You can also look for information on your local court’s website. You can also see if there’s a local legal aid agency that can provide free help or point you to other community resources for legal help. If you aren’t sure if you should file a motion to vacate, you may be able to get a free consultation with an attorney to get some input on your case. If the judge in the case feels like you don’t have good standing to file the motion, they may deem it “frivolous” and require you to pay the other party’s legal fees related to the motion. If you don’t have a solid defense against the lawsuit or don’t dispute the plaintiff’s claims, filing a motion to vacate probably won’t be helpful. You shouldn’t file a motion to vacate a judgment unless you can show good cause and provide any other information or evidence required by your local court. Should You Ever Not File a Motion To Vacate? No matter where you live, if the motion is approved, the judge will review your defense to the claims listed in the lawsuit, so you should have these prepared. In some states, you may also need to show that you have a valid defense against the claims brought against you to get your motion to vacate approved. If it’s incorrect, explain why in the motion to vacate. This should indicate when and how they served (delivered) the court papers to you. If the other party claims they notified you but you never received anything, you can access court records for your case (often online for free) to see if there is an affidavit of service. Again, it’s up the court to decide if your reason for not responding meets the standard of good cause.Īnother example of good cause is not being notified of the lawsuit. If you didn’t respond to the court case because you were ill or in the hospital, this could be considered excusable neglect. If you were deceived about the court case in some way by the plaintiff, this may be considered misrepresentation. In order to get the motion to vacate approved, you’ll need to have and be able to show “good cause.” Many courts define and provide examples of good cause, which include things like excusable neglect, inadvertence, and misrepresentation. But it does mean that you can now present your side of the case. It doesn’t make the lawsuit disappear or mean that you win instead. In most cases, this puts you back to square one with the lawsuit. If a judge agrees to vacate a judgment, they essentially cancel or revoke it. You may be able to find a sample motion on your local court’s website or resources from a local legal aid organization. For example, it may be called a motion to set aside a judgment, a motion to reopen a judgment, or a notice of motion to vacate judgment. You may see different language in your local court that means something similar. In legal terms, to vacate means to cancel. This is often done by filing a motion with the court to vacate the judgment.Ī motion is a legal document used to make a formal request to the court. In many cases, you’ll have some time to address the default judgment. Getting notice can be stressful, but it doesn’t have to be the end of the road. You should receive a document called a Notice of Entry of Judgment from the court notifying you of the judgment. The same is true if you do respond to the court summons but don’t show up for your hearing or other scheduled court appearances. The plaintiff is the person who sued you. If you get sued by a debt collector and don’t respond to the court summons you received, the judge will likely rule in the plaintiff’s favor by issuing a default judgment against you. I Got Notice of a Default Judgment Against Me. You can find this information in any of the court papers you’ve received, including the summons or the Notice of Entry of Judgment. The process varies from state to state, so you’ll need to identify which court your lawsuit was filed in. These types of cases are often heard in a small claims court or a county, district, or superior court. This article focuses on how to vacate a default judgment in a debt collection lawsuit. How Long Do You Have To File a Motion to Vacate Judgment?Ī judgment is a court order.What Happens After You File Your Motion With the Court?.How Do You Vacate a Court Judgment Against You?.Should You Ever Not File a Motion To Vacate?.What Does It Mean To Vacate a Judgment?.I Got Notice of a Default Judgment Against Me.
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