Notice of Decision - what does this mean?

[eddiep]

I was served by one of my creditors and there was a court date set for June 2nd. I am trying to hold off a judgement for a couple months until I can file so I filed an appearance and a motioned for creditor to give an accounting of amount due. I did not appear at the june 2nd court date (I hope that was the right thing to do!). Today I got a notice of decision it says "please be advised that on 6/2/09 judge X made the following order relative to: Motion to amend ; granted writ specification "so ordered" What does that mean????

[DustinLH00]

I was served by one of my creditors and there was a court date set for June 2nd. I am trying to hold off a judgement for a couple months until I can file so I filed an appearance and a motioned for creditor to give an accounting of amount due. I did not appear at the june 2nd court date (I hope that was the right thing to do!). Today I got a notice of decision it says "please be advised that on 6/2/09 judge X made the following order relative to: Motion to amend ; granted writ specification "so ordered" What does that mean????

It sounds like he approved the motion to amend the original judgement. To me, it sounds like he ordered the creditor to give you an accounting of amount due as you motioned. You have more balls than I do, lol.

[eddiep]

I got no balls just to be clear, I am shaking in my boots!!!
All I did was go to the clerk's office, she told us how to fill out the forms. Thats it, praying to god that my bk is filed before any new court date thats all
They have not gotten a judgement yet, just trying to stall before they do.

[BigJohn]

Did the Judge specify a time in which they have to give you the information?

[eddiep]

In the original summons it said do not appear in court as there will not be an actual hearing on that date. We had the clerk help us fill out the motions and she said we would have a hearing in 30 to 60 days. I was sure the clerk said that we did not have to attend on the 2nd but now I am second guessing myself. Was I supposed to go?

We filed the motions on May 28th so I assume that the court would postpone the June 2date to give time for the plantiff to be notified and prepare documents for me.

[treehugger1]

Look, if you play the game, play it from the "least-sophisticated" consumer standpoint. If a hearing is scheduled, show up. Especially, if you filed an answer.

I'm trying to understand the writ information supplied by BB, and I don't quite understand it. In my state, failure to appear for a hearing as a defendant (who answered a complaint) tends to p*ss off the local judges. I would always show up, and if the hearing has been cancelled or continued to a future date, no big deal, at least you showed up. Did you file the motion and then think the request would forestall the court date? Did the plaintiff show up and you did not? Again, in my state, a no-show by either party automatically sends the complaint into a decision with prejudice against the party that fails to show.

You need to clarify what actually happened after you failed to show for the court appearance. Check your local court records (clerk) and see if any adverse actions have been applied against you.

[eddiep]

Here is your writ specification:
SPECIFICATIONS

23. All writs at the time of service upon the defendant shall have attached thereto a specification setting forth the particulars of the claim or a special declaration, but the Court, for good cause shown, may waive this requirement on motion of the plaintiff, which must be filed at the time of entry of the writ and accompanied by such specification or special declaration and a statement that copies of the same have been mailed or delivered to the defendant or his attorney, but the Court, for good cause shown upon motion also filed with the writ, may extend the time for filing specification or special declaration.

No writ will be accepted for entry except on compliance with this rule, and the filing of any writ, to which a specification or special declaration is attached without accompanying motions, shall constitute a certification that this rule has been complied with.

Exactly this reads like a bunch of random words stuck together to me. If i could find my local rules I couldn't understand them. I have no defense, I owe the money and I have no intention of fighting this, just trying to hold out until July 1st when we can file, waiting for income to drop off. My bk lawyer told me I could do this or pay him $400 to strip the lien after or both if we I can't delay this enough.

[eddiep]

I guess my question is was there a "hearing" that I missed.

I don't know if this is relevant but in the original writ of summons it says
"the planitff listed above have begun legal action against you. you do not have to physically appear in court on the return day listed above since there will be no hearing on that day. however if you intend to contest this matter, you or your attorney must file a written appearance form with the clerks office by that date. appearance forms may be obtained from the clerks office. you will then receive notice from the court of all proceedings concerning this case. if you fail to file an appearance by the return day judgement will be entered against you for a sum of money which you will then be obligated to pay. "

I take that to mean that June 2nd was not a scheduled court date, but rather the date I had to respond by, if I did not respond I would have recieved a judgement by default . Am I wrong?

[treehugger1]

It makes a bit more sense to me now. I wonder if thre is such a thing as a "written appearance" in my state?

[eddiep]

Just an update, I spoke to my bk attorney today. He said I was not supposed to attend a hearing on the 2nd, just respond by then.

He said that the motion to amend was filed by the plantiff and that I will have to contact the court to get a copy since the plantiff has not sent it to me. He said that they must have changed something about the original writ. This could include the amount and/or that they are seeking an alternative to the lien.

[treehugger1]

EP, I must have missed something, but your last post mentioned a lien (lien on what?) that I don't see mention of in this thread. Can you elaborate so others can get a clearer picture?

[eddiep]

in the original writ of summons the plantif filed a "petition to attach with notice" the plaintiff petitions for permission to make the following attachments in a civil/equity action returnable on June 2nd. category of property to be attached Real Estate in the amount of $19400. Notice to the defendant: the plantiff intends to attach your property, as set forth in the above petition for permission to do so. to secure any judgement or decree the plantiff may obtain in this action, you hve the right to object to the attachment and to have a hearing as to whether it should be made. if you do wish to object and have a hearing you should file a written objection detailing the reasons therefor together with a request for a hearing with the clerk of court not later than june 2nd.

[treehugger1]

Okay, so they could move for a lien against some real property in the amount of $19.4K. Do you have that much equity in the real property? What are the real property exemptions in NH? It is no big deal if you get a lien against your real property if you are within the exemptions from seizure in your state. If such is the case, then even a lien is nothing more than a document creating a lien on what you owe. In most states, the lien won't be acted upon until you sell the property. I doubt you have to worry about much hapenning in this area in the next 2-3 months, but then again, I'm no expert in NH laws or civil rules of procedure.

It doesn't sound as if your attorney is to concerned, so maybe you shouldn't be either. You probably should continue to file and answer any complaints against you. Did you have to pay anything to file your response? If not, what the heck, respond away. In my state and many others, it costs a great deal of money to answer a summons and future motions. Perhaps you are lucky in this regard.

[eddiep]

I have little (10k) to no equity in my home.

No my lawyer is cool as a cucumber! Wish I was, but he does this for a living, I have never had any interaction with a court before in my life.

There is no charge to answer a summons, but there will be a $400 fee to remove the lien after the bk if they get the judgement. Not huge I know, but I am trying very hard to be frugal with my money. That is two weeks worth of groceries or two months car payment.

My other concern is that I am working on a loan modification and I am in the final stretch, but in the initial written agreement they state in the terms and conditions
if any other issues including but not limited to deterioration in the condition of the property, lawsuits, liens, additional expenses, and defaulted amounts arise between the date of this commitment and the date on which the modified mortgage documents are to be signed, we may refuse to modify the mortgage. we may then pursue collection actions, including foreclosure, if the current mortgage is in default.

I do not want to give the bank any reason to withdraw the modification. I was not behind on my payment until I entered into the agreement. They told me to not make another payment until June 1 (3 months) and they would add the accruing interest onto the principle due. If they pull out of this offer, I will be 3 months delinquent ($4200).

[music12]

it sounds like you got the time you needed. as long as the notice from the court doesn't say that judgment was entered and for what amount, then it was not entered for any amount.