Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Virginia
Summary Judgment without Proper Service
When I recently requested a copy of my credit report, I discovered I was sued by a former landlord/property management company during 2000 for unpaid rent. [The unpaid portion was due to a roommate who did not pay his last 2 months rent. I had already moved out but continued to pay my portion through the end of the lease.] I never received any notification that they were filing against me. I�m assuming they simply taped the notice to my door. We vacated the property at the end of November 1999. The judgment was entered November 2000.
It has been nearly 7 years and I have never heard anything from the property managers or the court, but the default jugement appears on my credit history. I�m applying for a security clearance and want this removed. Here are my questions:
1) Is it possible to file a motion to dismiss the case with prejudice because of the improper service, or do I have to file an appeal?
2) Is it too late for any action? Six and one-half years have passed.
3) Is it possible to sue the property managers for irreparable damage to my credit history because of their incompetence? If not the property managers, then what about the firm that represented them?
Thank you.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Summary Judgment without Proper Service
You give no indication whether during the time that you were paying your portion of the rent after you had moved out, that the property managers were in fact aware of your move and your new address. If they were not and had reason to assume that your previous address was still valid and that you therefore could be served there with notice of the lawsuit for the amounts that remained unpaid under the lease for which not only your roommate but also you yourself were responsible, you likely received what the law would consider valid service of process. If such is the case, I see no basis for you now to challenge the judgment which was entered some seven years ago. About all you can do is hope that the judgment was recorded in the general district court(rather than the circuit) and that upon its expiration after 10 years, that someone will forget to renew it for another 10, and that thereafter it will eventually disappear from your credit report.
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