HELP....Discharging a state court judgment after Bankruptcy

[Damontis]

A judgment in Minnesota District Court which has been discharged in a Federal

Bankruptcy proceeding must also be discharged in District Court.

The judgment debtor or any other interested party may file an Application for Discharge with the district court in the county where the lawsuit was started and where the judgment was entered.

The judgment debtor or interested party must:

1 Fill out an Application for Discharge. This form is available in Room 600 of the Ramsey County Courthouse located at 15 West Kellogg Blvd., Saint Paul, Minnesota 55102 or online at www.courts.state.mn.us/ctforms. The Application must list each judgment to be discharged and must include all required information.

2 Make a copy of the Application for each judgment creditor and keep the original to be filed with the court.

3 Obtain a certified copy of the Bankruptcy Discharge or a certificate from the Clerk of U.S. Bankruptcy Court. This will be attached to the original Application for Discharge when the application is filed with the court. The judgment must be listed in the Bankruptcy discharge. Judgments cannot be discharged if a bankruptcy petition is pending or is not otherwise final.




OK, So I have the Discharge of debtor Paperwork...On the back sheet. Certificate of Service, Providian was named here. Am I screwed because it wasn't listed as a judgement? The judgement was filed against me a few months before I filed for BK. My BK case was closed 2 years ago.

Any help would be very apprecciated.

Thanks, Damontis

[lrprn]

OK, So I have the Discharge of debtor Paperwork...On the back sheet. Certificate of Service, Providian was named here. Am I screwed because it wasn't listed as a judgement? The judgement was filed against me a few months before I filed for BK. My BK case was closed 2 years ago.

Well, it doesn't look positive for you at this point. If you filed with a lawyer, go back and ask what your options are. Even if you have to pay for a half hour of his/her time, it's worth it to get good legal advice from an experienced Minnesota bankruptcy lawyer.

[Damontis]

I was just looking through my orig BK papers and I did have it listed as a Judgement on there, would that matter.

[GoingDown]

I was just looking through my orig BK papers and I did have it listed as a Judgement on there, would that matter.

Yes. If it was listed, then it was discharged. You should immediately send them a copy of your bankruptcy papers showing that the judgment was listed by certified mail. Once they get that they will probably give up. If they don't then, go to your local bk court and file the necessary paperwork to hold this creditor in contempt of the bk court. What they are doing is contempt of court because the debt has already been discharged.

[lrprn]

I was just looking through my orig BK papers and I did have it listed as a Judgement on there, would that matter.

Ok, so now what you owe on the judgment is wiped out. Send them a registered, return receipt copy of your discharge papers highlighting the judgment. They will stop contacting you or you have a case against them for violating the Fair Debt Collections Act.

However, if the judgment is a lien against one of your assets (a house or car, for example), then to vacate the lien itself, you may have to file in court to have the lien removed. Otherwise, the lien could prevent you from transferring the title if you sell the car or home at a later time. Again, if the judgment was a lien against an asset, ask your original or another bk lawyer in your area where you stand.