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Advice on Vacating Default Judgment with a reluctant PA.

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Anonymous
Not applicable

Advice on Vacating Default Judgment with a reluctant PA.

First time poster... I have really enjoyed reading through all of these forums in recent weeks. Lots of information from first hand experiences and, as I've discovered, good information is key (and hard to find via google).

 

Background:  My wife and I married in 2013. In preparation for our future auto loans -- we'll need 2 total... both in need of new transportation --  I signed both of us up on here and began monitoring our credit.  In the inital report I discovered TWO default judgments on lawsuits from two seperate hospitals in Kentucky on her report. Both judgments were ordered in 2012 (April and May). My wife couldn't recall being served, as she was also dealing with custody hearings in order for her to move to my home state. She moved out of Kentucky in June 2012 shortly after these hearings evidently took place.

 

 I have since spoken with the court clerk in Kentucky and verified that they have proof of service on record -- one case was via sheriff's dept, the other was via cert mail. I have not seen these documents myself yet, as we live 2 states away.

 

Today I called and spoke with one of the plaintiff's attorney's offices via cell. I did not give my last name, although I did have to leave my phone number for the secretary to call me back with the attorney's feelings on the matter. I had contacted them to inquire as to whether or not they would be willing to file a motion to vacate if I (not my wife) was willing to satisfy the debt. In the end they came back saying that this is not something they "normally do" and they've been doing this for 20+ years, etc. etc. They did say that they would file for the judgment to be recorded as satisfied and that should resolve any "credit issues" associated with the report. She also added that even if they did vacate, there was no guarantee that the CRA's would even delete the information -- I countered stating that I understand I would most likely have to be the one to dispute the report with the CRA's once I had written proof of vacated order, but that I also know that a paid judgment will still not help her CR and negative impact on scores. I made it known that if I am going to dip into my own savings to settle a matter from my wife's past before we married, then I certainly expected to receive some benefit for it as well, and a "paid" or "satisfied" judgment would not be enough to warrant my involvement.  

 

This afternoon I went to our CU and reactivated one of my old savings accounts so that I can "house" all of our money out of reach of our joint accounts (her only bank accounts) as I know that they are most likely already in the process of trying to trace me in order to locate her. However, my phone number is based in one state, my drivers license in another, and our marriage records in a third.... I'm like a ghost, usually people only find me if I choose for them to... however, I understand that they have additional resources. 

 

Here is my question for the community:  

 

Has anyone had success in dealing with plaintiff's attorneys in similar matters where they were hesitant/resistant to filing for vacating a satisfied judgment??

It's my understanding (and correct me if I'm wrong here) that if the plaintiff files such based on an agreement between both parties then a judge will, more often than not, sign it into affect. I see it as a GW gesture on the part of the PA... and once they have their money AND assorted fee's, then for them NOT to do so is them just wanting to be a difficult a$$.

 

Again, I have not paid a penny, nor will I without agreement to have this removed from public record. Any similar success stories or experiences?

 

Also, I am planning to speak with some debt/creditor attorney's in the coming days in order to get one involved if necessary, although I'm still not certain if I should hire one locally OR if I should seek one out in Kentucky.  Thanks in advance for any questions/comments/concerns/advice! Smiley Happy

 

 

Message 1 of 5
4 REPLIES 4
RobertEG
Legendary Contributor

Re: Advice on Vacating Default Judgment with a reluctant PA.

Some states provide discretion to their courts to vacate based on satisfaction of a judgment, while others do not.

Did you research the KY code provision?

Message 2 of 5
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Advice on Vacating Default Judgment with a reluctant PA.

Hi Robert... Yes, I have tried to run every known variation of google search (and Kentucky court policy/rules/protocol search) I can think of. Everytime I run a search on vacating judgments [insert this, delet that] in kentucky I receive pages of results with most of the headlines already highlighted as links where I've already been.  Nothing seems to be specific to satisfied judgments. And all of the info I can find is related to vacating a default (without satisfaction) due to technicalities such as improper services or excusable negligience for failure to appear or refers to federal regulations revolving around Rule 60. Just like their SOL, everything regarding legalalities in KY appears to be a blurry line in terms of accessible info.

Message 3 of 5
kjel
Established Contributor

Re: Advice on Vacating Default Judgment with a reluctant PA.

I had a similar default judgment however I did not receive the summons due to having moved a year prior. Snail mail is sufficient service in my state as long as it is not returned.

 

I elected to hire an attorney to negotiate the settling of the judgment as well as obtaining a consent order to vacate the judgment. I was prepared to pay the full amount, but the attorney had me submit documentation of my income at the time of medical service and determined I was entitled to charity care although it was not offered to me. She went to the plaintiff's attorney with an offer to pay about half the judgment amount in exchange for the order to vacate. It was accepted without much of an issue and they only requested that I cover the filing fees which were under $100. It did take a few weeks for the order to be signed by the judge but once it was recorded the judgment fell off EX and TU without me doing anything. EQ was a bit of a pain and I had to submit a copy of the order to get the item removed.

 

Keep pushing for the motion to vacate in exchange for payment. Get the agreement in writing. 

Current Score: TU: 674 | EQ: 722 | EX: 717 | Last Inq. 2/16/15...Locked Up in The Garden
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Message 4 of 5
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Advice on Vacating Default Judgment with a reluctant PA.

Hi kj...  Sounds like you definitely had 3 things going for you... improper service, a good attorney on your side and a willing attorney on the opposing side :-) 

 

My wife's memory is absolutely terrible in matters such as these, I can only hope that we may have the ability to argue excusable negligience with one of them because it appears that she may have been involved in another court hearing (custody & permission to move) on the same day as one of the judgments hearings -- if it actually went to hearing and not an auto-default upon receiving no answer from my wife. If that's even necessary... Even then, the timeline may have expired on arguing that point BUT I've discovered that after a default judgment (for failure to answer/appear) also results in the defendent no longer being required to receive copies of said judgment... according to the court clerks manual it seems that only "present" parties are required to receive their copies of the judgment --- which leaves me with the question, how could one know the end-result until a later time such as this. Two years without any follow up and only "discovered" after pulling a CR. I'm interested to see the proof of service docs... regardless, I know on this matter I'm out of my depth and need to seek counsel... if anything, so they can spew their legal jargon and the PA knows that they can't pull any tricks.  Again, the only reason that I can think of for the PA not consenting to set-aside or vacate after satisfying the judgment is that they just want to be *!#$'s.  Procedure clearly states that it's an acceptable procedure if the judgment has been satisfied. 

 

Seems to me that after people get paid, it's almost malicious to consciously choose to jack up their ability to purchase autos, homes, etc and provide for their families for years to come... ridiculous... and all over medical debts which should never be allowed to go this far -- it's not a luxury purchase, it's necessity. And we are proof that even under the ACA, "affordable" and effective coverage is not readily available.

Message 5 of 5
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