crh70 Posted January 27, 2012 Report Share Posted January 27, 2012 Could use a little nudge in the right direction please.We received a letter on the 18th from a law firm in Houston regarding an old debt of my husband's that has been assigned to LVNV. The firm representing them is known for being aggressive.The letter basically state that they had judgement against him and to ring them to discuss. He rang to discuss the matter but after advising them that we have no money they yelled and hung up on him. I don't know how they got judgement as he has been here 5 years and never heard from them before but that's another issue.We did some research and decide to send them a letter stating we dispute the debt under SOL. The debt is so old now it's fallen off his credit report. We did the letter today ready to send tomorrow.In today's mail are 2 big letters from the lawyer. One "Interrogatories in Aid Of Execution" and one "Plaintiff's Request For Production Of Documents In Aid Of Execution" so my question is what do we do now. My options are:1) continue to send our we dispute this letter and not answer theirs in the interim,2) seek lawyer help or3) answer their letters.Could really use some help as I'm a little freaked out right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usagi555 Posted January 27, 2012 Report Share Posted January 27, 2012 Your option 2 is the best, by far. It sounds like your husband was a victim of sewer service if he didn't even know that there was a judgment against him. Figure out where the judgment was and get a copy of everything from the clerk's office in that district. If it really was sewer service, you are going to need to get that judgment vacated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BV80 Posted January 27, 2012 Report Share Posted January 27, 2012 Did you check with the court to make sure there was actually a judgment? If it's legitimate, you can go to the courthouse and makes of copies of the file. It should contain information that will show how the summons and complaint were allegedly served. I also agree with Usagi. A lawyer is a good idea. First make sure there really is a judgment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crh70 Posted January 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2012 (edited) I've just done a search based on the documents that have been provided today and discovered where they have supposedly filed the judgement so I'm about to get onto the phone to the clerk to see what they have.Thanks for the advice so far.EDITED TO ADD: Okies but how exactly do I figure out where the judgement may be filed? The 2 letters we have today have a case number. Doing a search by that and his name on the Harris County website come up with nothing. Edited January 27, 2012 by crh70 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legaleagle Posted January 27, 2012 Report Share Posted January 27, 2012 Call your local court clerk and give them the case number. If it isn't theirs, they'll be able to tell you the right court by looking at the number. They are usually coded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crh70 Posted January 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2012 Thank you everyone. It looks like our first steps are:1) Get on the phone to the court on Monday and see if a judgement really exists2) Get copies of it if it does3) If it does exist file a Motion To Dismiss4) Seek a lawyers advice also to make sure we're not missing anything.Sound about right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BV80 Posted January 27, 2012 Report Share Posted January 27, 2012 Thank you everyone. It looks like our first steps are:1) Get on the phone to the court on Monday and see if a judgement really exists2) Get copies of it if it does3) If it does exist file a Motion To Dismiss4) Seek a lawyers advice also to make sure we're not missing anything.Sound about right?I would switch #3 and #4. Seek an attorney's advice before filing a motion. Contact your state's Bar Association, and ask for their lawyer referral service. Tell them your situation, and they'll provide the name of an attorney in your area who'll give you a consultation either for free or for a reduced fee. That way you can get some answers and find out your options. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crh70 Posted January 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2012 Thank you for your responses - will get onto it on Monday morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coltfan1972 Posted January 28, 2012 Report Share Posted January 28, 2012 I would switch #3 and #4.Understatement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
energizer Posted January 28, 2012 Report Share Posted January 28, 2012 HiSince you live in Harris county, i have a recommendation on a lawyer i would reommend from NACA.I have had tremendous success working with him on a case like yours.Look up naca.net n he is listed in local houston areaThank you for your responses - will get onto it on Monday morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crh70 Posted January 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2012 Thank you but we don't live in Harris County (Houston). We live in Tarrant County (Fort Worth). I thought the judgement may have been obtained in Harris as that is where the lawyer is located. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crh70 Posted January 30, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 I am currently beyond astounded.Not only is there a judgment, but it was awarded in 2000. They received a writ of execution of the judgment in May of last year. And yet we only found out about the entire thing last week!!!!! Just wow.We have a lawyer's appointment on Thursday morning but is this normal? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legaleagle Posted January 30, 2012 Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 Rather odd, they usually don't wait this long to try to collect. Maybe they were waiting for your financial position to improve while the interest piled up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crh70 Posted January 30, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 I know, odd huh, but they're out of luck if that was their strategy as we're a one income family of 4 with stuff all in assets, outside of exemptions I don't think we have anything of value. I did read from the outside that this is a particularly aggressive law firm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legaleagle Posted January 31, 2012 Report Share Posted January 31, 2012 Texas Wage Garnishment Laws | DebtSettlementLawyers.comHere's a start, you never know what they can pull, best to study up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crh70 Posted January 31, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2012 Thank you, I was aware of the wage garnishment being pretty much a non-issue. I have to admit the freezing of our joint bank accounts did cross my mind last Friday, however, I can live with them taking the $10 dollars that's left there now lol.I do appreciate the link though. Will update this thread on Thursday after we get our legal advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crh70 Posted February 2, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 Just as an update in case anyone finds themselves in a similar situation to ours in future. Met with a NACA recommended lawyer this afternoon to discuss the case and discovered:1) the original 2000 default judgment was given in a county my husband never lived in but which is notorious for giving default judgments willy nilly;2) we could contest based on him never being served either; and3) the 2 discovery requests we received on Friday were sent by normal mail, not certified as per Texas rules.He's sent an email to the in-house counsel for LVNV basically asking him to make the case go away and now we sit and wait for a few days while they get back to us. Fingers crossed and as I have learned this week - DONT ROLL OVER!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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