NYS Judgement initiated in error, now marked as "Paid", but still on my CR. I never owed anything!

[Anonymous]

Unknown to me, NY State charged my business, then me personally for unpaid Sales Tax for 3 quarters in 2003 and 2004. However, my business had been shut down and was no longer operating during the periods for which they claimed I owed Sales Tax. They then obtained judgements against me personally for $40K in August of 2007. I never received any notice nor was I ever served any papers. I only ever found out about it after I was contacted by a NYS Tax Collector in early 2011, and subsequently saw that the judgements were listed as a derogatory Public Record on my credit report.

I spoke to the collector a couple of times and I explained how they were in error, but she was very noncommittal, saying she would look into it, but also saying that I would have to submit "paper worK" and "proof". ("We're in a fiscal crisis!" she said. "We're looking for every possible dollar!"). Looking to try for the easiest solution first, I submitted Sales Tax Returns for the 3 quarters in question, marking them as No Tax Due. I never heard anything back from her or any other tax collector.

Upon checking my credit report in the Fall of 2011, I found that the civil judgement had been marked as Paid! But here lies my problem. NYS obviously made an error, so they marked the judgements as satisfied, but its still on my Credit Report, and it appears that I had a $40K judgement placed against me that I later paid. And that's affecting my credit score badly.

Equifax lists it as a "Satisfied Judgement". Experian lists it as a "Civil Claim Paid." TU list it as a "Paid Tax Lien." (Ironically, Equifax also states that I have "No Tax Liens on file")

So how can I get this vacated? NYS initiated this entire action in error. And somewhere it must be recorded that I paid ZERO dollars to satisfy the judgement, which I believe will give me standing to have it vacated. But how exactly should I proceed? I think the first step would be to obtain a Satisfaction of Judgement, but from where? I tried searching WebCivil Local, but there is no evidence of any judgement against me in NY County. Could the judgement have beed vacated at the request of NYS? I found a copy of the original Tax Warrant against me, and it lists it as being paid, but not vacated.

Any help or direction would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[RobertEG]

I would begin by going to the office of the clerk of the judgment court, and getting a copy of all of the records regarding their legal proceeding.

A pre-trial requirement in a judgment proceeding requires that plaintiff provide proof of adequate notice to the defendant.

How did they show the court that you were provided notice of the proceeding?  Public notice, personal service, etc.  The court obvioulsy knows the required procedure, and must have been satisfied prior to trial that legal notice was provided.  If it was not, you can motion the court to vacate the judgment based on lack of adequate notice.

You need the court records, regardless of your issues with the judgment, before you can challenge the judgment on procedural or other grounds.

The court records identify who did what.