If you’re struggling financially and have faced the looming specter of a lawsuit, foreclosure, or other legal action by a creditor, it can truly be an intimidating process – one that leaves you, the little man, playing David to the big-wig corporate Goliaths.

One cut-throat tool that bankruptcy lawyers in Suffolk County see creditors use is a Default Judgment – a legal means to force payment via court order. When a creditor sues you and you fail to appear, the judge can issue a Default Judgment that grants the plaintiff’s request for an award. If granted, a Default Judgment legally binds the defendant to pay the damages to the plaintiff (creditor) the amount sought in the complaint (and usually interest and court costs, too.)

If you’ve received a court summons, it’s imperative that you immediately consult with an expert bankruptcy attorney in Suffolk who can advise you how to proceed. If, however, you’ve already been subject to a Default Judgment, don’t think that you’ve lost and should give up. There are ways to fight (and even overturn) a Default Judgment, but you first you have to take action.

Your Suffolk Bankruptcy attorney will assess your situation and see if there are grounds to vacate (re-open) the Default Judgment. Usually there are two avenues to overturning a Default Judgment.

The first, an Excusable Default, can be awarded if you:

1. Have a reasonable excuse for missing your court appearance
2. A Meritorious Defense – a good defense as to why the Default Judgment should be re-opened and vacated.

 The second is a Lack of Personal Jurisdiction, meaning that you were improperly served with the summons (or never served at all.) Some common reasons that Suffolk attorneys see instances of improper service are:

1.     Sending the summons via a mail (instead of delivering it in person)

2.     Leaving it with a neighbor to give to you

3.     Delivering it to your old address

4.     Serving someone else who has your same name.

Because of the many legal complexities that fighting a Default Judgment entails, it’s crucial that you consult with a reputable attorneys in Suffolk & Nassau County who can fight for your rights and help you beat a Default Judgment.

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Tags: attorneys, bankruptcy, default judgment, lawyers, suffolk

This entry was posted on Monday, December 28th, 2009 at 9:34 am and is filed under Bankruptcy Lawyers & Attorneys, Nassau & Suffolk County. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.