Legal Question in Business Law in California

Re: Legal ramifications of being taken to court

Many judgments are recorded and these typically show up on credit reports. This only happens where the defendant loses. When the defendant wins there is no judgment to record and thus nothing to report to credit bureaus.

Information about how often people have been sued (including cases which were settled and those in which they prevailed, as well as those in progress) is publicly available, and many of the sources of this information are accessible on-line for a moderate cost. These records are not usually reviewed as part of a credit check, but may be reviewed in more extensive background investigations.

Merely being named a defendant in a lawsuit should not reflect badly on a person, since all it shows is that someone made an accusation of some sort. It does not show that the accusation was correct or that the defendant suffered any financial difficulties as a result. A substantial number of lawsuits might be cause for concern, though, as it might suggest a continuing problem. Ongoing lawsuits can also pose problems because the present the possibility of a judgment being entered in the future and impacting the defendant's finances.

Re: Legal ramifications of being taken to court

Yours is a very interesting question because for over 30 years now it is in my position that any time anyone is sued it potentially has a negative effect for them in the future. All judgments are filed and many are recorded. They show up on your credit report if their judgment against you. Many states have different companies that keep statistics on lawsuits been filed. More importantly, all lawsuits filed our public and anyone can search databases of each county in which lawsuits are filed to see if a lawsuit was filed against someone with your name. At does not mean that if you have a common name it is you in each county. The problem is that people are stupid and assume the worst because somebody is named as a defendant in a lawsuit. If the lawsuit is dismissed or you win they don't know that. That is why if you win many times you should think of filing sued back for malicious prosecution and abuse of process, two different kinds of claims. Now I've tried to answer your question what's really going on. You been named as a defendant in a lawsuit and are worried about what the effect will be upon you. If the lawsuit is frivolous and has absolutely no basis that you might think of seeing an attorney for the purpose of filing a malicious prosecution action, if the suit was in small claims. If it's in the Superior Court why haven't you gotten an attorney? Don't be stupid you need good legal counsel in many lawsuits. If your name is a defendant in small claims action in vast in the consultation with an attorney so that you will know how to argue vast on your own behalf, what to bring in the court in what evidence you need to defend yourself. You know these fictitious questions really aren't fictitious, my friend this, my brother that, my God just tell us what's going on.i have been practicing law in this speciality for over 30 years in the san francisco bay area and if you wish to consult with me you can contact me at 925-945-6000.