Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Massachusetts
I had a judgment entered in favor of the plaintiff (heating company, amount of $700) for a 3yo debt case. I have been living and working in Europe since 2008 and had no idea about this court case. Even though I am not fault in this case, I understand that it's too late to argue about it, especially with my being physically absent from the US. The court's decision along with a threat of a capias warrant for failure to appear was sent to the home address of my mother, who is a Belmont, MA resident. She contacted me, and I've asked her to appear in court instead of me for the scheduled payment review hearing in order to inform the court that I was not able to appear in court personally for a good reason - living abroad - and to submit proof (employment contract, airplane ticket, pay stubs) that I currently live in Europe and do not reside at my mother's home address. Here's the problem: my elderly mother, whose English is not very good, felt very intimidated in court, panicked and messed up her simple task. Instead of dealing with the judge, she was called aside by the plaintiff's lawyer, who quickly persuaded her that she was now responsible for paying my debt and wrote down in his pad her personal info, home address and her credit card number. He didn't ask her to sign anything and said nothing to the judge about their little exchange. Clearly, my confused mom was taken advantage of by a clever lawyer. I managed to block the charge on her credit card, but I would really like to know the possible consequences of this situation for my mother. Will the plaintiff's lawyer now start harassing her for money? Is he allowed by law to submit this debt, now in her name, to the collection agency? Is he allowed by law to sue her for my debt, since she "willingly" provided her payment info and then canceled the transaction? Or will the plaintiff, being unable to collect from my mother, resubmit to the court the original case against me? I don't much care about the consequences of this situation for me, since I don't intend to live or own any property in the US. But my mom is elderly, scared and confused, plus she's financially vulnerable because she owns an apartment in Belmont, MA. And I want to do everything possible to spare her any trouble. Any help in this matter is greatly appreciated! Thanks!
1 Answer from Attorneys
Although you may represent yourself in court, your mother can only represent you in a court of law if she is a licensed attorney. That could be one reason why your mother didn't get very far. I don't know what you mean by "clever" lawyer. Lawyers are clever at the law because that is their profession. You need to have the case dismissed for lack of personal jurisdiction and failure of service. I recommend that you hire an attorney before you get any deeper into it.
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