advice needed re: judgment

[rooster0330]

Any input would be more than greatly appreciated, We received a summons regarding one of our credit cards. I called the attorney to work out a payment plan just to bid us some time until we can file chapter 7. They said they would accept the payment plan that I offered, but would enter a judgment anyway. Then proceeded asking a ton of questions were does my husband work how often is he paid etc....I told her I would need to think about everything first, and I didn't understand why a judgment would be entered when I worked out a payment plan with them. She said it is a $7,500 debt and she needs to protect her client. Is this standard practice. Any advice would be more than welcome. If the payment plan doesn't work out, I will just respond to the summons and give myself another 60 + days!

[shark66]

The key question here is how soon you can file...

Answer the summons, buy yourself some time. I'd *never* agree with a payment plan - even for the purposes of stalling - that would allow them to enter a judgment.

My $0.02 only...

Good luck.

[PANSYFACE]

How close are you to filing? Why throw good money out the window - answer the summons on the last day - it will still give you more time to file.Don't volunteer any info - I have already played this game - finally have things in order so will see and pay the attorney on friday.
I can't wait not to be afraid everytime someone pounds on the door - like yesterday! Have one judgement from Zwicker and the second one is in the summons stage - good old american express has already chrged off and many more to follow so the bottom feeders are on the prowl.

Also - 3rd party posing as american express is really nco recovery - they try every trick in the book to get info.

[IamOld]

Hi - may I ask how long after their initial letter did Zwicker sue? I plan to do DV in the last minute - more or less middle of next month...in other words, how long after "first contact" did it go to the suit stage??

How close are you to filing? Why throw good money out the window - answer the summons on the last day - it will still give you more time to file.Don't volunteer any info - I have already played this game - finally have things in order so will see and pay the attorney on friday.
I can't wait not to be afraid everytime someone pounds on the door - like yesterday! Have one judgement from Zwicker and the second one is in the summons stage - good old american express has already chrged off and many more to follow so the bottom feeders are on the prowl.

Also - 3rd party posing as american express is really nco recovery - they try every trick in the book to get info.

[discombob1]

Yes, it's common for them to still get a judgment. The only way to buy time is what Pansyface suggest... answer the summons yourself. File ASAP and it goes away. I ended up giving a consent judgment which is what they are asking for on attorney advice. That was before I found this forum. Fortunately for me vacating judgments is fairly easy in Michigan.

[disconapper]

I had a lawsuit filed against me, the court date was May 9, 2011 I filed BK on April 21, 2011. The case has been dismissed the attorney suing me has already mailed me a copy of the dismissal. I filed two weeks after receiving the summons.

Ithink it's best to avoid the judgment and file as soon as you possibly can, that way the case goes away on it's own.

I think vacating the judgment, even after you have filed bankruptcy is a big pain, though I'm not really sure.

Filing immediately will stop any pending summons as well. Took my Visa card six months to sue me, the rest of my debts were in various stages of collections, some with a much larger balance of the Visa, so I knew more lawsuits were coming.

I did not speak to the law firm suing me once, not one time, other than after I filed telling them they would not see my charming smile in court.

[Venge97RI]

I have a question , Back in approx September/October 2010 time frame , i was served by a process server , about a possible lawsuit , but no case number , and nothing showing that it was real. so i didn't respond. fast forward to Yesterday ( May 24,2011) got a letter from a lawyer ( non certified , not from a court) stating a judgement has been entered against me , it was a " notice and motion to garnish wages" , and i had the option to either deny it , or file for an exemption , In RI if you have been on any form of public assistance they cannot garnish your wages for 1 year .

My Questions are :
I checked Pacer , nothing with my name ( though my name is spelled incorrectly on the paperwork ,i checked both spellings) , the C.A. number on the document from yesterday does not exist in Pacer for the RI District Court , and the Court Calendar for the day of a hearing (6-16-11) does not have my name or case number listed anywhere, nothing i have gotten so far shows as a summons.. Could this be some sort of scare tactic ?
Also , would Unemployment be considered a form of public assistance , as i was out of work for a year.
wouldt Pacer have the info available if a judgement was entered against me ?

[IamOld]

Very sorry to hear that - I know others will respond - but PACER (I believe) is for Fed courts only. You would need to check the court of your locality for your judgment...and it is likely that you weren't properly served...is there any way you could contact a local consumer advocacy or the such atty?

I have a question , Back in approx September/October 2010 time frame , i was served by a process server , about a possible lawsuit , but no case number , and nothing showing that it was real. so i didn't respond. fast forward to Yesterday ( May 24,2011) got a letter from a lawyer ( non certified , not from a court) stating a judgement has been entered against me , it was a " notice and motion to garnish wages" , and i had the option to either deny it , or file for an exemption , In RI if you have been on any form of public assistance they cannot garnish your wages for 1 year .

My Questions are :
I checked Pacer , nothing with my name ( though my name is spelled incorrectly on the paperwork ,i checked both spellings) , the C.A. number on the document from yesterday does not exist in Pacer for the RI District Court , and the Court Calendar for the day of a hearing (6-16-11) does not have my name or case number listed anywhere, nothing i have gotten so far shows as a summons.. Could this be some sort of scare tactic ?
Also , would Unemployment be considered a form of public assistance , as i was out of work for a year.
wouldt Pacer have the info available if a judgement was entered against me ?