What do I do

M

M.Smith

New Member
Jurisdiction
California
Hello I need help what do I do if 20yrs ago I purchased a car and had a Co signer I went into default and the car was repossessed. My co signer filed for bankruptcy and the car was included in the bankruptcy. Now as of yesterday 8/14/19 they say I owe $21,000 plus $5.50 per day and they are going after my wages. I was never notified about any court date to contest this action . The car was a charge off and is nowhere on my credit.
 
The only way they can garnish your wages is if there is a court judgment against you.

First thing you do is go to the courthouse and get a complete copy of the case file so you can figure out what happened.

Then come back to this thread and continue the discussion.
 
adjusterjack said:
The only way they can garnish your wages is if there is a court judgment against you.

First thing you do is go to the courthouse and get a complete copy of the case file so you can figure out what happened.

Then come back to this thread and continue the discussion.
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I was sent the wage garish paperwork at work , however I was never notified stating I still owed the debt it's been 20yrs.
 
M.Smith said:
I was sent the wage garish paperwork at work ,
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Then there must be a judgment against you.

M.Smith said:
however I was never notified stating I still owed the debt it's been 20yrs.
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Judgments are enforceable for a long time. I believe CA judgments are renewable if done properly.

You really need to go to the court house and get the case file to see if there is any way out.

Or, you can just file bankruptcy and the debt goes away.
 
adjusterjack said:
Then there must be a judgment against you.



Judgments are enforceable for a long time. I believe CA judgments are renewable if done properly.

You really need to go to the court house and get the case file to see if there is any way out.

Or, you can just file bankruptcy and the debt goes away.
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If you file bankruptcy you won't be buying a house any time soon. Likewise, if your wages are being garnished you likely won't be buying a house anyway.

First things first, get a copy of all court documents that you can. Your garnishment letter should reference the court issuing the order so you know where to go.
Look for any informimation in the letter about how to contest the garnishment.
When you obtain court documents look for a proof of service document which the court relies on to show your were notified of the hearing at which the order was issued.

On short, it is very unlikely a judgment could be obtained against you 20 years after the fact without something shady happening. You will likely need to argue that you were not properly served notice and request a new court date. If you manage to get that far you will want to argue that the status of limitations expired years ago and there should be no judgment against you.

You will want to look into the procedure to vacate a default judgment. You will need to have copies of the documents before you can make that happen.

Don't waste time... Go get your records and see what you can find out.
 
M.Smith said:
Now as of yesterday 8/14/19 they say I owe $21,000 plus $5.50 per day and they are going after my wages. I was never notified about any court date to contest this action .
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I assume this means the lender sued you and got a judgment (I assume "they" refers to the lender). Correct? If you're not sure, you need to figure it out.

If that is correct,you said you bought the car 20 years ago, so I assume you defaulted on the loan somewhere in the range of 2000-2005. Correct?

When was judgment entered? Has the judgment been renewed at any point since the time it was entered?

If you don't know the answers to these questions, you need to figure them out and then come back. Note that I'm now the third person to make a suggestion of this sort.

At the end of the day, however, if you've got a judgment against you, then the judgment creditor can enforce it by levying on your bank account and garnishing your wages (among other things).

M.Smith said:
But if I file for bankruptcy how soon after can I buy a house which was plans in December of this year?
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You can buy all the houses you like, regardless of whether you file for bankruptcy. However, a bankruptcy will impact your ability to get a loan. How and how long it will impact that ability is up to the lender. Keep in mind that, if you've got a judgment against you, your mortgage lender will require that you pay it off before or as part of the closing on the home.
 
mightymoose said:
On short, it is very unlikely a judgment could be obtained against you 20 years after the fact without something shady happening. You will likely need to argue that you were not properly served notice and request a new court date. If you manage to get that far you will want to argue that the status of limitations expired years ago and there should be no judgment against you.
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The problem is that it's entirely possible that judgment was entered years ago, based on a lawsuit that was filed within the statute of limitations and is still enforceable, either because it's not yet 10 years old or because it's been renewed. Although the service rules are designed to ensure that the defendant receives actual notice, it is absolutely possible for service to be properly effected and the defendant not have received actual notice. That's why CCP 473.5 exists, but a motion made more than two years after entry of judgment is untimely and will be denied.
 

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