Will an "attorney fee" civil judgment go on my credit report?

[Anonymous]

Hello - so, i will have a bogus attorney fee judgment against me entered next week in the trial court. It will likely be overturned on appeal, but until then, it will "enter" at the trial court. Let's assume the worst: that it contains my name, address, DOB, and SSN ...... which means that it will *not* be prevented from entry by the new law going into effect on 7/1 regarding reporting of civil judgments and tax liens on credit reports.

.

So my question relates to this: is the fact that this is *not* related to an unpaid loan/CC relevant as to whether the CRA's will put this on my 3 CR's? I've heard differing answers - one guy in another forum says that because this has nothing to do with unpaid loan agreements, the CRA's wont enter it. 

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Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thank you! 

[RobertEG]

While not representing default on a  credit obligation, credit reports are not limited to credit debt.

Other forms of debt and judgments on those debts can be reported, such as medical debt and business debts accrued based on products and services (e.g., utilities) as opposed to extension of credit.

Thus, it would not be excluded based on it not being based on a credit debt.

However, I would expect that, while the court may issue its judgment, it will not appear in the public record until it becomes final.

A judgment is not final until the appeal period has expired, or a decision on an appeal is issued.

Keep us posted if it is added to your credit report prior to conclusion of your legitimate appeal, as it would not yet be a final judgment.

[Anonymous]

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@RobertEG wrote:

While not representing default on a  credit obligation, credit reports are not limited to credit debt.

Other forms of debt and judgments on those debts can be reported, such as medical debt and business debts accrued based on products and services (e.g., utilities) as opposed to extension of credit.

Thus, it would not be excluded based on it not being based on a credit debt.

However, I would expect that, while the court may issue its judgment, it will not appear in the public record until it becomes final.

A judgment is not final until the appeal period has expired, or a decision on an appeal is issued.

Keep us posted if it is added to your credit report prior to conclusion of your legitimate appeal, as it would not yet be a final judgment.

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Excellent analysis, thanks! ..... the appeal wont even be decided for another year or so..... it sounds like my belief was mistaken, in that i thought the judgment would enter right away, even though it will be under appeal ....but your logic makes sense.....no judgment is truly final until all appeals have been exhausted and/or decided. Thanks again!

[Anonymous]

I found the blurb on non-loan related items. I believe this settlement has since gone national:  in 2015, as part of a settlement with the NY AG, credit-reporting firms were already prompted to remove several negative data sets from reports. These included non-loan related items that were sent to collections firms, such as gym memberships, library fines and traffic tickets.

But strangely, it also said that Lexis-Nexis will continue to offer the data directly to lenders. So maybe the new settlement mentioned above (and the one that goes into effect on 7/1/17) will be moot.

[RobertEG]

The consent agreement in the state AG cases did not consent to removal of all debts that did not result from a non-credit debt.

It was limited to debts that did not result from a contract with the named consumer.  That includes government fines and tickets.

However a gym membership would not become excluded based on the consent agreement.

It is a debt incurred in/under an agreement with the consumer.

The removal of such fines and tickets under the consent agreement has been incorported into the CRA policy statement in their National Consumer Assistance Plan, and applies only to debts not based on an agreement entered into by the consumer.

[Anonymous]

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@RobertEG wrote:

The consent agreement in the state AG cases did not consent to removal of all debts that did not result from a non-credit debt.

It was limited to debts that did not result from a contract with the named consumer.  That includes government fines and tickets.

However a gym membership would not become excluded based on the consent agreement.

It is a debt incurred in/under an agreement with the consumer.

The removal of such fines and tickets under the consent agreement has been incorported into the CRA policy statement in their National Consumer Assistance Plan, and applies only to debts not based on an agreement entered into by the consumer.

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ok......so since the attorney fee award against me will be because of a "frivolous lawsuit", and not a consumer contract.... doesnt that mean it should not be reported? thank you for your help!

[RobertEG]

Good argument    !

If it reports, then give it a try with the CRA..........

[Anonymous]

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@RobertEG wrote:

Good argument    !

If it reports, then give it a try with the CRA..........

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Thanks! ....i just found this....looks like lenders will still be free to look for alternate sources of judgment data, so this might make the issue moot, as it appears they are not prevented from finding out via other means     http://www.datafacts.com/lendingsolutionsblog/mortgage-lenders-next-challenge-finding-new-sources-fo...

[SouthJamaica]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hello - so, i will have a bogus attorney fee judgment against me entered next week in the trial court. It will likely be overturned on appeal, but until then, it will "enter" at the trial court. Let's assume the worst: that it contains my name, address, DOB, and SSN ...... which means that it will *not* be prevented from entry by the new law going into effect on 7/1 regarding reporting of civil judgments and tax liens on credit reports.

.

So my question relates to this: is the fact that this is *not* related to an unpaid loan/CC relevant as to whether the CRA's will put this on my 3 CR's? I've heard differing answers - one guy in another forum says that because this has nothing to do with unpaid loan agreements, the CRA's wont enter it. 

.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thank you! 

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1. The judgment will not contain that type of data.

2. Most judgments historically haven't turned up in people's credit reports. Some do, some don't.

[Anonymous]

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@SouthJamaica wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hello - so, i will have a bogus attorney fee judgment against me entered next week in the trial court. It will likely be overturned on appeal, but until then, it will "enter" at the trial court. Let's assume the worst: that it contains my name, address, DOB, and SSN ...... which means that it will *not* be prevented from entry by the new law going into effect on 7/1 regarding reporting of civil judgments and tax liens on credit reports.

.

So my question relates to this: is the fact that this is *not* related to an unpaid loan/CC relevant as to whether the CRA's will put this on my 3 CR's? I've heard differing answers - one guy in another forum says that because this has nothing to do with unpaid loan agreements, the CRA's wont enter it. 

.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thank you! 

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1. The judgment will not contain that type of data.

2. Most judgments historically haven't turned up in people's credit reports. Some do, some don't.

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Thanks.....so even though my opponents have all that data, (address, DOB, and SSN) the court wont enter it as part of the judgment?