topic Re: Attorney says judgment can't be vacated in Rebuilding Your Credit

Attorney says judgment can't be vacated

enning — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 15:57:52 GMT

Hi Everyone,

Like everyone else I've learned so much from these boards while trying to rebuild my credit and I just wish I educated myself before I got in to trouble. Anyway, after reading about other people asking attorneys for a "Motion to Vacate" a judgment I decided to reach out to Pressler and Pressler on two paid judgments from 2009. I offered to pay for the filing fees as these judgments were already satisfied but I received a letter in the mail saying there is nothing to vacate as there are no outstanding judgments.

I've sent this letter off to the CRAs in hopes of them removing them but I wanted to get some opinions on what to do, if anything, if they don't come off.

Re: Attorney says judgment can't be vacated

pizzadude — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 16:23:40 GMT

@enning wrote:
Hi Everyone,

Like everyone else I've learned so much from these boards while trying to rebuild my credit and I just wish I educated myself before I got in to trouble. Anyway, after reading about other people asking attorneys for a "Motion to Vacate" a judgment I decided to reach out to Pressler and Pressler on two paid judgments from 2009. I offered to pay for the filing fees as these judgments were already satisfied but I received a letter in the mail saying there is nothing to vacate as there are no outstanding judgments.

I've sent this letter off to the CRAs in hopes of them removing them but I wanted to get some opinions on what to do, if anything, if they don't come off.

It sounds to me like whoever received your letter didn't understand what you were requesting. I'd try again.

Re: Attorney says judgment can't be vacated

Unoriginalnj — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 16:51:42 GMT

Look and see if your judgment is listed on your state's public record database. If it is not listed then come back and update.

Re: Attorney says judgment can't be vacated

enning — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 16:56:07 GMT

Yes unfortunately it is still in the public records, NJ btw, so I guess the attorney I contacted wasn't clear with my request. I'll reach out again and see how it goes.

Re: Attorney says judgment can't be vacated

jcstarkey8826 — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 18:47:32 GMT

@enning wrote:
Yes unfortunately it is still in the public records, NJ btw, so I guess the attorney I contacted wasn't clear with my request. I'll reach out again and see how it goes.

Did you write a letter to the office in general? Or did you mail it directly to the attorney that handled your case?

I dont use snail mail on much anymore. It hasnt gotten me any better results from doing so. I called the court, got the attorneys name, googled him, called him, couldnt get through to his office, so I found his email and starting talking with him that way.

About a weeks worth of convo and he offered to vacate it for me. didnt charge me or anything. Id try getting ahold of the attorney that handled your case first.

Re: Attorney says judgment can't be vacated

enning — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 18:45:50 GMT

I was able to email the attorney directly and he ended up sending a letter to me as his only response. I just emailed him again to clarify so I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Re: Attorney says judgment can't be vacated

RobertEG — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 21:46:51 GMT

I would suggest that, while waiting, you visit the office of the clerk of the judgment court, and have a chat about their court's policy on vacating judgments.

It varies widely. Some courts will entertain motions to vacate based on satisfaction of the judgment, while others will require a showing of actual administrative or legal error in the process.

The judgment plaintiff does not vacate, they file motions requesting the court to vacate. You may be able to file your own motion to vacate.

Talk directly with the court for independent advise.

Re: Attorney says judgment can't be vacated

surfnspy — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 04:07:59 GMT

Can an attorney of your choosing file a motion to vacate or does it HAVE to be the plantiff's attorney??? Thank you.

Re: Attorney says judgment can't be vacated

gamegrrl — Sat, 18 Aug 2012 22:44:01 GMT

Surfnspy has a great question: Can ANY attorney file a motion to vacate, or does it have to be the plaintiff's attorney? I'm guessing it would need to be the plaintiff's attorney.

Re: Attorney says judgment can't be vacated

jcstarkey8826 — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 20:04:04 GMT

you dont even have to have an attorney to file a motion to vacate. I couldve gone down to the courthouse and filed the motion myself, but I live 1000 miles north so that was inconvenient. So I just emailed the plaintiffs attorney instead.

Re: Attorney says judgment can't be vacated

gamegrrl — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 20:17:07 GMT

You are NOT going to believe this.

I was just typing in a response to say that I'd emailed the plaintiff's attorney three days ago and hadn't heard back, and that I called him today and left a voice mail.

And then my phone rang!!! It was the attorney and he was VERY nice. It looks like this is going to be taken care of. I AM SO FREAKING HAPPY!!!!!!!

Re: Attorney says judgment can't be vacated

jcstarkey8826 — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 20:21:15 GMT

Congrats! I find that once you pay the debt, they are likely to release it. If they have half a heart that is

Re: Attorney says judgment can't be vacated

gamegrrl — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 20:24:28 GMT

I'm all tingly :-)

He said he's going out to his client's site tomorrow, and that he'll get the final word there, but he doesn't forsee a problem and, in his words, "we should be able to get this taken care of for you".

Music to my ears and soul. Yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!

Re: Attorney says judgment can't be vacated

jcstarkey8826 — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 20:30:54 GMT

indeed! hopefully you'll get more than the 5 points I got from EQ lol

Re: Attorney says judgment can't be vacated

Shogun — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 20:33:52 GMT

Wow!!! Great to hear that!

Re: Attorney says judgment can't be vacated

gamegrrl — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 20:34:49 GMT

5 points is pretty lame. In fact, I think the CRAs should give BONUS POINT for people who put in the time and effort to fully and fairly utilize the legal system.

Re: Attorney says judgment can't be vacated

enning — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 15:14:59 GMT

Just wanted to pop in with an update, I've gotten nowhere with Pressler and Pressler, who are notoriously shady and difficult from what I've heard. On the bright side though I've been able to get the one judgment deleted from EQ that was showing and one from EX deleted off. Looks like I'll have to send out another round of disputes for the last one on EX and 2 on TU. I haven't received a SW update on EQ but I'm hoping for some kind of movement since I don't have anything in my PR.

Re: Attorney says judgment can't be vacated

Sonic98 — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 15:31:14 GMT

This is something I need to eduacate myself on as well. I have three Public Records on my report. One is going to drop off at the first of the year, so I'm not worrying about that anymore. The other two are over an old credit card debt and an apartment that I never lived in. I guess the landord was able to put my name on the court paper work as well as the tenant because he had proof where I helped them with the rent a few times, and they didn't try to correct anyone when they went to court.

I live in TN. The card public record is in TN. The one for the rent is in MS. So, would I basically just pay both off and then try to file a motion to vacate in either county? I tried to dispute the one with the landword with no luck. Would there be any other option on that one other than paying it off first?

Re: Attorney says judgment can't be vacated

rkb84 — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 15:45:01 GMT

That's nice, I asked nicely for the same and got this response, same thing satisfield judgment I wanted to try and get vacated-

"Again, I cannot give you legal advice, and you should seek independent counsel if you have questions. However, a judgment was entered, and you satisfied that judgment. Such has been satisfied with court, but it was still a judgment of the court. A satisfied judgment is what there is, and that is what your credit report reflects. Also, the court lost jurisdiction over the judgment ten days after it was entered and such was not appealed. Therefore, the Court has no legal authority to vacate the judgment. Again, if you do not understand any of this, you need to consult with an attorney."

I am guessing that means screw you, it is staying on your credit report, and if you're too dumb to understand this go get a lawyer..

Re: Attorney says judgment can't be vacated

gamegrrl — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 16:39:28 GMT

Well, to update you all, my happiness was short-lived.

The CA's attorney stopped responding to me. I'm not really sure what to do at this point. I am very tempted to have my attorney file at Motion to Vacate to see what happens. It was a very small amount (around $300) that I paid as soon as I knew about it, and that was supposedly (according to the Veteran's Administration) already paid by them.

My hope is that the CA won't want to pay their attorney to show up in court to refute the Motion to Vacate, based upon the small amount and the fact that they're already got their money.

I suppose the judge could just deny it, but I'm basing my request on Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure, which states that the fact that this judgment is now paid is a valid reason to petition the court for relief from the judgment. Rule 60 (b) (4), which says: (4) the judgment has been satisfied, released or discharged, or a prior judgment upon which it is based has been reversed or otherwise vacated, or it is no longer equitable that the judgment should have prospective application