Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Oregon

Re: Improper Proof of Service led to Lost Lawsuit

Let's start with the basics. A valid judgment from Oregon will generally be enforceable in California unless you can show that the Oregon judgment is invalid, or violative of California public policy.

Option 1 is to challenge the sister-state judgment in California, but you only have 30 days from when you receive notice of entry of sister-state judgment to file your challenge. You may have a claim based upon a lack of jurisdiction over you in Oregon. These are difficult to win, however, as there is a strong bias towards enforcing sister-state judgments.

Option 2 is to challenge the judgment in Oregon. I am not admitted to practice in Oregon, and do not know Oregon law. Under California law, you would have the ability to challenge a judgment like this. First you would need to set aside the judgment on the basis of an actual lack of notice. Then you could address issues of jurisdiction and venue.

No matter what you do act quickly, because the amount of time between actual notice and action is a strong factor in the eyes of a judge.

Re: Improper Proof of Service led to Lost Lawsuit

California is obligated to honor the Oregon judgment, so nothing you can do here would stop the enforcement process. You may be able to do something about the judgment in an Oregon court, but I will defer to an Oregon attorney as to what your options might be. You will need to act quickly, though, if you want to put a halt to the enforcement.

If the person who originally signed the papers was an employee or other agent of your then-employer, you may be able to sue the employer and the individual locally to reimburse you for the judgment and/or for the added expenses you incur as a result of this mixup. However, in order to recover the amount of the judgment (assuming you don't get it set aside in Oregon) you will need to prove that you would have won the case if you had known about the service in time to fight the case.

Unless the judgment is large, you may have a hard time finding a lawyer who is interested in taking the case against the employer and the (ir)responsible individual.

Re: Improper Proof of Service led to Lost Lawsuit

I recommend you talk to a civil litigator in the county where the judgment was taken against you. It is not unusual that default judgments are undone, but you MUST move quickly, now that you know. The devil is in the details, so you'll want to bring all paperwork and documents with you ASAP to a civil attorney, to find out if you can get the judgment lifted. Good luck!