Old landlord unresponsive PLEASE HELP

[Anonymous]

I am currently in the middle of trying to get my pre-approval letter but I need to show proof that the judgement was satisfied. A slumlord slapped a judgement on me about 5 years ago and I then paid the judgement in full through payroll deduct. I have spoken to the slumlords lawyer that assisted him with the judgement, The lawyer has written several letters to the slumlord to show the judgement satisfied but this guy is unresponsive and hasnt done anything.

The lawyer knows it has been satisfied but cant do anything because it was the slumlord that filed the judgement and not him.

Can I sue the slumlord? This guy is a REAL shyster and his lawyer even knows it! I have got to get this judgement to show satisfied.

[Underh20]

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@claydouglas76 wrote:

I am currently in the middle of trying to get my pre-approval letter but I need to show proof that the judgement was satisfied. A slumlord slapped a judgement on me about 5 years ago and I then paid the judgement in full through payroll deduct. I have spoken to the slumlords lawyer that assisted him with the judgement, The lawyer has written several letters to the slumlord to show the judgement satisfied but this guy is unresponsive and hasnt done anything.

The lawyer knows it has been satisfied but cant do anything because it was the slumlord that filed the judgement and not him.

Can I sue the slumlord? This guy is a REAL shyster and his lawyer even knows it! I have got to get this judgement to show satisfied.

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Which state are you in?

Some states have statutes that specify a judgment creditor must file a satisfaction of judgment within a certain period of time once the judgment creditor has made written demand. 

Even if your state is not one of those, I'd write a letter to the judgment creditor and demand he file a satisfaction of judgment within two weeks.  Tell him that the judgment not showing as satisfied is causing you harm and if it is not done, you will sue him in small claims court for damages.  Even if your state has no language in its civil procedure law about this issue, small claims courts generally operate on the principle of equity and you can prevail.

Do you have proof that you paid the judgment amount?  Sometimes court clerks will help you and show the judgment as satisfied if you can show them proof of payment. 

[Anonymous]

The slumlord took the judgement out in Iowa. I worked in South Dakota so he took a judgement out there as well. South Dakota was where the judgement was satisfied but he never ended up closing the judgement in Iowa.

Should I have him remove the judgement in Iowa all together since he also filed one in South Dakota that was satisfied?

Is there any legal action in Iowa that I can take?This has been going on for about 2 months now.

Thanks!

[Underh20]

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@claydouglas76 wrote:

The slumlord took the judgement out in Iowa. I worked in South Dakota so he took a judgement out there as well. South Dakota was where the judgement was satisfied but he never ended up closing the judgement in Iowa.

Should I have him remove the judgement in Iowa all together since he also filed one in South Dakota that was satisfied?

Is there any legal action in Iowa that I can take?This has been going on for about 2 months now.

Thanks!

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Probably what he did is filed an abstract of the Iowa judgment for enforcement in South Dakota rather than obtaining two separate judgments. 

I would do two things:

1.  Contact the court clerk in the Iowa jurisdiction and show them that the abstract filed in South Dakota has been satisfied.  Perhaps that will be enough to get them to also record theirs as satisfied.  At the same time be prepared to show them proof (canceled checks, etc ...) including a copy of the satisfaction.

2.  Write the judgment creditor a letter and tell him that he failed to file a satisfaction of judgment in Iowa, it is causing you harm and should he fail to do so within two weeks you will take him to court for damages and costs.  If he doesn't respond and option #1 has not worked, sue him in small claims court.

[Anonymous]

Have you contacted an attorney?

Go to your State's Bar Association referral program.  These referrals usually have a free or low cost ($20 to $50) initial consult.

Generally they can give you the basic info you need.

You can also join Prepaid Legal Services ($17 per month) and have telephone access to speaking to an attorney and even have them write a letter for you as part of the service.  You can call as many times as you need until you have satisfied yourself that you know what you need to do (you do, not them, they only consult).

Since you are spending time trying to figure this out anyway, you might as well spend it with an attorney that costs you virtually nothing and get more concrete info.

Good luck.