Advice about lawsuit on a six year old deficiency balance - The Bills.com Blog

I had a judgement against me for a credit card debt back in 2000. I just received a notice that my bank account is being levied for the total amount, fees, plus interest. Is there a statue of limitations on the enforcement of the judgement? I have a judgement that was rendered back in 2000 in Georgia. My bank account was just levied 8 years later. Does Georgia have a statue of Limitation for the enforcement of the judgement?

Under Georgia law, a judgment can generally be enforced for seven years from the date of the entry of judgment. However, judgments can be renewed for an additional seven years each time the judgment nears expiration. Even after a judgment has become dormant (the seven year period has expired), the judgment creditor has three years to apply to the court for renewal of its judgment. Therefore, I believe that the creditor is probably within its rights to proceed with execution of its judgment against you. I strongly encourage you to consult with an attorney in your state to discuss the options available to you to resolve this debt so you can have your bank account released. For example, if you file an emergency bankruptcy petition, the court may order that the levy on your account be lifted. To read more about the enforcement of judgments in Georgia, you should visit http://www.lawdog.com/states/ga/judm.htm. I wish you the best of luck!

Hi Bill. My husband had a judgment against him for failure to pay a credit card; we had worked out a payment plan with the credit card company's attorney. We suffered even more financial stress, so my husband stopped paying the monthly payment to this attorney. In the meantime, this attorney's office switched hands. We just found out today, that this new attorney's office levied our bank account for everything but $1. Should we have been formally notified before this action took place? I called my financial institution (that's how I found out who placed the levy) and they said that this attorney's office can levy my (our) account once a month until this debt is paid. We are barely holding our heads above water as it is. By the way, the $1,000 that they took out was supposed to cover our business' expenses for the week (including payroll) which we can no longer pay. We do not have a dime. What are our options? For now and in the future? Sincerely thanking you for your time. Julie

Unfortunately, if they had an agreement in place for a stipulated judgment and you defaulated on that payment plan, then they can apply the judgment without going through a judicial process. That means that they can and will keep levying your bank account until the account is settled. You could talk to a bankruptcy attorney or find a way to get on a new payment plan. I would suggest not retaining significant funds in the account in the interim.

Hello- I have a judgement from law firm (3rd party). My balance on my Visa Citibank card I owed about 10 years ago was for $4800. With interest it went up to I'm guess around $7500. I paid law firm (3rd party) for 2 years $200 a month plus $400 to unfreeze my acocount. I missed a month and they garnish my wages (10%)for 3 months but then I lost my job. So I'm guessing I paid them around $5000-$6000 not sure but now they send me a letter stating I owe them $3926 but they will settle for $1963. What should I do? Could I send them a letter requesting how much I paid and how much the original the debt was for?

You need to find out exactly how much you paid on that account. You will need to dig through your paperwork. Depending on what the judgment terms were, there still might be a balance left. You should also ask for a debt validation letter, which will specify the details of the amount that you owe.

I had a car reposed in 1999, it is now 2009. the paper work is typed judgement 2008 then crossed off and hand written 1999. They levied my bank account for $5000+. what are statue of limitations in Calif. And is the hand written date legal?

The handwritten date may or may not be legal depending on the intent of the person who made the change, when it was made, and why. Keep in mind that there are two separate statutes of limitation in this case. First, there is a statute of limitations on how long a debt can remain inactive before a court will not enforce a claim on it. In California, the statute of limitations is 4 years for debts in writing. Let us say a debt languishes for 5 years in California, the creditor sues the debtor and the debtor raises the statute of limitations defense in a timely manner. In this case, the court will dismiss the case with prejudice, which means the debtor cannot get a judgment in that court for that debt against that debtor. However, there is a separate statute of limitations for enforcing a judgment. In California, once a party receives a judgment, that judgment is good for 10 years, and can be renewed for another 10 years. I recommend you bring all of your paperwork to an attorney and let him or her look at the judgment with the altered date. If the document was changed to make the information fraudulent or mislead the court, then you may have a cause of action against the creditor.