Banks, Sheriff, Judgements - OH MY!

[catwhisperer]

Need help again. We are filing Chapter 7 by the end of the year but need to hold off this bank that is trying to get a judgement against us - and probably will.
Just as a recap, we had a trailer repossessed, sold at auction and the bank is suing us for the $6000 due.

OK, here's the question. Once a bank gets a judgement, which the vultures will, then they try to collect on it. Does anybody have experience with this? Is there every an option where they would attach your wages before trying to possess everything you own and sell it at auction. Someone told me they would never want my junk, just threatening real hard.

[no_it_all]

<snip> Is there every an option where they would attach your wages before trying to possess everything you own and sell it at auction. <snip>

Oh yes! They go after the low hanging fruit first. Wages are garnished (if allowed in your state) because it is so easy. If your wages can't be garnished they go after your savings or checking account. If you try and hide the money, you can be required by the creditor to appear in court and tell them where your assests are (not just liquid assests like cash, but all assets). If you don't show up, the sheriff can arrest you and bring you to the court...I would kick up my BK by about seven months if I were you!

[Rover]

the bank is suing us for the $6000 due.

What's the status of the lawsuit? Have you just been served with the summons/complaint? Have you filed an answer?

If you were just served, by filing motions to dismiss, etc., you can probably postpone the time in which you need to file an answer for the remainder of this year.

By just filing some simple motions, waiting for hearings, etc., a person can drag out the lawsuit process for a very long time.

Also, $6,000 isn't much of an incentive for a collections attorney to pursue a suit in which the defendent is generating lots of additional paperwork.

Of course, if you get an attorney to file motions, etc., the attorney's fees can quickly run up to more than the debt.

What you need to do is get a book like "Represent Yourself in Court" by Paul Bergman, which will teach you to file motions and an answer. You'll quickly learn that the judicial process is actually fairly simple in terms of learning ways to take advantage of all your rights in the process.

A collections lawyer can get a judgment in a few months if one does nothing. But if you learn how to respond to a lawsuit, you'll be amazed at how long you can postpone ever even going before a judge for a basic motions hearing. What's more, you don't have to be a rocket scientist to learn the process. If the practice of law required the intelligence of a rocket scientist, there would be far fewer lawyers.

[no_it_all]

Excellent advice for the debtor with a hankering for a little law experience...this is the civil procedure bible..geared towards first year law students but an excellent tome on the subject: Civil Procedure: Examples and Explanations by Joseph Glannon the ISBN is 0735555567

[catwhisperer]

The bank filed a motion for the court to make a judgement. I am going to run down monday PRONTO and file another motion. I was waiting for the attorney to help us out which he DIDN'T!

I'll get that book too - THANKS TO ALL OF YOU MUCHO!

[Graphic]

lol. I'm in law school so I definately know what they are talking about. You can drag out the motion to dismiss, and many other motions for a good little while. People tend not to know about it, or don't do it in time and then screw themselves. However, it is very easy to do and doesn't take much time at all. It's definately fun playing that game. I almost hope I get sued sometime just so I can go back and forth...but knock on wood I haven't yet. HOpefully won't for real though lol.

[Rover]

The bank filed a motion for the court to make a judgement.

If that is the situation, then you must have already been served with the Complaint and evidently did not file an Answer within the allotted time (usually 20 to 30 days depending on the state).

If you did not file an Answer, the bank has probably asked the court to issue a Summary Judgment, which the court is almost forced to do at this point.

Is it the case that you were served and did not file an Answer?

[catwhisperer]

Rover,
You are absolutely right. We had contacted a free legal aid place, they wrote an answer, then we got some bogus 8 page statement that they wanted an answer to. The person at the free legal aid had the papers and then LEFT without helping us with an answer. We have in the meantime been trying to seek other attorneys.
SO...what we did and will file on Monday is a Motion for Continuance and put aside the request for summary judgement because we need more time to find an attorney and decide about bankruptcy.
This will tell the bank that (a) we have no money or assets to come after (b) either settle with us or they get NOTHING or (c) BUG OFF! - you can't get water from a stone.

They are trying to bleed us dry - can't they go after someone else. I think this will give them a message and at the very least buy us some time to pull a few things together.

[Rover]

Cat,

Sounds like you're doing the best you can.

It also sounds like you're judgment proof. It that is the case, you don't want to ask them to settle with you. The very mention that you can settle makes them think there is water in that stone.

Best.

[Graphic]

Yeah never mention settling especially if you are thinking about BK. Like Rover said you sound like you are judgment proof. Which basically means you don't have anything for them to go after anyways. Happens a lot really and then they tend to not sue that type of person because they obviously will lose money off of it anyways.

If they do get the judgment against you it will take them a little time to start the wage garnishment and anything else, if you have anything. Once you do file, and lets just say they did get a judgment, you can include it in your BK but it's just some extra paperwork and a fee. So it's really your best bet to try to file before a judgment comes upon you.

Oh well best of luck

[catwhisperer]

Yeah never mention settling especially if you are thinking about BK. Like Rover said you sound like you are judgment proof. Which basically means you don't have anything for them to go after anyways. Happens a lot really and then they tend to not sue that type of person because they obviously will lose money off of it anyways.

If they do get the judgment against you it will take them a little time to start the wage garnishment and anything else, if you have anything. Once you do file, and lets just say they did get a judgment, you can include it in your BK but it's just some extra paperwork and a fee. So it's really your best bet to try to file before a judgment comes upon you.

Oh well best of luck

Sorry, I missed your note here. Is the extra paperwork something with the BK or something separate - any idea of what the form is or where it goes when you file? Are we talking a $10 fee or a $200 fee? - help me out with this one

[catwhisperer]

I think by this time my fear of the sheriff are gone. They aren't going to bother - I hope. They may just come with the papers. That's an interesting question - once you are sued does the sheriff come with all of the papers during the whole appeals, motions process?

Thanks for the advice about not settling. So what would a bank do - decide this isn't all worth it and then what? Do they file something with the court to forget it or just go through and get their judgment. Looks to me like they have no problem with that. So if I drag this through the marshes, the attorney will tell their customer - the bank - that there is no point in more legal costs because it would cost them more money than they'll ever get.

What would the attorney's next move be - this does sound like a game - but it sure isn't fun.

[SinkingFast]

My experience with attnys is when you file a motion, they file something right back.

So if you have an alternative at this point to "drag it thru the marshes" for a nominal filing fee, then do it. All you're out is, say, $25 to buy some time.

The Bank on the other hand, is gonna be out $25 plus billable hours to counter your motion. Wanna know what the billable hourly rate is,......... Call the Bank's lawfirm and ask. You'll get a good ballpark guesstimate of what they are spending everytime they have to counter your move.

Granted, the Bank prolly uses the same law firm every time so they probably get a contract rate, but still,........... I'm thinking the Bank is used to paying a set amount to accomplish a specific task. If you go countering the attnys moves with motions of your own, the Legal tab will start to accumulate. It may not take much of that before the Bank puts the skids on any counter moves by the law firm.

Even if the Bank allows the volleys to continue, each and every motion is eating away at the $6K deficiency balance you "owe" them.

Just a thought for you to mull over.

[SinkingFast]

Sorry, I missed your note here. Is the extra paperwork something with the BK or something separate - any idea of what the form is or where it goes when you file? Are we talking a $10 fee or a $200 fee? - help me out with this one

The extra paperwork and fee will be to have the Judgement removed from the files at the Court House post BK.

Once the Judgement is filed, even if it's paid or discharged in BK, the document remains on file at the Court House. It, the Judgement, will have to physically be removed by a legal action. Most likely by an attny. You can't just swing by the Court House, wave your BK paperwork, show the debt discharged, and get the Judgement removed.

[catwhisperer]

The extra paperwork and fee will be to have the Judgement removed from the files at the Court House post BK.

Once the Judgement is filed, even if it's paid or discharged in BK, the document remains on file at the Court House. It, the Judgement, will have to physically be removed by a legal action. Most likely by an attny. You can't just swing by the Court House, wave your BK paperwork, show the debt discharged, and get the Judgement removed.

Yes, but won't the bank not be able to touch us anyhow. Even with the judgement there, they cannot collect - I think I found a form to do this, I'm sure once we got a BK that it should be a standard form. Hey, I got this far !