Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Michigan
I have a summary judgement that was issued against me in a Michigan District Court from May this year. I went back through all of the documentation from the original complaint and found that the Plaintiff's attorney submitted fraudulent evidence i.e. a print out of the debt from a company called RMS, an affidavit of account where the notary did not fill in the county that he/she is a notary of or when her commission expires as well as terms and conditions of the credit card that was dated in 2002 when I applied for the card in 2006. The terms for 2002 were for Bank of America, but the credit card was through Charles Schwab - underwritten by FIA card services. I have a copy of the terms and conditions from when I received the card.
As I mention, I was unaware of these misrepresentations and I did not file appropriate defenses in my answer. My question is: Can I still file a case to appeal the summary judgement given the evidence I found in my favor?
1 Answer from Attorneys
FIA Card Services is Bank of America. The time to defend the lawsuit was while it was still pending and before a judgment was entered. The "errors" you've identified do not appear to affect the merits of the case, i.e., you haven't denied that you owe the debt. These are also errors that could easily be corrected via amendments, or the filing of a new lawsuit, if necessary. If you want to seek relief from a judgment beyond 21 days from when the judgment was entered, you need to file a motion to set aside judgment (or set aside default judgment) and state your reasons and legal basis for that requested relief. However, you must have a legal defense to the complaint, or you will not prevail. The Michigan Court Rules contain a rule which outlines the procedure for setting aside a judgment within 1 year of when it was entered.
If you have reason to believe the debt is fraudulent and is not your debt, that's a different story, and you need to be able to prove it. The burden will be on you to demonstrate why the court should set aside the judgment and revisit this lawsuit, since you were aware of the lawsuit and had a chance to defend it previously, but were unable to refute the plaintiff's allegations.
If the debt is yours, I would suggest working out a payment plan, or filing a motion for installment payments if they are garnishing your wages or income tax refunds, as the court will then set up a payment plan according to your financial status.
If you have other debts, and feel that bankruptcy is your only or best option, then contact me for a bankruptcy consultation.
Thanks.
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