Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Virginia

Re: Consent to entry of judgement

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RESPONSE: You are right to be skeptical. There are many ways you can arrange a deal without having a judgment appear on your credit report. Know, however, that the lawyer is not obligated to agree to your proposal. But if his client is willing to cut you some slack, three options would be: (1) enter into a "stayed" consent order of judgment (in which you would agree to judgment, but the judgment would be suspended and not "docketed" on the books unless you default on a payment plan to pay off the judgment; (2) offer a "confessed-judgment note," where you would agree to the debt and a payment plan, with the understanding that if you miss a payment, they would get an immediate judgment against you, without having to file a case; or (3) you could agree to give them a judgment but agree that they will not enforce it against you (e.g., by garnishing your wages) for so long as you abide by the payment plan. Good luck.