Kcin Posted March 16, 2011 Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 Okay, so I found a few threads that were similar to my situation, but didn't quite find the info I was looking for.I have a judgment against me for credit card debt. The judgment was won by default in 2005. I was young, naive and kind of just closed my eyes and hoped it would go away. Obviously, that's not the case. Now that my wife and I have our heads screwed on straight and are finally in a position to tackle these issues, and perhaps pay off some of these debts, I find myself in a quandary.Long story short: I can no longer be sure of who owns the debt. (I can provide greater detail of the paper trail if necessary). I've sent out several requests for validation to multiple groups claiming ownership at one point in time or another, all have gone unanswered. As such I have no way to negotiate the payment of the debt, and clear/remove/satisfy the judgment based on those negotiations. At this point, even though I have money to make some amends, I am unable to accurately determine who the money should go to. End result is that I have this gigantic black mark against my credit that I can't really do anything about.Despite the case being several years old, I would like to file a petition/motion to vacate the judgment on the grounds that I have no other method by which to satisfy or otherwise remove the judgment.I feel this is a pretty reasonable request of the court, so unless someone has a pretty convincing reason why it wouldn't be, then my real problems come when I try to format a motion to vacate.I looked at the sample letter provided on the website, as well as covered the info about judgments in the book, they are all written from the point of having missed the original trial, and why it viable justification you had for not being there and the judgment becoming default.While the motion and declaration seem relatively straight forward and appear that they would still apply in my situation. The declaration itself seems as if it would be off base in my particular case as I'm not claiming part of an unlawful detainer action.So my 2 major questions after all that:1. Am I completely off base in my train of thought for attacking this situation?2. If I am not, are there some key legal terms that I would use in place of the unlawful detainer action, or since I am representing myself, will a simple statement of facts and requested outcome be enough? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BV80 Posted March 16, 2011 Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 You need to read your court's Rules of Civil Procedure regarding judgments. They will tell you under what circumstances you can file a motion to vacate. If it's too late to file a motion to vacate, you might have to look into an appeal. But again, you must have a valid reason to appeal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kcin Posted March 16, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 You need to read your court's Rules of Civil Procedure regarding judgments. They will tell you under what circumstances you can file a motion to vacate.I have read title six in almost all of its entirety. Chapters 45-60 and any other chapter that looks like it might have the info I'm looking for. I've read chapter 55 top to bottom at least half a dozen times. I've even used the search engine to look for the word Vacate, but its only found in regards to vacating a building on command of the fire marshal. I see nothing about when, or how I can challenge a judgment. If it's too late to file a motion to vacate, you might have to look into an appeal. But again, you must have a valid reason to appeal. I'm okay with that as well, maybe the court will disagree with me, but an unsatisfiable judgment is more than valid enough as far as I'm concerned. Unfortunately again however, I find no information in Title VI with regards to how this process should work. Not even the search engine brings up appeal in any terms related to appealing a judgment, or just a court case in general for that matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BV80 Posted March 16, 2011 Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 Here's the link to the Rules of Civil Procedure:http://www.doh.state.fl.us/IG/ADR/General/FLorida%20Rules%20for%20Civil%20Procedures.pdfAccording to the rules, one has 10 days to request a new hearing. Needless to say, that time has passed. You have 1 year to request relief from judgment. That's passed as well. The next step would be the appellate court.If it were me, I'd contact a consumer attorney. Many attorneys give free consultations. All you need is a little advice as to how to proceed. It would seem to me that the Plaintiff in the case who was awarded a judgment is the one you should pay, but I don't know for sure. An attorney could probably answer that question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kcin Posted March 16, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 Thank you for that very helpful link.I know for a fact that the original plaintiff no longer owns the debt, its been handed off to a 3rd owner, possibly a 4th. I don't want to send money to anyone who is not going to help me clear up my credit in the process.I'll probably take your advice and seek counsel from a consumer attorney. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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