Vacating Judgment - my steps (MN)

[tobee43]

OK, well then why did EX and EQ (and Innovis!) take it off their reports? This is where I am confused. TU is the only one I'm having an issue with.

good question! and who knows? but as you said, you didn't get a copy of the order that was signed by the judge vacating the order right? and that's going to cost you a few dollars to get? i would find out or tell them you never rec'd the copy and so why should they charge you?

ours was first showing up on the credit reports and once we thought that was taken care of it showed up on a title search! so that's when the big deal started with making certain the order to vacate was recorded. it may be different in MN?? that could be. i'm certain each state has their own system, but all i know is this it was a pain in the A** to get straighten out. i'm sure you will tho

[JessMN]

good question! and who knows? but as you said, you didn't get a copy of the order that was signed by the judge vacating the order right? and that's going to cost you a few dollars to get? i would find out or tell them you never rec'd the copy and so why should they charge you?

ours was first showing up on the credit reports and once we thought that was taken care of it showed up on a title search! so that's when the big deal started with making certain the order to vacate was recorded. it may be different in MN?? that could be. i'm certain each state has their own system, but all i know is this it was a pain in the A** to get straighten out. i'm sure you will tho

Yeah, I didn't get a copy, but I was told they don't automatically send them out by the clerk who helped me find the form and even on the form it says you have to pay $5 to get a certified copy showing no judgments (which I thought was the order, turns out it wasn't, THAT costs $14) Anyway, I've spoken to my lawyer and he said he will get involved if a copy of the court order doesn't take care of it.

[tobee43]

Yeah, I didn't get a copy, but I was told they don't automatically send them out by the clerk who helped me find the form

THAT costs $14) Anyway, I've spoken to my lawyer and he said he will get involved if a copy of the court order doesn't take care of it.

good plan! and you really did a great job going it alone! you're braver than me that's for sure LOL!!

[LadyInTheRed]

if the order is not recorded by the county, it will not be picked up as vacated.

one would think any valid judgement would be recorded??? otherwise how could it hold up in court? i mean, actually to be served a summons (suits, including docket numbers for reference etc.), for court which ends up becoming a judgement is recorded in courts and stays there until there until there is proved that there is a signed order by the judge vacating the order.

wow...that's a mouthful and a half!!

A judgment holds up in court because it is the decision of the court. It holds up until it is vacated or overturned on appeal.

A judgment is recorded to perfect a lien on property. (Actually, it isn't the judgment that is recorded, it's an abstract of judgment.) It is only one way a creditor can collect on a judgment and probably not the preferred way. Many judgments are never recorded. Recording the Judgment doesn't in any way validate the judgment. It informs 3rd parties that the creditor has a lien on the debtor's property that must be paid off before the property is transferred to somebody else. A creditor does not need to record a judgment in order to levy a bank account or garnish wages. The documents necessary to levy or garnish are issued by the court and then served on the party in control of the debtor's assets by a sheriff or process server. This is the way it works in California. I suspect the process is similar in other states.

If the judgment was recorded, than the order vacating the judgment should also be recorded. Otherwise, there is no point.

ETA: tobee, I just noticed you referred to recording a judgment in court. Perhaps terminology is what is confusing things. A document is filed with a court and recorded with a county recorder. Some documents are also filed with a county recorder. Any document signed by the judge is filed with the court. You sometimes have to submit the order for the judge to sign, but not always. If the court clerk says the judgment has been vacated, than the order was filed. The OP just needs evidence of the order - A certified copy.

[LadyInTheRed]

OK, well then why did EX and EQ (and Innovis!) take it off their reports (I didn't send them anything)? This is where I am confused. TU is the only one I'm having an issue with.

Maybe EX and EQ were willing to check court records themselves or take your word for it as long as the creditor didn't argue. TU wants you to provide the evidence. Different companies, different procedures.

[tobee43]

ETA: tobee, I just noticed you referred to recording a judgment in court. Perhaps terminology is what is confusing things. A document is filed with a court and recorded with a county recorder. Some documents are also filed with a county recorder. Any document signed by the judge is filed with the court. You sometimes have to submit the order for the judge to sign, but not always. If the court clerk says the judgment has been vacated, than the order was filed. The OP just needs evidence of the order - A certified copy.

yes, you right, the court clerk records the outcome of the court proceedings on the day the judgement was issued. but then forwarded to the county clerk to record the outcome.

right, it's ordered and then recorded in the jurisdiction we were in. i can only speak to my personal experience on this and nothing i did when working. our personal motion(s) were filed and then put in front of judge, who had the opportunity to deny or vacate the judgement(s), then signed the actual order. it then had to be recorded at the county clerks office that the the judgement(s) has be vacated. i'm guessing where we filed, it had to be signed by the judge since in our case, it did have to be submitted and could have even been heard as far i know (i guess that why we had to pay the big bucks?)

[LadyInTheRed]

yes, you right, the court clerk records the outcome of the court proceedings on the day the judgement was issued. but then forwarded to the county clerk to record the outcome.

The courts in CA do not forward anything to the county recorder (also sometimes called the county clerk). The outcome of the court cases do not have to be recorded with the county recorder/clerk. The clerk of the court FILES documents (including orders) in the court records. If the judgment creditor wants to record the judgment, the creditor gets a certified copy of the order from the court clerk and forwards it to the county recorder to be recorded. It's up to the creditor to record the order. The process may be different in FL where you are and in MN where JessMN is.

The point I am trying to make is that recording the order vacating judgment is not a "vital part of the process" in all states and cases. It is not a given that the judgment against JessMN was recorded with the county recorder/clerk or that she needs to record the order vacating the judgment.

[tobee43]

It is not a given that the judgment against JessMN was recorded with the county recorder/clerk or that she needs to record the order vacating the judgment.

agreed. i'm certain the procedure may vary from state to state and maybe even whether it was a judgement in small claims or superior court. lady, actually, those motions were filed in nj although we lived in fl, so it was under nj's court processes which may very well explain it all. there are always court and county clerks there.

[JessMN]

Maybe EX and EQ were willing to check court records themselves or take your word for it as long as the creditor didn't argue. TU wants you to provide the evidence. Different companies, different procedures.

The point is I didn't have to do anything with EX and EQ - I didn't contact them in any way, so somehow they got word of the judgement being vacated, without my having to do anything.

[tobee43]

doing more research, this process does in fact may vary for state to state as mentioned previously. it is important to know where one state's stands on the recording of such liens when a judgment has been granted. as you can tell by the following example a debtor had no clue that a lien was ever recorded, until it came up to bite them.

here is a calif. scenario/example of the follow up of such a order dealing with a judgment that was recorded as a lien against the party's property.

what it is important is to make certain the vacated order, especially if judgment was or is/or has become a lien against one's property, when recorded after the order has been signed just sits there somewhere until a title search is complete and then BANG... you're in a mess of some sort and have to scramble to straighten it all out. even if the judgment or lien is not showing up on your credit reports the courts decision is most certainly recorded somewhere here's one of those types of situations:


"Question: I live in California, Los Angeles County.

An abstract of judgment was obtained and subsequently an involuntary lien on my property was recorded.

A month afterwords, the defendant filed a Notice of Motion and Motion to Vacate and Set Aside Default Judgment. Shortly thereafter, an Order Vacating Judgment was signed by the Judge.

However, I just found out that the lien is still on title!

How do I go about removing this lien as there is a pending sale that will close in a month?

Do I go to the Court where this case was filed? What documents do I need?
Do I go to the County Recorder, if so, what do I need?

Thank you in advance to all that can assist."





Answer: Did all of this take place in LA county?

It appears that an abstract of judgment which is a summary of the court’s final decision, was used to place a lien after filing with the county recorder.

To remove the lien an acknowledgment of Satisfaction of Judgment, a court form that the judgment creditor must fill out, sign, and file with the court when the judgment is fully paid. If no liens exist, the back of the Notice of Entry of Judgment can be signed and filed with the court. This is where it is tricky because you are not the creditor, but in any case you should be able to get the form from the court and the courts certified order should allow you to file to remove the lien.

Did you take your signed, certified copy of the vacated judgment to the recorders office and file it? Have you checked on the recorder's website? Have you attended any of the legal self help clinics offered in your county? Have you contacted your county's bar association for a referral, usually there is a small set fee for an initial consultation where your exact questions could be answered based upon the actual facts and documents related to your case. "

[JessMN]

Thanks tobee43!

[tobee43]

Thanks tobee43!

you most welcome JessMN, i just didn't want it to come back to you in the form of a big surprise in the future

[JessMN]

So here is another interesting thing - my lawyer had me call the clerk of court because he wasn't my lawyer on the judgement they won't talk to him. So I called and was told my judgement was discharged - when I used the term "vacated" she corrected me - it was "discharged" on Oct 14th. Interesting. I left a message for my lawyer (he's at lunch) so hopefully we can figure this all out soon.


What is the difference in vacating a judgement vs a discharge?

[tobee43]

it could just be a matter of yours state terminology. however, i would not be so certain.

because it was discharged that could imply or refer to it's relationship to the discharge of your bk. i would just make certain it's no longer showing up anywhere which is what vacating the judgment does. yet, if the term your court used was "discharged" i would ask them what does that mean as to the status of the judgment.