"Motion to Revive a Debt" is filed

[IsambardPrince]

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@Cazzieboy wrote:

Can someone provide info on what happens procedurally once a "Motion to Revive a Debt" is granted by a court.

Third party collector - Original judgment was in 2010. It was never pursued for some reason, but now a "Revival" motion was filed. Thanks so much.

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If it's for a significant amount you should go talk to an attorney and have THEM respond to it. It would be terrible if there was a catastrophic amount of debt that got revived (like a hospital bill) because some scummy collection agency lied to the court and you didn't bother to defend yourself.

[Patient957]

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@Cazzieboy wrote:

Additionally, a response to the third party debt collector concerning this motion is required, and requires copying the court. So, If I'm going to respond I will be in essence contacting the debt collector.

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This does not sound correct to me.  By opposing a motion in court in a case where you are the Defendant, you would be filing an opposition with the court and merely serving it (I.e. mailing it) to the Plaintiff's attorneys.  None of that involves communication with the debt collector.

I'm not a lawyer and this isn't legal advice.  You really need a lawyer for this.  Ignoring it is not likely to work out for you, IMHO.

Good luck.

[Patient957]

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@Cazzieboy wrote:

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@Patient957 wrote:

1) Read the motion.  What does it say?  What's their argument for why the court should revive the old debt?

2) You really should get a lawyer.

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Thanks, but not sure of your point. There's no explanation within the motion of what their argument is. 

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All civil motions will include some kind of factual and legal argument to the court.  Usually motions have more than one accompanying document.  You may not have all the associated documents.  You should look at the court's website and see if the documents are available for download or call the clerk and ask. 

[Cazzieboy]

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@IsambardPrince wrote:

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@Cazzieboy wrote:

Can someone provide info on what happens procedurally once a "Motion to Revive a Debt" is granted by a court.

Third party collector - Original judgment was in 2010. It was never pursued for some reason, but now a "Revival" motion was filed. Thanks so much.

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If it's for a significant amount you should go talk to an attorney and have THEM respond to it. It would be terrible if there was a catastrophic amount of debt that got revived (like a hospital bill) because some scummy collection agency lied to the court and you didn't bother to defend yourself.

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Thanks. It's relatively insignificant (Under $4,000), compared to your example. As I mentioned in a different reply, my personal financial circumstances are such that I believe they are exempt (SS income, negligible assets, etc.).  An additional element I was unaware of previously is that judgments are no longer reported to Credit Bureaus as of a few years ago.

[GreatLife]

I would just caution to consider the value of being proactive, not reactive. Probably easier and less costly to defend against the motion now, vs later trying to reverse a related adverse action or outcome.

[Cazzieboy]

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@Cazzieboy wrote:

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@Cazzieboy wrote:

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@JoeRockhead wrote:

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@Cazzieboy wrote:

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@JoeRockhead wrote:

A motion to revive a debt can be filed, but it's still subject to the statute of limitations. If the statute has expired, the creditor might not be able to successfully revive the debt unless you have paid (in the past 6 years or less) on the account or acknowledged the debt in another way in accordance with your state law that would allow a restart of the SOL. 

They may be trying to strong arm you, use this as a scare tactic. However, if they have filed a motion to revive the debt that is already beyond the statute of limitations, Don't ignore it. You should contest the motion. I'd also recommend you consult a local attorney so you know what your rights and exposure might be as well as the next best steps you should take. 

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Thanks for that. I'm aware of those factors you mentioned, and I think you would agree that the shakiest element of responding to the motion to state that the statute of limitations has passed, is whether or not that constitutes acknowledgment and starts the clock all over again. I'm also pretty sure that if I don't respond, the court automatically grants the motion. That's where the attorney comes in I guess.

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It's not if you respond that can mean a reset, it's more important how you respond. Good call consulting a local attorney.

It should go without saying that it's important you don't have any contact, or conversations whatsoever with the debt colllector.

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Yes, it goes without saying, but thanks for saying it.

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Additionally, a response to the third party debt collector concerning this motion is required, and requires copying the court. So, If I'm going to respond I will be in essence contacting the debt collector.

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Also, if you or anyone else can reply to this it would be appreciated. Are the details of a revived debt filing by a creditor confirmed by a court, as to statute of limitations being within the proper time period? Or, can a creditor just enter a filing without it being determined as proper and meeting lawful conditions? Thanks.

[Cazzieboy]

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@GreatLife wrote:

I would just caution to consider the value of being proactive, not reactive. Probably easier and less costly to defend against the motion now, vs later trying to reverse a related adverse action or outcome.

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Well, here's the thing. Unless the statute of limitations is in question, which I don't think it is, it's virtually impossible to stop a "Debt Revival" motion from being granted. Don't know if reading up on that is of interest to you, but I've read almost countless debt attorney's blogs and articles on that issue, and have not seen any that were denied. However, I'm pretty certain I am, as they say, "Not Collectable" due to personal circumstances. And I found out recently that judgments don't show up on credit reports any longer as of a few years ago.

[GreatLife]

Please let us know if at some future point in time an action is taken to collect on a revived judgment. 

Best Wishes

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@Cazzieboy wrote:

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@GreatLife wrote:

I would just caution to consider the value of being proactive, not reactive. Probably easier and less costly to defend against the motion now, vs later trying to reverse a related adverse action or outcome.

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Well, here's the thing. Unless the statute of limitations is in question, which I don't think it is, it's virtually impossible to stop a "Debt Revival" motion from being granted. Don't know if reading up on that is of interest to you, but I've read almost countless debt attorney's blogs and articles on that issue, and have not seen any that were denied. However, I'm pretty certain I am, as they say, "Not Collectable" due to personal circumstances. And I found out recently that judgments don't show up on credit reports any longer as of a few years ago.

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[crystal626]

Sorry to say but when a court has granted a judgment, it can be renewed indefinitely until they are able to collect it. The statute of limitations applies to your initial liability *before* a judge makes a determination. They only had x amount of time to bring a lawsuit. Once a judge has determined that you are liable though, they can apply to have the judgment extended indefinitely. All that matters is whether the judge grants it. I'll give you a preview though - it's very rare a judge won't revive a judgment because another judge already decided that you owe that money. The only thing that gets rid of judgments is bankruptcy.