Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in New York

You do not answer a judgment; a jusgment is a formal lien on your assets, and has a twenty year statute of limitations. You can always negotiate a settlement, but there is no incentive for the creditor to accept less than the judgment. If the judgment was entered on default less than a year ago, the best thing would be to bring an order to show cause to vacate the judgment and litigate the action on the merits, in the court where it was entered, assuming you have a valid defense to the action and a meritorious excuse for your original default.The New York City Civil Court has forms for such orders to show case, and other courts do as well.