Has anyone had any experience vacating a Judgment? I have just sent an Attorney in the County and State where the Judgment was filed a power of Attorney. He is requesting a $1500 deposit for retention. What I would like to find out is what others have experienced when dealing with this type of action. Mainly I would like to know is how much this type of thing costs? I would also like to know how long something like this usually takes? Any input from the learned board would be appreciated. Thanks Tim
No, I didn't. The lawyer did everything. He had to appear for a hearing. Actually he had to do it twice, because the court misplaced the original documents. Mine was 110 mi away. Where are you and what state is the court in?
T - I did mine myself, but the court was only 45 minutes away. I think it cost no more than $30 for file copies and fees, plus I negotiated a settlement with the plaintiff so we could file a joint dismissal for the second hearing. Although lawyers are appropriate in most situations, if you don't want to shell out $1500, see if the court where the judgement was filed has hearings-by-phone, which I think are administered by an outside service. Basically it's a conference call with the defendant, plaintiff, and a judge, and any paperwork/evidence can be sent beforehand by mail. Not available everywhere.
Breeze, I am in Dallas and the Judgment was filed in Spokane, Washington. I have made the drive, it's not something I would recomend to the weak at heart. Lionel, The letter included with the power of attorney was a form letter. I have known this attorney for about five years. I used to be his computer consultant. I know he will do right by me. I just need to talk with him to get more of the particulars. I have a feeling that the deposit would cover even the worse case senario. I have thought abput doing this without an attorney. My ex still lives up there, but I decided against that. It took her over three months to pick up the court record and send it down here to me. I need the assistance of someone I can trust will follow through. Thanks Tim
Perhaps your situation is more complicated than mine. My attorney (and most I think) charge by the hour, and they know approximately how much time to allow for something (I wonder if theyhave a blue book like mechanics?) Like I said, in my case, the court misplaced the original docs and he had to do them all over, but he did not charge me for that. He even offered to tell me what to do in order to do it myself, but I chose to have him do it. But in my case, I had actually settled before the court date, and they let the court date stand anyway. I had proof of that, and faxed it to my attorney. He faxed it to the attorney who had gotten the judgment and asked him to sign a joint petition to vacate. So it was pretty simple, and the "worst possible scenario" was the caused by the court, LOL. The reason I asked about the state is that I run into a lot of people who have judgments in VA, and I refer them to him. So far they've all been happy.
