Is There a Judgment Against Me Without my Knowledge?

Chloe Meltzer | December 01, 2022

If you have borrowed any type of money, whether from a lender or a creditor, you must repay it. When you are given a line of credit or a loan, you are agreeing to pay it back or suffer the consequences. If you do not, then the lender or creditor can sue you.

Typically you will receive information regarding the lawsuit, and if you do not respond, you will lose by default judgment. You do not want to let it get to this point if you can help it because a judgment can negatively impact your finances and credit long term.

Unfortunately, sometimes you may find that you have an outstanding judgment against you. This is not a fun process, but it is important to find out about it to get it taken care of.

Understanding a Judgment

Judgments can occur for two reasons, but it is always because the creditor has won the case against you in court. Judgments provide the opportunity for a creditor to pursue you to obtain the debt you owe, along with interest and even attorney's fees.

After a judgment occurs, the creditor can use methods such as wage garnishment to pay back your debt. This is why you want to be aware of any lawsuits against you before a judgment is filed against you. This can happen in one of two ways:

1. You do not show up in court
2. The debt is legally yours

Examples of How You May Find Out About a Judgment

Aside from the fact that you should have received information regarding the original lawsuit against you, there are other ways that you may find out about a judgment against you after the fact.

• Wages garnishment: This is one of the most common ways that a creditor will seize your finances. Wage garnishment legally allows a creditor to take a certain percentage of your paycheck for each issuance. Usually, this will not exceed 10 percent of your gross wages but may go up to 25 percent of your weekly wages.
• Freezing of assets: Creditors also have the opportunity to freeze your bank account. This means you will have no warning, and suddenly you will not be able to access any of your funds. This is a terrible situation to be in.
• Property liens: If you own real estate, then the creditor can notify the lenders of the lien, which will not allow you to sell or transfer the property before satisfying your debt. In some states, this is automatic as soon as a judgment is obtained in the county where it is recorded.

SoloSuit makes it easy to win a debt collection lawsuit.

Is There a Judgment Against Me Without My Knowledge?

Although it shouldn't happen, people have judgments entered against without their knowledge frequently. It may happen if you did not receive the original summons in the mail or you recently moved addresses. Often it is the result of a process called “sewer service.” Sewer service is when the collector does not serve you properly with the Summons. Consequently, you never learn of the lawsuit, you never respond, and then you lose; the first time you hear about the lawsuit is when your wages are garnished.

Judgments do not always show up on a credit report. If you did receive a summons, then you can typically call the court indicated on it to check if there has been a judgment file against you. Overall, if you have been given a notice of debt, the best choice is to respond and attempt to pay it or settle as soon as possible. If you worry you've been sued without your knowledge, you can call your local court and ask them if there are any lawsuits against you, giving them your first and last name.

What is SoloSuit?

SoloSuit makes it easy to respond to a debt collection lawsuit.

How it works: SoloSuit is a step-by-step web-app that asks you all the necessary questions to complete your answer. Upon completion, you can either print the completed forms and mail in the hard copies to the courts or you can pay SoloSuit to file it for you and to have an attorney review the document.

>>Read the FastCompany article: Debt Lawsuits Are Complicated: This Website Makes Them Simpler To Navigate

>>Read the NPR story on SoloSuit: A Student Solution To Give Utah Debtors A Fighting Chance

How to Answer a Summons for Debt Collection Guides for Other States

Here's a list of guides for other states.

All 50 states.

Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri

Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah; File a Motion to Satisfy Judgment Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

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Being sued by a different debt collector? We're making guides on how to beat each one.

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