Newbie here. The nuts & bolts... In late Dec '04 I rcvd notice from atty of Judgment (default judgment apparently from early '02) -Early Jan '05 I called Atty requesting verification (followed up with Certified letter) -Rcvd copy of default judgment and copy of service (incorrect service...served to RENTER of mine at an address I did not live at. Obviously I did not get summons) **1st thing in my favor -Rcvd notice from my employer that Atty is garnishing my wages -Called Atty again, advised their paperwork means nothing to me and advised of improper service. Atty arrogant the whole time as if he didn't care, he had the judgment, there was nothing I or he could do except pay it off. -Requested Validation (certified letter), -Garnishment started in early Feb '05. -Called atty again (3rd time) and told him I have requested VALIDATION, he has failed to provide it yet he continues to garnish my wages (at a rate of 25%!!!)...Sent 3rd certified letter I have already filed paperwork for Judge to vacate the Judgment due to improper service... My question is... I'm pretty pi$$ed at the atty for his arrogance and overall lack of cooperation or concern... Do I have a case to sue them for continuing collection of a debt without VALIDATION? If so, could I pursue them for a violation on each and every paycheck they've garnished (about 5 now)? i.e. $5K?
First of all, was the attorney representing a CA? or an Original creditor? How much(dont be specific to dollars and cents) was the debt? Wouldnt be surprised if it was Discover...they sue you over a quarter. too late for validation, they already got a judgement.. you could try to get the judgement vacated based on improper service, check the rules for service in your state. Since the judgement is from '02, then you may have an extremely difficult time. Also there is a seperate SOL on judgements and depending on your state may include a fixed interest rate..look that up. do lots and lots of reading, is your county has a legal aid office it wouldn't hurt at this time to make a visit if your feel uncomfortable with all the legalese...
In some jurisdictions it is legal to serve a summons on a person over 18 years of age, at the address on the summons.. Not sure about the different address than yours however.. You'd need to speak to your own lawyer to see if it is "improper service" No- once a judgment has been issued they don't need to validate anything with you other than send you a copy of the judgment. They validated your debt to the satisfaction of the judge that heard the case!
Thanks for the reply... Judgment was for $4K+...now with interest they're looking for $6K+. Original creditor is Wells Fargo Bank, I haven't had an account with them until just recently...YEARS after the judgment. Also curious...why would they give me an account, or not make mention of the delinquency, if I had an account "in bad standings" with them to the extent they claim??? That's the biggest reason I'm looking for validation.
If they wrote off the original delinquency, and it was years ago, the information may not be at hand, it may be archived, and they would have no easy way to determine that you had a bad account with them at one time Also, banks get acquired by other banks, accounts get sold, etc. so they may not have you in their system or be able to connect the two accounts now
Like PD said, a copy of the judgment is validation now. In a sense a judgment is a "new" debt. The best thing you can do now is to attempt to get the judgment vacated.
