Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Massachusetts
Motion to attach wages
A lawyer sent me a copy on an affidavit date August 14, 2003 stating that a court date has been set (Sept. 16, 2003) to garnish my wages for a credit card debt. The letter states that on May 20, 2003 the plaintiff recovered judgement against the defendant. Defendant has failed to satisfy the judgment. I don't understand this, should I have been notified in May regarding the judgement, I wasn't. furthermore I have not heard from the creditor for a long time, the account was reported as a loss in 1998. I don't know what to do.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Motion to attach wages
This probably was from small claims court. In such cases, the court, itself, mails you notice of the first hearing, and if you don't show up, judgment is entered against you by default and the Court notifies you. From that point on, the creditor's lawyer just follows standard procedures to enforce the judgment. Since it is the Court which notifies you, you would have to come up with a really good explanation as to why you didn't get notice; you can't say that the Court didn't send it. Unless you really think you don't owe the debt, the best thing to do at this time is to call up the creditor's lawyer and make a voluntary payment arrangement. Good luck!
Re: Motion to attach wages
Your situation is fairly common. Debts get sold, and sometimes this triggers action after a long delay. It is also very common for judgments to enter without people knowing. This usually has something to do with attempts to let you know about the case that failed.
You have lots of options. You could re-open the case if there is a defense to the debt, or you could negotiate a settlement, or you could file bankruptcy. Without more detail, I don't know for sure which of these options is best for you.