Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Georgia

It sounds like you screwed up badly and by failure to spend a small amount on a consult with a lawyer, you likely blew defenses that can no longer be raised. It sounds like you signed a consent judgment and lost your case. That judgment accrues interest and will dog you forever.

It sounds like they are looking to see if there is equity where they can seize and sell your vehicle. You also may face garnishment, etc.

Get your paperwork together and see a lawyer TODAY (not soon, not tomorrow). A lawyer will evaluate your options, which you may have limited to bankruptcy or a significant settlement (assuming you made the mistake of a consent judgment).

Midland Finance is one of the lowest of the low amongst scum creditors. But that doesn't mean they can't do harm to you. Treat this as an emergency. If my office can assist you, call 404-768-3509.

I have to agree. When your account was opened is irrelevant. The question is when you made your last payment. The statute of limitations is 6 years in GA for credit card debt and begins to run from your last payment on the account whenever that was. The statute of limitation does not apply to your credit reeports. Debts can remain on your credit report for 7 years from the charge off date which is usually about 6 months after the account does delinquent. However, judgments remain on your credit report for 7 years from the date of entry of the judgment, so while the debt with the debt collector or original may hgave dropped off the bad debt section, if a judgment was entered it will appear on your credit report. The credit bureaus have their own methodology for reporting judgments - I have no idea how long it takes from date of judgment till the time it appears, but I would estimate 60-90 days.

I could have settled this debt with Midland for a lot less! I don't view them quite as badly as Attorney Ashman. I can and have worked with them on several occasions and they are one of the more decent creditors. Since you have gone to court, that means a judgment was entered so it will cost a bit more to settle now.

Some creditors send a copy of the judgment. Some do not. You do not indicate when the judgment was entered. However, why would your car lender be sending you a request for production of documents? That does not sound right to me. If your car has a lien on it (which it would if you were financing), the creditor should not be able to sell it, but I guess it would depend on the value of the car and how much there is left owing.

Why do you not think you owe the debt? You do. A judgment was entered. And even if the statute of limitations had indeed expired, it was up to you to raise that as a defense in an answere filed with the court. Did you do that? My guess is no because the creditor would not have got a judgment against you. Since you knew about the judgment, you probably don't have grounds to get the judgment opened either.

I agree with Attorney Ashman that you need to see a lawyer NOW. You have wasted a lot of time already if things have progressed this far. If you had the funds to settle in a lump sum, that could probably be done for about 60% of whetever the judgment balance is now. If you cannot afford to do that, I don't know how willing they will be to take paymenys. They had an agreement with you which you failed to honor. Also, depending on the size of the debt and whether you have other debts, it might make more sense to file bankruptcy instead.

Finally, GA does provide you with limited exemptions. Almost no one uses them but you get $5000 in personal property. You can use it to exempt the equity in the car. However, I don't know what else you own. You also get up to $21,500 in equity in your primary residence. You have to file the exemptions with the court in the county in which you reside, I would send the creditor's attorney a copy if you file.

And who is the creditor's attorney? Frederick J. Hanna? Or Zwicker & Associates? Or someone else?

If the debt is a little over $3000, how quickly could you get $1500-$2000? If you think you could get it sooner, I could try to resolve the debt for you for a reasonable fee. Please contact me at rachelforjustice@hotmail,com if interested. If you need to file bankruptcy, I don't do that and you would be better off contacting Attorney Ashman or another local attorney. I also don't litigate and don't go to court and if you have grounds to challenge the judgment (only an attorney would know after they reviewed the documents) you would want to stick with local counsel.