Can I Have a Judgment Deleted?

If you have lost a lawsuit involving a debt or did not show up for court and lost the case by default, the judgment against you can be vacated. To do this you would file a Motion to Vacate.

When you file a Motion to Vacate, you are in essence suspending the judgment and requesting a new hearing. If the Motion is granted, you will need to be prepared to argue for dismissing the case.

What Are the Steps I Need to Take?

The following steps will yield results if followed carefully (depending upon state law):

1. It is important that you research and master your state’s court procedural laws. When you do this, you will learn the proper way to draft a motion and for what reasons a judgment may be dismissed. It is imperative that you have a grasp of the court’s rules. By performing this research you will discover the reasons a case may be thrown out on a technicality.

2. Complete your Motion to Vacate and take it to the original court that granted the judgment. File your Motion with the court clerk and determine if any additional documents need to be completed. You will probably need to pay a filing fee. Get certified copies and mail the original to the plaintiff by certified mail, return receipt requested. Your creditor or collection agency is more than likely the plaintiff.

3. You will need to mark your calendar with the date and time of the hearing. The court clerk will schedule the hearing and likely mail the notice to you so make sure the court clerk has your correct address.

Thirty-five days are given to the plaintiff to respond to the motion. In some cases, the plaintiff may attempt to settle out of court or possibly not even appear at the hearing. You will win by default if the plaintiff does not appear in court!

You should demand that the creditor file dismissal paperwork and require that the judgment be withdrawn by the credit reporting agencies if your creditor wants to settle out of court. Be sure to commit your agreement to writing in the form of a legal agreement.

“Unpaid’ judgments are very damaging and “paid” judgments are not much better! Because of this you should do everything in your power to negotiate a complete deletion of the judgment from your credit report.

If the case does reach the hearing stage, preparation is key! You will need to be ready to prove the creditor wrong and trip him up. Because the creditor brought this case before the judge, the creditor is the party who will need to prove the merits of the case.

Some ideas moving forward include:

1. Be ready to attack the creditor’s documentation. For instance, demand that the creditor produce a copy of the original contract for the debt.

2. It is very important to review and understand your state’s statute of limitations laws. You may not have an obligation to pay the debt if the debt is outside of the statute of limitations. In this case, the matter will be dismissed.

3. If it appears that a judgment is in your future, think about employing a consumer credit attorney for advice. Consumer credit attorneys make their living handling cases just like yours and will be able to guide you through the process and offer valuable advice.

Judgments are destructive and will cause you financial woe for years to come. You should do everything in your power to avoid a judgment!

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Will a Judgment Affect Me Adversely?

If you have a debt which is subsequently sent to collections, you will drastically damage your credit score. Your credit score will be damaged even more significantly if your creditor decides to seek a judgment.

If you are served with a Notice to Appear in court with regard to an unpaid debt, your creditor is through trying to work with you to collect the debt. After receipt of the Notice, you will have 30 days to object to the filing. If you can prove that the debt is invalid, you can have the case dismissed.

Some creditors may threaten to file a law suit but are not serious. However, going to court will be the kiss of death for your credit score and, therefore, should be avoided at all costs.

An “unpaid” judgment will be shown on your credit report for 10-12 years. At the end of this 10-12 year period, if the judgment remains unpaid, it can be renewed. A paid judgment can be shown on your credit report for up to 7 years from the date paid.

You should make an effort to contact your creditor to negotiate a settlement, provided the debt is valid, you would prefer this route to letting a judge decide your fate, and the debt is still within the statute of limitations (check your state’s statute of limitations laws). Be sure to check your state’s statute of limitations laws prior to doing this. The reason for this is that if your debt is outside of the statute of limitations, you no longer have a legal obligation to pay the debt and offering to pay may start the clock ticking again for payment purposes.

If the court issues an official court order for payment of the debt, your credit score will suffer drastically. This negative mark will not show up on your credit report if you contact your creditor and negotiate a settlement prior to the entry of judgment.

Offering to negotiate a settlement is the best solution for all parties. Typically, creditors do not want to go to court and will accept a portion of the amount owed just to bring the matter to a close. If you do not have a lump sum to offer as payment, you can always attempt to negotiate a payment plan. If your creditor is not “in the mood” to consider any offers, you might think about calling the lawyer handling the case for your creditor.

Your credit report will show the debt as “legally void” if the judgment is dismissed. This is much less damaging than a “paid judgment,” which can be shown on your credit report for seven years from the date paid.

The best outcome would be to negotiate a full deletion of all negative information. If you are successful in negotiating this, make sure you get the agreement in writing and that you obtain the signatures of both parties. Keep in mind that once the court becomes involved, your chances of negotiating a settlement are next to none.

An experienced credit attorney might be a good idea. You may, in the long run, save some money and lessen the damage to your credit score by employing a seasoned consumer credit attorney.

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