brianthegele
New Member
Hello,
When I was 16, in 1996/97 I defended myself against an 18 year old by punching him in the face. He suffered quite a few breaks I suppose and ended up suing me. However I never knew about this lawsuit until today (May 3rd, 2014) by a random poorly-folded letter from a lawyer which states;
Dear (me),
As you may be aware my office is representing (plaintiff) regarding the above referenced matter. I am attempting to collect this judgment on his behalf. The New Jersey judgment has been forwarded to Pennsylvania and will act as a lien on your property in Pennsylvania. Further, I have employed private investigators to assist in locating your assets like bank accounts and vehicles. Upon an asset being discovered I will seek to have the asset sold to pay this judgment. I am exploring your relationship with several businesses you are associated with pursuant to various public record searches. If you appear to be an owner in any business I will seek to sell your interest to pay this judgment.
I urge you to respond to this letter as I have been authorized to use any legal means to collect this judgment. I have enclosed an Information Subpoena for you to fill out and return. If you fail to completely honestly supply the information I will move to the court for an arrest warrant.
(end letter)
This "information subpoena" was not included in the envelope. I looked up my name in the NJ court system and it does seem that I was summoned in '99. (I guess they waited until I was an adult) but I never got a summons. I didn't even live in NJ at the time. It appears that this lawyer does have a small office. I guess my question is, is this just a bogus letter to try to scare me into giving up financial information for them to use against me? Is there any way to vacate a default judgment after 15 years because I've never even heard about it before?
When I was 16, in 1996/97 I defended myself against an 18 year old by punching him in the face. He suffered quite a few breaks I suppose and ended up suing me. However I never knew about this lawsuit until today (May 3rd, 2014) by a random poorly-folded letter from a lawyer which states;
Dear (me),
As you may be aware my office is representing (plaintiff) regarding the above referenced matter. I am attempting to collect this judgment on his behalf. The New Jersey judgment has been forwarded to Pennsylvania and will act as a lien on your property in Pennsylvania. Further, I have employed private investigators to assist in locating your assets like bank accounts and vehicles. Upon an asset being discovered I will seek to have the asset sold to pay this judgment. I am exploring your relationship with several businesses you are associated with pursuant to various public record searches. If you appear to be an owner in any business I will seek to sell your interest to pay this judgment.
I urge you to respond to this letter as I have been authorized to use any legal means to collect this judgment. I have enclosed an Information Subpoena for you to fill out and return. If you fail to completely honestly supply the information I will move to the court for an arrest warrant.
(end letter)
This "information subpoena" was not included in the envelope. I looked up my name in the NJ court system and it does seem that I was summoned in '99. (I guess they waited until I was an adult) but I never got a summons. I didn't even live in NJ at the time. It appears that this lawyer does have a small office. I guess my question is, is this just a bogus letter to try to scare me into giving up financial information for them to use against me? Is there any way to vacate a default judgment after 15 years because I've never even heard about it before?
