not sure if I should send them something right away or wait to see if the judgement is vacated? I have requested they Validate the Debt already and Pressler & Pressler refused since they had already won the default judgement. In any case, if my motion to vacate is successful, I would assume Midland Funding will attempt to refile. They might refile in Salem County this time, or attempt to restart or refile in Cumberland County. NJ Statute of Limitations on Debt Collection is 6 years. Since the original date of default on the debt is from 2008, is this debt now considered time-barred? Or is there any reason the statute of limitations would be ignored or reset? Of what issues should I be aware?

Hello. Been reading this forum for a few days trying to see if I can find something to support me against the mess I have created. We have 4 medical default judgements. I just payed off $7, 800 lump sum one. The DC told me they have 2 other bills from hospital that was not in court yet. $847.00 and $4,000,the other 3 default judgements are with a different DC, I have paid the $847.00 , right after I sent payment I was served with summons asking for both combined. I have my answer to summons and am taking to courthouse Monday. I started investigating some things and found that the judgements are actually my father-in -laws name. My husband and his father are both Joseph but middle initials are different and of course age. I am going to search up everything at courthouse Monday on their computers. I have so many questions and details on this journey I am about to take and would love advice. I could definitely be the posterchild for "What NOT To Do!" when being sued. I am a resident of Nebraska. Thank-you , Kelly

Hello, Thank you in advance for your answers. This is my first post as I have decided to research my options in dealing with a lingering default judgement. I received a Default Judgement (served properly and never answered) in California more than 3 years ago. I originally owed a large bank about 10k (credit card debt), current balance sits at about 14k with fees and interest. I need to take care of this debt. Garnishment attempts have been made (I can see filing with court) but not successful. No bank account levy as of yet but attempts made as seen on court records. (5 years). Only property to my name is an older vehicle worth less than 2k. I do have credit cards at the moment that I use and pay monthly (2k line) My questions are: (1) What is the best plan of action to takle and get rid of this debt? - I cannot pay in full but I am willing to settle if it is an option (family willing to loan money). (2) Is settlement a realistic option at this point? If so, what amound do you suggest? (3) Should I contact a debt lawyer in my area? Any way to reopen the case? (4) Should I consider bankruptcy? I am in my mid 20s. Any other tips and suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Hi all, I am currently needing help for my mother who waited til the last day she has to answer a complaint made against her for a balance on an US Bank credit card. She's still within the 30 days to file her answer but only contacted a lawyer 2 days earlier and he told her to write a very short letter to the plaintiff asking that he not take default judgement against her as she is in the process of obtaining legal counsel. Since it is too late to mail it to the plaintiff the lawyer she consulted said to email it to the plaintiff as well as file it as her answer. I've read a few of the posts regarding how to file a legal answer and this letter the lawyer asked her to write doesn't seem like it would be enough? Also if she files this letter along with the paperwork for her legal answer does she still need to present in court? It would be the same day as when she goes to file her answer. Any advice on what age should say in her letter asking the plaintiff not to take default judgement?

Hi, everyone. About a year ago, a JDB filed a Complaint against me for an alleged collection account. Despite never being served, I found out about the Complaint and filed my Answer and proof of service for it right away. The Case Summary reflects this, as well as several entries that say, "09/xx/2013 DECLARATION RE: NON-SERVICE FILED," which I'm assuming are indicators that the Plaintiff is filing paperwork to keep the case open without subjecting themselves to countersuit. Since my Answer and Proof of Service thereof have been accepted by the Court, do I need to be at all concerned regarding an entry that was made when the Complaint was first filed regarding a hearing for Default Collection? My understanding has been that this was placed on the Case Summary at the time the Complaint was filed in case I never responded. Now that I have, my Answer (I believe) has nullified the proposed hearing. The entry reads thusly: Future Hearings 06/xx/2014 at xx:xx AM in department xxx at xxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx, CA xxxxx OSC - 3.740 COLLECTIONS-DEFAULT JUDGMENT Am I correct in my assumption, or could there be anything further I need to do in order to ensure that the proposed hearing has indeed been canceled and will not go forward? I'm pretty sure I have it right, but want to cover all bases. Thank you so much for any constructive input you may have on the matter.

I live in Massachusetts and I received in the mail a collections notice from a collection agency called NCO financial. They are trying to collect $2,000.00 from a default judgement obtained against me by American Express back in 2008, from a credit card. I pulled my credit report for the fist time and found that this Default is being reported by two of the of the three credit reporting agencies. I then went to the courts and obtained a copy of the judgement. I was served with notice of the hearing at an address I wasn't living at, but i'm afraid i can't prove i wasn't living there because I was in fact homeless at the time. I would like to know the best course for getting the judgement vacated ASAP. Should I reach out to AMEX directly and see if they will cut me a deal and remove the judgement? Or should I deal with this collection agency that has contacted me? Third option would be to try to get it vacated in court, but i'm not sure i would win in court if the hearing were to be done all over again.