Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Pennsylvania

You're not "being sued", you were sued, and you lost. They have a judgment against you. That is the only way that your property would be exposed to a sheriff sale.

You can have a consumer attorney review the docket to see if there are any errors that would allow you to strike or open the judgment. Those errors are rare, but, they do arise from time to time depending upon which law firm it was that sued you.

You can also attempt to settle the case.

You need a phone or in person consult with a consumer attorney.

I agree with Attorney Artim. Very unlikely you are being sued now. The statute of limitations has run. A lawsuit was probably commenced against you in small claims court (small claims has jurisdiction over claims of up to $12,000). I understand about your relationship issues and why you did not claim the item but you would have to have been served some other way if the mail was unclaimed or else the creditor could not have gotten a judgment against you.

So now the sheriff is trying to execute on the judgment. There are only 2 ways to stop it. (1) file bankruptcy; or (2) work out some kind of payment arrangement. The third way is very remote - you would have to file a motion to open the judgment and file a motion to halt the sheriff's sle. Neither of which is likely to be granted based on the facts you have presented here. The court does not really care about your relationship issues. That is not an excuse for not answering a lawsuit. I am not trying to be ugly but realistically, that is how the court will look at it.

How much is the judgment for? How much can you afford to pay in a lump sum? At least 50%? Offer that. If the creditor wants more, then offer to pay 50% down and the balance over 6-12 months if you can afford that. Bankru;ptcty is only an option if you have at least $10,000 in dischargeable debts (I use this as a ballpark figure because bankruptcy costs money in filing fees and for the attorney and you want to make sure that its cost-effective; most people can manage debts outside of bankruptcy if under $10,000).

If you need help, I agree with Attorney Artim. You need a lawyer to try and negotiate for you.