Legal Question in Civil Litigation in District of Columbia

Re: Judgement in a suit

Make sure that you hold title to your home with your husband as joint tenants by the entireties.

A judgment creditor of your husband will not be able to seize assets which can be identified as belonging to you in order to satisfy a judgment which is soley against your husband, and will also not be able to take action against your home if you hold title to it with your husband as specified above.

Re: Judgement in a suit

Your husband is making a mistake. He should, at a minimum, contact the plaintiff's attorney.

I presume that what he received was a subpoena to attend an "examination in aid of enforcement" or a subpoena with a notice of depostiion duces tecum. Either way, the subpoena is an order of court. Failing to appear will lead ultimately to the entry of a show cause order for contempt and if he continues to fail to appear and cooperate a bench warrant will be issued for him to be arrested (which is called a "body attachment").

"Head in the sand" will not get him out of this. He should probably contact an attorney and figure out what if anything can be done to satisfy this issue. In addition a, if the judgment is the result of an automobile accident, then the plaintiff is also likely to go to the MVA to have your husband's driver's license suspended.

So, let's review. Your husband has a judgment against him arising from an auto accident. He says that he didn't know about the trial. It's probably too late to contest that, but one never knows. He should seek legal counsel on that issue to see if there is anything that can be done.

If nothing can be done about the judgment, then he's still going to have to address the issue or wind up with a bench warrant for his arrest and/or losing his driving privileges.

There are other options of course, including bktcy, but they may not make sense and can only be evaluated with legal counsel.

As to the issue of YOUR property, unless the judgment is against YOU too, then your property should be safe from attachment. That would include your real property so long as it is titled as "tenants by the entireties" (which is how most married couples have property titled). If it is titled as "tenants in common" (i.e. if you bought the property before you were married and never changed the title this could happen) then there is a bigger issue because his interest in the property could be attached and executed upon (meaning sold).

If you have questions about the title to your property and/or how to protect your interest or that of you husband, you should contact an attorney to get advice that is specifically tailored to your facts.

Feel free to give me a call if you would like to chat briefly about whether there is anything that can be done to help you or your husband in this matter.