When is a judgment a judgment

[Anonymous]

When is a judgment a judgement , when you receive a cival summons or when you go to court?  I knew this was coming  so a few days ago I started the process of refi my home to get equity out to pay off this car repo ($11,000).  and low and behold a few days after I recieved my cival summons.  Good news is that I did get an automatic approval (shocked mid score 605--no lates for the past 18months).  My loan will be an FHA loan, which I understand is a little forgiving.  My LO is aware of the repo which shows currently as a charge off (LO is requiring I pay them off with the extra)  Will getting this cival summons mess everything up?   I keep checking my reports and nothing has changed since the auto approval.  My LO doesn't seem a bit concerned-  I haven't told him that I actually recieved a cival summons for this however.  He is great though he even asked why don't I offer them a settlement.  I am just soooooooo worried.  I can't have a judgemnt on my report  I have been trying so hard the past year to up my scores.

[young-fab-broke]

The judgment is the outcome of the court case. You still have time to work with the creditor. IMO I would go ahead and offer a settlement before you get to court, then you can have the case dismissed.

I'm not a lawyer, but this worked for me previously with a creditor.

Good Luck

[Anonymous]

It isn't a judgment until the judge orders it.

They have filed a motion for a judgment.

I would negotiate with them. Start low and they'll start high, you can meet somewhere in the middle.

How long do you have to answer the summons? If you can negotiate a deal before you have to answer, then you can answer it stating that you all have negotiated a settlement in full.

However, make certain that this doesn't go to court. Call the courthouse and make sure there is no court date set, if one is set, appear no matter what.

Message Edited by sidewinder on 08-19-2008 10:06 AM

[Anonymous]

I have 20 days from last friday.  I have spoke with the law office and ask for an exstension.  I an in the process of refinanancing my home to get them their money.  When i first talked to them I was so focused on getting an exstension i di not practice very good negiotating.  when she told me the amount which was about $1000.00 higher than on my cr.  She offered to settle for that.  But now I am thinking I could get her alot lower.

[Anonymous]

AFAIK, the law office can not extend the time period you have to answer. I believe the courts sets that.

If you are 100% certain that the money will be coming, I would start negotiating. If you have come to an agreement before your 20 days is up, then answer stating that.

If you have not come to an agreement before then, still answer the summons.

Have you thought about getting a free consult with an attorney? A friend had an attorney only charge her $250 and she saved way more than that.

Message Edited by sidewinder on 08-19-2008 10:19 AM

[alisa]

I have a question/what can you do if you have a judgment filed against you but the cc has no record of it going to the courts/and i spoke with the law office and they cant do anything because the cc took the account back?

[Anonymous]

In order to get a judgment the Creditor MUST go through court!!!   Call your courthouse and ask if the judgment was filed.....If it is showing on your CR use the case # to get the info.

A CC can only take the debt back if it was assigned. Also a CA can NOT file unless the OC agrees.

Is it reported on your CR under PR?

[Anonymous]

Pay an attorney to request an extension on the court date.  Then get the re-fi done.  Then have the attorney negotiate the debt to a reasonable amount.  Pay the amount.  Court date is dropped.  Thsi is what I did.  It cost me about $500 in lawyers fees and saved me alot of headaches and at least 1K on a 5K debt.

[MsKiwi]

Contacty the court for an extension ASAP. The person suing you won't give it..trust me. The courts are pretty willing to do this especially if you go in person to the court but do this pronto, do not wait or you will not be able to get the extension. I believe you need to request one at least 10 days before the court date. (this is what it was for small claims, I don't know about civil suits)

[alisa]

Yes it is under PR, i spoke with the cc and they are willing to write a letter to the courts to satisfy the judgment once the payment is recieved, should i be asking him instead for the judgement to be vacated due to improperly filed against me?