Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in California

Credit Card and Community Property

I defaulted on a credit card and the account was turned over to a collection agency. When attempting to work with the collection agency, they said they had served my husband and I with a Summons and Complaint. We had not been served. They indicate that I was served at a time when I was not even in town, and the address on the proof of service, which I requested, was not the correct address. They also had a description of the woman who they say they served and it was very obviously not me. My question is two-fold. First, because the credit card was only in my name and I'm the only one who used it, can my husband still be held responsible for the debt, and two, is it worth fighting this Judgment which was NOT served as they had stated. The last collector that I spoke to there said ''well, as long as we tried to serve you, it's ok.'' I do know that is wrong. They filed an abstract of Judgment against my home and they did not even mail me a declaration of Judgment, which supposedly was filed over a month ago. Thank you in advance for your advice.


Asked on 6/26/03, 1:54 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Sheldon G. Bardach Law Offices of Sheldon G. Bardach

Re: Credit Card and Community Property

You certainly can have the default judgment vacated, because you were never served. Your difficulty is that you also have to establish that you have a valid defense, to accomplish vacating the judgment. It is there that you will have difficulty. If you and your husband were married at the time of incurring the debt, then it is a community obligation and both are liable. So, you may be better off trying to negotiate a settlement of the judgment, but if they have real property liened, your probably out of luck.

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Answered on 6/26/03, 2:05 am


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