Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Virginia

Domestication

I live in WV, my boyfriends ''ex'' lives in VA, approximately 5 hours away, to make a long story short...we received a paper in the mail from her that said we were being sued for $15,000 for harassment. We ignored it, did not believe at first it was real, later we discovered she had gotten a default judgment of $15,000 + %9. Now she has filed this on my credit report, and sends me a bill every month for what is now over $24,000! (she adds $1,355.56 every month) On todays ''bill'' she says she is doing paperwork to have this ''legal'' in WV. I suppose my question is, what should I do? Do they have to notify me if this process is done? Will I not have an opportunity then to defend this action?


Asked on 12/22/03, 6:11 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Daniel Press Chung & Press, P.C.

Re: Domestication

If they have a judgment from one state, another state has to honor it unless it was entered without jurisdiction. Since it's a VA default judgment, you would have to establish that you did not have sufficient contact with VA for that state's courts to exercise jurisdiction over you. You could also go into VA courts and ask that they vacate the judgment for lack of jurisdiction. You should consult with a lawyer to determine which option (if either one) is better for you. Note, by the way, that the 9% interest is per year, and it looks like they are trying to add it per month. As for an opportunity to defend, you already had that and missed your chance - your only recourse now is to show that the judgment is void for lack of jurisdiction.

Read more
Answered on 12/22/03, 11:04 pm


Related Questions & Answers

More General Civil Litigation questions and answers in Virginia