Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in California

Re: Judgement without service

You might try presenting all of this information to the attorney who contacted you, in the hope of persuading them to drop the matter; you should ask that they get the judgment vacated so that it no longer hangs over your head. If informal negotiations don't work, then you may need a lawyer. You can either fight the enforcement of the judgment in Washington court (if it has been registered there), or hire a lawyer in California to get the original judgment vacated. In any event, now that you know about the judgment, you should move expeditiously either to get it resolved informally or to find a lawyer to fight the judgment.

Re: Judgement without service

First, do not delay. You should get a copy of the court file from San Diego. There are services that will do this for you.

Second, once you have it, you can either fight it in WA when they attempt to enforce it, or fight it in CA now. You could try to fight it in CA and get the judgment vacated. If that does not work, then fight it in WA. But, you should talk to an attorney immediately. Once you become aware of a judgment, you must move quickly or the court may determine that you waived your right to vacate it.

Re: Judgement without service

The advice you received from the attorneys in CA is pretty good. You need to connect with an attorney in CA whom you trust.

I would recommend that you check www budhibbs dot com. He provides a link to naca dot org, which is a national organization of consumer attorneys.

There is a whole universe of bottom feeder debt collectors out there. They cut corners, and lie on affidavits of service, or (my personal favorite) tell a court they have service when they do not. It is a flagrant abuse of the system. The consequences are serious.

If you are a resident of washington, they would have to domesticate the judgment here before they would have jurisdiction to garnish your wages. This takes a few weeks, minimum.

In that amount of time you can lawyer up in CA and you will be OK. This will cost money

I know an attorney in Tacoma who is licensed in both WA and CA. They are rare but not unheard of.

Third party creditors are not parties to your divorce. You can ask the divorce court to order your ex to pay the debts he promised to pay. Ultimately, if he's responsible then you can make him pay you back. But meanwhile, with a facially valid judgment, you are the one facing the consequences, not him.

This is going to cost money. The funds you expend may be recoverable if the debt collector lied to the court to get the judgment.

Hope this helps. Elizabeth Powell