Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in North Carolina
If we've already filed a lawsuit against a debtor and won, but they have no assets, can the lawsuit be updated to unclude the guarantor, even though it's already been won? We will never be paid by the original debtor and we are certain we can get paid by the guarantor, do we need to start a new lawsuit against the guarantor?
1 Answer from Attorneys
You mention there is a guarantor. Why did you not include the guarantor in the original lawsuit?
Judgments are good in North Carolina for 10 years and can be renewed for another 10 years. The judgment earns interest at a rate of 8% per year. So even though the debtor does not have assets now, they could (at least in theory) have assets in the future.
I would start off by making a demand on the guarantor before you jump into a lawsuit. If they still refuse, then you can proceed - its up to them to assert that the lawsuit is barred (if it is). I am not saying it is; I simply do not have enough information.
The guarantor or surety must have signed a written acknowledgement in order for the debt to be enforced against him or her.
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