Judgement on Record - What to do about it?

[Anonymous]

Today my brother approached me with a topic I didn't know how to respond to, so I decided to long on to the very knowledgeable myfico forum to get a response. How should one proceed with a judgement on their credit report? He has a judgement from CapitalOne on his credit report and does not know how to proceed. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Today my brother approached me with a topic I didn't know how to respond to, so I decided to long on to the very knowledgeable myfico forum to get a response. How should one proceed with a judgement on their credit report? He has a judgement from CapitalOne on his credit report and does not know how to proceed. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

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Is the judgement paid or unpaid?

If it is paid then he would have to make an attempt to have it vacated.

If it is unpaid then he would have to pay the judgement then make an attempt to have it vacated.

[Anonymous]

Thank you! I had been searching around online but couldn't find a straight response. I will forward the information to him. 

[RobertEG]

Was he properly served notice of the date and time of the court hearing?

[Anonymous]

Yes he was, but at the time we were dealing with my father's health complications, so he was unable to actually appear before the court to demonstrate the fact that he hasn't held a job since 2008 and the reason he didn't pay Capital One was because he didn't (and still doesn't) have the money to do so. I have agreed to assist him in taking care of the judgement, but I just did not know how or where to begin.

Is it appropriate then, to contact, Capital One and settle?

[Anonymous]

Good chances if there was a judgment issued against him then Cap One no longer owns the debt. You would have to contact the party that has the judgment against him. 

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

Today my brother approached me with a topic I didn't know how to respond to, so I decided to long on to the very knowledgeable myfico forum to get a response. How should one proceed with a judgement on their credit report? He has a judgement from CapitalOne on his credit report and does not know how to proceed. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

---

Is the judgement paid or unpaid?

If it is paid then he would have to make an attempt to have it vacated.

If it is unpaid then he would have to pay the judgement then make an attempt to have it vacated.

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Not exactly.

You do not have to pay a judgment to try and have it vacated.

In judgments related to the type of debt OP mentioned, there are specific grounds for vacating a judgment.  Payment is not one of them.  as Robert alluded to, one primary reason why a judgment can be attacked is for lack of proper service.  OP has already admitted to being served, so that ship has sailed. 

Best bet is to ask the judgment creditor to try to reopen the case and have the judgment vacated.  The court does not have to go along with it, but they usually will.  The question is whether the judgment creditor will assist.

[Anonymous]

Sounds good. I will advise him to start with contacting the judgement creditor to have the judgement vacated. I was googling the topic of vacating the topic earlier yesterday. This would boil down to filing paperwork with the courts in regards to the case then, correct?