Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Georgia
I received a letter from the court system that i am being held in contempt of court for not appering for a mediation for a law suit that was filed against me by a collection agency for a hospital bill. I was told in 2005 when i was signed out of the hospital that my bill was taken careof out of the indigent care fund since I was low income. I never got a bill from the hospital then in 2007 i started getting calls from the agency. I sent them muliplte cease and desist letters requesting they not contact me at work but they continued to. After my answer to the court I returned all future letters unopened to the collection agency with another copy of the cease and desist letters. I am unemployed at the moment and cant afford bankruptcy and have no idea what do about my up coming court day will i be put in jail for contempt of court when i didnt know anything about the mediation. and how long could i be in there for. I am a single dad so I could use some hlep.
2 Answers from Attorneys
You should not be surprised that these things are happening. From your post, you intentionally and willfully ignored the lawsuit after you filed an answer. Returning unopened mail, with a meaningless "cease and desist letter," were simply thumbing your nose at the court and other party and an invitation for negative consequences. The "I did not know about it" excuse won't likely get you very far. You need a lawyer, not a website, to try to undo the mess you made for yourself. You may have completely ruined any defenses you did have with your conduct.
You may be in very serious trouble.
While you can ask a collector not to write or call you, that does NOT stop a suit. To get a lawsuit and return court mail unopened was a huge mistake. Bear in mind that being ion contempt may mean that not only will you probably lose the suit, but you can be put in jail (potentially for a long time, although that is up to the court) and forced to pay additional costs.
YOU HAVE TO GET A LAWYER AT THIS POINT. Your past actions have made that mandatory. Do it tommorow at the latest. A bankruptcy probably would help you immensely and it probably costs less than you think. In the future start reading your mail. It may keep you out of jail. And when you get sued, remember that you always need to see a lawyer promptly. DO NOT DELAY.
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