How Do I Know If There Is A Lawsuit Or Judgment Against Me?
We get this question often! The answer for the most part is quite simple. If you have been sued, unless you have changed your address and have not updated it through the post office, you likely have received notices that were being sued. To understand the process of a lawsuit better, check out the blog post we wrote about whether bankruptcy can help you if you have a judgment.
Should you be a person who has moved and slipped through the cracks, finding out if judgments are against you is still a quite simple matter. You will need to go to the Clerk of Court for the county that you are (or in the case of moving, were in) and have them do a judgment search on you. They can pull up the person/creditor who sued you, date it was entered into the court system, amount you owed at the time of the lawsuit, what the daily interest is and the amount you currently owe. For example, if you lived in Union County, North Carolina for the past 9 years and you just now moved to Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, your judgments are likely still registered in Union County. Therefore you will need to check there first. (But checking in your current county of residence isn’t going to hurt anything either!)
From that point, you will need to determine if the suit has attached to any real property you may own. For example, let’s say for our purposes, you have lived in Mecklenburg County for the past 10 years and never moved, you own your home by yourself and there is a judgment against you. Once that judgment is placed against you, it will automatically attach itself to your home. If you have previously been sued , you will need to discuss that with your attorney to make sure the proper steps are taken to remove that judgment from your credit, especially if there is a lien involved.
If you have a lawsuit or judgment against you then you may want to contact a Charlotte bankruptcy lawyer, Greensboro bankruptcy attorney or Winston-Salem bankruptcy lawyer to learn more about your rights.
What is the Difference Between A Lawsuit, Judgment and Lien?
Many debtors get nervous when all these legal terms start to get thrown around. We are going to explain what each of these are so that you will have a better idea of what you may be dealing with. We will focus on the civil side of things and how they relate to bankruptcy filings.
Lawsuit:
Say you owe a credit card company $4,000 and you cannot afford to pay them anymore. After several months of not receiving any payment from you, they may choose to sue you for the amount you owe them. This is a lawsuit. They will file it with the court saying they want to take legal action against you for the money you owe them. Once you receive a lawsuit, you typically have 30 days to respond. It is usually best to respond because it will buy you some time so you can figure out what you would like to do before they get a judgment.
Judgment:
If you do not respond to that lawsuit within the certain amount of time, the court will set a date for a hearing. Usually at this hearing your creditor will ask for a judgment against you. This means you now have a court order that is requiring you to pay the money you owe to the creditor. If you fail to pay your creditor after they receive a judgment, the court could place a lien on the property.
Lien:
One of the most common things that can be called a lien is a mortgage. You took out a loan that is secured by a home. If a creditor obtains a judgment against you in court, that judgment could possibly attach to your home or other property as a lien. That debt that you owe the creditor for the judgment is now secured by your home or other property. You typically must satisfy (or pay) the lien off in full before you are able to sell or transfer the property. In North Carolina, a lien can last for 10 years and then be refilled for an additional 10-year period if it has not been executed or satisfied. This is another incentive to get you to pay that debt. Bankruptcy can help get that lien off your property, but an additional motion must be filed.
How Do I Write An Answer To A Complaint?
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After a complaint is filed against you, you have 30 days to file an answer to that complaint. There are many generic forms that can be found that will help you to do this. If you use the internet to help you, make sure it is a reputable website that you are getting the information from. As a reminder, if you are planning on filing bankruptcy, your bankruptcy attorney does not represent you in this lawsuit so they cannot help you write your answer unless the agree to do so in a separate contract.
The top part of your answer should look a lot like the top part of the complaint. It should have the state and county that the complaint was filed in, which court, District or Superior, and the case number. Make sure that all of this is exactly how it appears on the complaint. The other thing that needs to be included there is the case number that is listed on the complaint. This is very important that you put the correct case number, because this is what will link the complaint and answer together.
The body of the answer will have numbered bullets just like the body of the complaint. You will either admit, deny or explain you neither admit nor deny because more information is needed. You will do this by lining your answers up numerically the same way they appear in the complaint.
Make sure that you sign and date the answer with the date that you are intending to get it filed with the Clerk of Court. You will also need to prepare what is called a Certificate of Service. This basically states you certify you filed your answer with the court and have also mailed a copy to the Plaintiff or Plaintiff’s attorney. This also must be filed with the court when the answer is filed. You will take both of these documents to the clerk of court in whatever county the complaint was filed and tell them you need to file an answer to a complaint. They will get it filed and give you a copy that has their stamp on it. You will need to mail a copy of this to the plaintiff’s attorney that is listed on the complaint. Doing all of this will buy you about 30 days to figure out what you want to do to remedy this situation.
What Is A Complaint? | Parts of A Civil Lawsuit
When the sheriff shows up at your door and hands you a stack of papers with a bright yellow sheet on top, what are they actually giving you? Most likely they are giving you what is called a complaint. A complaint is the first step in initiating a lawsuit. This means that someone has filed papers with the court to begin the legal process to write some sort of wrong. Most of the complaints clients who come into our office see are ones saying they owe someone money.
So what does a complaint typically say? It will state which county the complaint has been filed in and whether it is in the District or Superior court for that county. The title of the complaint will also say who is filing the complaint, the plaintiff, and who they are filing it against, the defendant. The case number will also be stated in this section. Below that it will also state why they are filing the complaint. For example, say John Smith owes ABC Bank $10,000 that is past due on a credit card. The body of the compliant will list this, along with the specifics of when the card was applied for and the actual card number.
There will also be several statements that are numbered and they will list the terms of the complaint. These typically state who the plaintiff is, where the defendant lives, that the defendant opened an account and agreed to the term and conditions of the account and that they then have failed to pay on that account. The last paragraph will state what the plaintiff wants as a remedy or result of filing the complaint. What the plaintiff will typically say they want is a judgment for the full amount the plaintiff owes plus a certain amount of interest and attorney’s fees.
It is important that you respond to the complaint by filing an answer. If you do not respond to the complaint then you will automatically be found liable for the lawsuit. The courts will view it as you failed to respond and, therefore, you admit that you owe the money and are liable to the plaintiff. The court will then issue a default judgment saying you are fully liable for the amount owed. Be sure to read our other blog post on how to respond to a complaint with an answer. Also know that if you do have a lawsuit against you bankruptcy may be an option worth exploring more.
