Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Wisconsin

You should immediately hire an attorney to attempt to reopen this judgment if you dispute it. The longer you wait, the more difficult it will become to succeed. My guess is that the court file contains proof that you were either personally served or served by publication, or other proof that you had constructive notice of the court date. Usually, there is no requirement that the court mail out any notice of the court date if you were informed by any of these other methods or were told in person about the date while appearing in court. If there is no such proof, you may have grounds to reopen the judgment. However, reopening would only be a short term solution, since the creditor would next be given an opportunity to prove his case in court, which would also lead to a judgment if he meets his burden of proof. If he can prove it, you might therefore be better off spending your money to go bankrupt or find another more permanent solution to this dispute. If the contractor�s lien rights have expired, such a judgment may be dischargeable in bankruptcy. Please remember that I am not yet your attorney and will not be taking any action on your case, but you are still welcome to contact me during business hours at my in Racine if you still have more questions. Also, please see me on the web at www.jayknixonlaw.com, or, to read 15 years of my prior answers to consumer legal questions arranged by topic, please go to http://www.lawguru.com/answers/search/attorney/jknixon. Answers may contain attorney advertising materials.