Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Massachusetts

If you default here in MA, the owner of the debt can hire a firm wherever you move and have the judgment enforced there. So long as the judgment is valid, other states would have to honor it. They will have to bring another lawsuit in the state you move to in order to get the judgment enforced, so you will get notice of that, but they won't have to prove their case again. The best thing you can do is to deal with the lawsuit now.

I mostly agree with Attorney Beauvais. The process to domesticate a judgment is different from state to state. However when you asked does it follow you, my guess is you were not considering the fact that a civil judgement for damages can stay on your credit report for up to 20 years as a derogatory mark. So even if the lawsuit itself does not follow you across the country, my opinion is, the bigger problem sticks with you for quite a while no matter where you go. Plus, interest continues to accrue, so when you do finally decide to clear it up, you may be looking at a much larger number. Attorney Beauvais is right, dealing with it now is probably your best bet.

As the others have suggested, the judgment will not go away, and it will likely continue to accrue significant interest. Your best bet is to get some help in resolving this matter so you can move without fear. The judgment is good for a very long time, and it can easily be "domesticated" in whatever state you move to. It will never be cheaper to get rid of than it is right now! Best of luck.