Petition to Revive Judgment- SOL?

[HK29]

Hello every one,

I havent been able to locate a post that answers what Im looking for. Its been hectic trying to seek professional advice, read articles and get valid information to answer the question I have at this time. 

I live in Chicago, IL and in 2013 I was served with a judgment from Citibank, well my brother was given the papers. A lawyer met with me before trial, but again I had nothing and I just recall asking for documentation showing charges on the card and what not. Another trial was set three months later, but being young and not well informed I didnt show and I also didnt have anyone that could help. So a default judgment was entered. However, I never heard anything from Citi's lawyers at the time and they did not ever attempt to collect wages or seek payment. Truthfully, I never had anything to take to begin with.

Fast forward to March this year, I got served with petition to revive judgment papers from an officer. This time around Citibank is represented by Blitt & Gaines. I reached out to Chicago consumer law center and they said they couldnt help and Id just have to pay the full amount. I then reached out to another lawyer and she was a little more reassuring and said its not necessarily an end all-- its hard, but not unlikely to try to negotiate. Though as it was a petition I should wait to see what happens. If it did go through I could just go through with a hearing or try to settle. I waited and in May I received the motion and right to request a hearing. Due to COVID, hearings are no longer automatically scheduled like in the past. You have a week to make a request in order to have a hearing via Zoom. The same day I received the motion/hearing request I emailed the plaintiff per instructions provided and called the Court to schedule a hearing. I was just afraid of leaving something unanswered again and didnt want to repeat mistakes. When I called the Court and spoke to the clerk he said there were certain reasons to request a hearing (I realized I didnt fit any of them). Though I was also told by the lawyer I previously spoke to, she was kind enough to speak with me again for free, that they really shouldnt be saying that. In the moment I did feel like I shouldnt bother scheduling when he said that, but I then informed him that I had already emailed the plaintiff's lawyers. The clerk then told me I didnt need to do anything in that case and that per the standing order in place the plaintiff would need to contact the Court to schedule the hearing. I waited and waited and found it a bit odd that it was taking long to get a date back. 

But I thought I could try to make an offer before trial as I didnt meet any of the reasons for why a judgment would be vacated. My financial situation is not the best. Ive been out of work for the past two years and will probably continue to be as Im chronically ill/immunocompromised. The small amount of money I do have was from unemployment, which I know per state law is exempt. I dont own property, I live with my parents. So in essence falling under what can be judgment-proof. However, this time my family said they could try to help and pooled some money in order to just handle this matter once and for all. I made an offer of slightly over 40% of the original amount. They didnt accept my initial offer and asked for the original full amount and said it could be done in payments over the next year. I told their lawyer of my situation and he said that I could still counteroffer and also send in a letter detailing my financial situation and maybe their client would reconsider. However, yesterday I checked my case details and it seems the petition was allowed and entered July 9th. Which is odd because I had checked on July 12th when I spoke to the lawyer the second time and that did not show and I have not received any papers. So I take that as a hearing request was not made, which I in good faith thought the plaintiff had taken care of as thats what was told to me by the Court clerk.

So my question is can I then file a motion to vacate the judgment on these grounds if "petition for revival of judgment allowed" is essentially a default judgment? Also, when I initially spoke to the lawyer she did go over SOL and said it didnt apply as its 7 years and then explained the renewal process and how that can be continuously carried out for 20 years. However, I just realized its technically been 8 years, 7 years wouldve been 2020. I read the SOL in Illinois is 7 years though it can be renewed if a petition is filed and granted. Though the petition would not have been allowed had the hearing been scheduled...possibly. My other question is then, if I could have this judgment vacated and I get a hearing, could I use SOL as a defense as it has been 8 years since the initial judgment was entered?  Or is it not worth trying to get a hearing and just counter offering. Thanks for your time.

[Clydesmom]

5 hours ago, HK29 said:

So my question is can I then file a motion to vacate the judgment on these grounds if "petition for revival of judgment allowed" is essentially a default judgment?

It is WAY too late to try and vacate this judgment.  ANY legal basis to do so is long over.  You can file an opposition to reviving the judgment.  In order to do that you needed to answer that summons in the required time frame.  

5 hours ago, HK29 said:

My other question is then, if I could have this judgment vacated and I get a hearing, could I use SOL as a defense as it has been 8 years since the initial judgment was entered?  Or is it not worth trying to get a hearing and just counter offering.

You need to actively oppose reviving the judgment based on their waiting one year too long to renew it.  That is your best option.  The burden of proof that they should be allowed to revive is on them and if you actively oppose it using case law why it should be denied the court should take that in to consideration.  IF you sit around waiting for the court to approve it then try to vacate you are stuck with this judgment.  IF the court agrees with you and denies the petition to revive then the entire judgment is dead and they can no longer collect on it.  That is why you need to oppose their petition.

[HK29]

15 hours ago, Clydesmom said:

It is WAY too late to try and vacate this judgment.  ANY legal basis to do so is long over.  You can file an opposition to reviving the judgment.  In order to do that you needed to answer that summons in the required time frame.  

You need to actively oppose reviving the judgment based on their waiting one year too long to renew it.  That is your best option.  The burden of proof that they should be allowed to revive is on them and if you actively oppose it using case law why it should be denied the court should take that in to consideration.  IF you sit around waiting for the court to approve it then try to vacate you are stuck with this judgment.  IF the court agrees with you and denies the petition to revive then the entire judgment is dead and they can no longer collect on it.  That is why you need to oppose their petition.

Thanks for the response! Though that is part of the dilemma and I realize I had a lot of info. I did request a hearing, same day I received the motion, before the petition was allowed. The Court clerk basically gave the impression I shouldnt bother, but by then I had already emailed the plaintiff to which the clerk said they were then responsible, per the standing order in place, to request the hearing. That seems to never had happened on their end as it now shows the petition revival was allowed. I was asking more so if there is a motion I can file (only thing that seems to pop is vacating a judgment articles) to receive this hearing because that is where I imagine I could have tried stating SOL as a defense... if it were a viable one. But I did not receive a hearing and now the revival has been allowed.

[WhoCares1000]

Did you file a proper opposition motion with the courts (and send a copy to the plaintiff attorney)? You cannot simply request a hearing from the clerk. There is a formal process that has to be done. If you did not do the formal process, then the plaintiff motion was granted unopposed.

[HK29]

43 minutes ago, WhoCares1000 said:

Did you file a proper opposition motion with the courts (and send a copy to the plaintiff attorney)? You cannot simply request a hearing from the clerk. There is a formal process that has to be done. If you did not do the formal process, then the plaintiff motion was granted unopposed.

When I spoke to the attorney an opposition motion was not referenced, so no. She had asked if the papers I received had a hearing date, court room, appearance time, etc and I said no. She also mentioned the SOL and that they were within what the state allows (possibly why no mention of opposition motion because no affirmative defense?). So I could wait and see if the petition to revive would go through-- as she had dealt with the firm before and theyre known to just be about numbers in sending out mass motions so therefore not on their stuff-- or as I asked about negotiating try and do that. But generally would recommend waiting. So I did and then I received the motion and hearing request with only a request by date, which I followed, yet did not get. But unfortunately I realized late that this was actually year 8.

Im not sure if there was much to do about this from the start or if the advice could have been better despite seeking advice from an attorney this time who I felt was more helpful than others when I sought help in the initial stages. But I did not retain her as her fee was not in line with what the judgment is for and counterintuitive for my situation. She thought I best to apply that to the judgment in due case. In short, would it just be best to send another offer and the letter? 

[WhoCares1000]

You can make an offer to satisfy the judgement for less than the amount owed and they can decide whether to accept or reject the offer. You are not in a good negotiating position however because the creditor has tremendous power over your finances with a judgement. Just because they waited to collect does not mean that they will wait in the future. They could levy a bank account or garnish your wages tomorrow if they wish.

[WhoCares1000]

Also, did you bring up the 8 year thing with the attorney. They can only advise you based on the information they have. You might have gotten different advice if you brought that up.