I was sue and now public record help1!!

[aachudneymiles]

ok I have this public record on my credit report it was a car I co signed for my brother.. they sued me without me knowing .. I didnt recievce a letter or notice or anything I had HONESTLY no knowledge i was being sued. I had moved from my place in colorado to MI before all this happened. I have proof and everything I didnt live there. now they have a 3800 judgement against me .. should i close my banking account or put them in my husbands name? Please help

I need help what can I do next.. tdo i call court house

[kevin3344]

First thing to do is to contact the court and have them send you copies. It's probably like $1 per page or something like that. Inside will be the Affidavit of Service, and you can see what took place. In some locales leaving it on the front door of your last known residence is considered service, so keep that in mind. You will need to hire a lawyer where the judgment was filed if you want to try to have it vacated, unless you can travel back there.

Since you now live in another state they will have to domesticate it to your current state in order to enforce it. They cannot put a lien on your property or garnish your wages unless they do so first, and you would have to be served properly. Of course answer any summons.

Now, while most states accept judgments from other states, they usually don't allow judgments won by default in a previous state. AS LONG AS YOU USE THIS AS A DEFENSE IF/WHEN YOU ARE SERVED. Do a search for 'non-recognition of foreign judgments' in your state (the foreign doesn't mean another country, it just means outside your current locale) and see what the defenses are for your state.

For example, if you didn't or couldn't attend due to other circumstances or were never served properly (this is for NC by the way, so look up what it would be in your current state):

? 1C?1804. Grounds for nonrecognition. (a) A foreign judgment is not conclusive if:

(1) The judgment was rendered under a system that does not provide impartial tribunals or procedures compatible with the requirements of due process of law;

(2) The foreign court did not have personal jurisdiction over the defendant; or

(3) The foreign judgment did not have jurisdiction over the subject matter.

( A foreign judgment need not be recognized if:

(1) The defendant in the proceedings in the foreign court did not receive notice of the proceedings in sufficient time to enable the presentation of a defense;

(2) The judgment was obtained by fraud;

(3) The cause of action on which the judgment is based is repugnant to the public policy of this State;

(4) The judgment conflicts with another final and conclusive judgment;

(5) The proceedings in the foreign court were contrary to an agreement between the parties under which the dispute in question was to be settled out of court;

(6) In the case of jurisdiction based on personal service, the foreign court was a seriously inconvenient forum for the trial of the action; or

(7) The foreign court rendering the judgment would not recognize a comparable judgment of this State. (1993, c. 188.)

________

ELYSABETH

Edited September 9, 2011 by kevin3344

[admin]

How long ago was this judgment granted?

[aachudneymiles]

in 2005, I just got my true credit report and it under on transunion only. I am in texas.