Help !!!! Judgment of Non Pros

[Anonymous]

Hello ...

First and foremost, thanks in advance for reading and any response you might be able to offer :-)

Can anyone give me an "educated" answer as to how a Judgment of Non Pros might affect a credit score and or report (or even if it does)  ???

I've tried a lawyer and two of the credit bureaus and can't get a straight answer.

Thanks so much.

Kaylee

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hello ...

First and foremost, thanks in advance for reading and any response you might be able to offer :-)

Can anyone give me an "educated" answer as to how a Judgment of Non Pros might affect a credit score and or report (or even if it does)  ???

I've tried a lawyer and two of the credit bureaus and can't get a straight answer.

Thanks so much.

Kaylee

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A judgment non prosequitur is usually against the plaintiff (creditor) for failure to continue their action against the defendant (debtor).  If that is the case, then there is no resulting judgment against the debtor to appear on your credit report and, thus, no effect on one's credit score.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your response :-)

I was the plaintiff  and won judgment against the defendant because he failed to appear in District Court for the hearing.  (The civil action was for property damage he did to my fence while snow plowing.)   He then appealed  with the Court of Common Pleas.  I now have to file a Complaint to the Appeal or a Judgment of Non Pros could be filed against me.  The clerk at the Prothonatary's office told me if a Judgment of Non Pros is filed against me, it will show up on my credit report and affect my credit.

At this point it will cost me more in legal fees then it's worth to file the Complaint.  If I can be certain that a Judgment of Non Pros against me will not ruin my credit rating, I'd just like to ignore the Appeal and not file a Complaint and have it all go away.  On the other hand if it will affect my credit I'll gladly pay a lawer $300 to draw up a Complaint ... as much as I can't afford that it would probably be a lot less costly then a bad credit report or low score down the road !!!

It would be a non-money Judgment but I just hate the idea of that being on my credit not knowing what it might do.

I have to make a decision rather quickly since the time is restricted to my filing a Complaint.

Thanks for listening (reading) and all your help !!!!!

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Thanks for your response :-)

I was the plaintiff  and won judgment against the defendant because he failed to appear in District Court for the hearing.  (The civil action was for property damage he did to my fence while snow plowing.)   He then appealed  with the Court of Common Pleas.  I now have to file a Complaint to the Appeal or a Judgment of Non Pros could be filed against me.  The clerk at the Prothonatary's office told me if a Judgment of Non Pros is filed against me, it will show up on my credit report and affect my credit.

At this point it will cost me more in legal fees then it's worth to file the Complaint.  If I can be certain that a Judgment of Non Pros against me will not ruin my credit rating, I'd just like to ignore the Appeal and not file a Complaint and have it all go away.  On the other hand if it will affect my credit I'll gladly pay a lawer $300 to draw up a Complaint ... as much as I can't afford that it would probably be a lot less costly then a bad credit report or low score down the road !!!

It would be a non-money Judgment but I just hate the idea of that being on my credit not knowing what it might do.

I have to make a decision rather quickly since the time is restricted to my filing a Complaint.

Thanks for listening (reading) and all your help !!!!!

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Ok, you were the plaintiff and the defendant appealed the initial judgment in your favor.

Did the defendant file a counterclaim against you?  If they did not, I do not see how a judgment non pros can effect anything other than your ability to continue with your lawsuit.

[Anonymous]

Again, thanks for your response.

No, defendant did not file a counterclaim against me ... just the appeal.

Logically, I don't see how it could affect my credit either.  I just failed to file a complaint and by doing so have given up my right to the judgment filed against him.  Guess I'm a worry-wart since the "clerk" at the court house said "you HAVE to respond to this appeal or the non pros will show up on your credit report and you'll have bad credit".  One phone operator from the credit reporting agencies told me the same thing, it would affect my credit score yet another one told me no, if it wasn't a judgment for money owed it would not affect my credit.

Well, time will tell I guess.  It's too late for me to file a complaint now so I'm stuck with whatever the outcome is.  I'll order a credit report now and another if the non pros is filed and see if there is a difference.  I'll report back here in a couple of months (after being the guinney pig) and let the board know in the event anyone else ends up in my boat !!!!

Happy Holidays  :-)

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Again, thanks for your response.

No, defendant did not file a counterclaim against me ... just the appeal.

Logically, I don't see how it could affect my credit either.  I just failed to file a complaint and by doing so have given up my right to the judgment filed against him.  Guess I'm a worry-wart since the "clerk" at the court house said "you HAVE to respond to this appeal or the non pros will show up on your credit report and you'll have bad credit".  One phone operator from the credit reporting agencies told me the same thing, it would affect my credit score yet another one told me no, if it wasn't a judgment for money owed it would not affect my credit.

Well, time will tell I guess.  It's too late for me to file a complaint now so I'm stuck with whatever the outcome is.  I'll order a credit report now and another if the non pros is filed and see if there is a difference.  I'll report back here in a couple of months (after being the guinney pig) and let the board know in the event anyone else ends up in my boat !!!!

Happy Holidays  :-)

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I also don't see how it can hurt you, but who knows.

Hope it works out for you.