Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in California

The filing of bankruptcy stops lawsuits. Claiming you're readying to file does not carry legal effect.

Disclaimer: the above as well as any information found on our Web site is not legal advice and should not be relied upon. It does not create an attorney-client relationship. Unilateral communications may be misconstrued as they do not address all facets, nuances, and particulars, or all means of addressing a situation. This is strictly my opinion provided for general informational purposes and it pertains to California law. We do not review and are not responsible for the content of other attorneys� answers even when they answer the same questions. We recommend you seek legal and other professional counsel before acting or refraining from action in relation to bankruptcy. It's worth the cost.

What Mr. Abrams means is that the way to stop the lawsuit is to file bankruptcy. Until you file, the credit lawsuit cannot be stopped just because you are "in the process." Once you file for bankruptcy and give notice to the court and attorney of the filing, the credit lawsuit will automatically stop, and if the attorney does anything more to collect he will be in very big trouble with the Bankruptcy Court. As for the public defender, they only defend criminal cases because you have a constitutional right to an attorney when the government is charging you with a crime (Gideon v. Wainwright). When the government is just providing a court for a private action between creditors and you, there is no constitutional right to an attorney, so the governement doesnt' give you one.

Once you file the bankruptcy, the bankruptcy court will send you a Notice of Commencement of Case. You will then attach a copy (both sides) of that document to a Notice of Stay (http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/forms/fillable/cm180.pdf) that you complete, file the original Notice of Stay with the state court, and have a friend or relative serve a copy on the creditor's attorney. Make sure to use black marker to cross out your social security number on documents filed with the state court. That will stop the state court proceedings. The judge likely will set a hearing date about four months later to see how the bankruptcy is proceeding. If you've received your discharge by then, the plaintiff's attorney likely will ask the court to dismiss the case.