Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Georgia

When they can't find you, they likely will get an order to serve you by publication, run it in the paper (and mail it to your old address) and win without you. IMMEDIATELY get a lawyer. You have a legal emergency.

Many lawyers subscribe to a court service that tells them when particular cases are being filed. For example, traffic/DWWI/DUI attorneys get notified of traffic or alcohol violations and bankruptcy attorneys look for clients who have been sued for credit card or other debt.

So what you got is probably a solicitation. A lawsuit has been filed, but it could be that it has not been served just yet, especially if you moved. If you cannot be served at all, the law firm possibly could get serivce by publication and if they do, they will get a default judgment. It is also possible that they will discover you are in a different county and re-file the suit there. This happened to one of my clients who lived in Cobb and moved to Paulding County and who was sued by Frederick J. Hanna.

While I would encourage you to seek out counsel, what is your ultimate goal here? Do you have a lot of debt? Is this even your debt? How much is it for? Do you have funds to resolve now? What you do next depends on your situation. Judgments entered in one county can be enforced in another if you own property, have wages or bank accounts there. If you are looking to buy time, it might make sense to get a lawyer now and object to service/venue. Ultimately, however, if this is your debt and you have no valid legal defenses (statute of limitations or the like), then the creditor is going to re-file suit in the proper county and get a judgment against you. If you have a lot of debt, it might be wise to look into filing for bankruptcy and dispense with the lawsuit. If you have funds to resolve, that is a different question. Many law firms (depending on the creditor and the law firm) will settle for 40% to 80% of the amount sought to be collected. If you have the funds and want to resolve, then it does not make sense to get a lawyer and object to service. Instead, I would get a copy of the complaint from the courthouse where the lawsuit was filed (once cases are filed, they are a matter of public record and you can get a copy of the lawsuit - retrieving a copy of the court file does not equal proper service of the complaint so you do not have to fear this).

If you are interested in resolving the debt in a non-bankruptcy non-litigation context, please contact me at [email protected]. If you wish to litigate or file bankruptcy, then you might want to see Attorney Ashman or another local GA attorney.