Judgement Negotiation

[rock_lobster]

I have an old judgement that I am trying to get rid of and I have hired an lawyer to help me.  Back in August we made an offer to settle through the creditors lawyer, we have yet to hear if they are willing to accept the offer.  We keep calling the opposing council and they keep saying that they have not heard anything.  They haven't declined the offer, just no news.

So my questions is...

Does anyone know, I would think that my lawyer should but I haven't asked her yet, are the creditors required by any law or anything to negotiate in good faith? Is there anything in the FDCPA?

Thanks

[RobertEG]

They already have a judgment, which is court order to pay the entire debt.

They have no obligation to respond to any offer to pay less than the full judgment.

They may be evaluating the fact that you seem to have some $$ now, and thus may be considering initiating full enforcement of the entire judgment amount by a writ of satisfaction, such as a taking of assets or garnishment of pay.

Have they recently made any inquiries to pull a copy of your credit report?

[rock_lobster]

Haven't seen any activity.  I'm in Texas so no garnishment to worry about.  Don't have much in the way of non-exempt assets.  They have tried to collect a couple of times over the life of the judgement.  I reached out to them to try and settle.  I need to refi my house and no lender is willing with the outstanding judgement.  My lawyer just keeps telling me to be patient!

[Anonymous]

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wrote:

I have an old judgement that I am trying to get rid of and I have hired an lawyer to help me.  Back in August we made an offer to settle through the creditors lawyer, we have yet to hear if they are willing to accept the offer.  We keep calling the opposing council and they keep saying that they have not heard anything.  They haven't declined the offer, just no news.

So my questions is...

Does anyone know, I would think that my lawyer should but I haven't asked her yet, are the creditors required by any law or anything to negotiate in good faith? Is there anything in the FDCPA?

Thanks

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They can settle with you but are under no obligation to settle for less. Even your lawyer can’t force them to settle for less. His advise to be patient is good. With time they MAY settle for less. But your lawyer can’t get anything done any better than you can. A judgement is a legal document. They already won in court. I just can’t understand this thought process that any organization has to bargain and settle for less or they can be forced to. Legally they don’t have to. They may with time decide to settle for less but in the end you may have to bite the bullet and just pay it off. It is your debt. Good luck.