Help, I was told I didn't have to come respond to a court document saying I would appear to defend myself for a judgment. When I called up I was told it was too late and I was found guilty by default. In attempt to find a lawyer the 4 I contacted all had conflicts of interest and now too much time has passed. Is there any way to open or vacate a default judgement in PA after a year?

Thanks!

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Originally Posted by utopianmirage

Help, I was told I didn't have to come respond to a court document saying I would appear to defend myself for a judgment. When I called up I was told it was too late and I was found guilty by default. In attempt to find a lawyer the 4 I contacted all had conflicts of interest and now too much time has passed. Is there any way to open or vacate a default judgement in PA after a year?

Thanks!

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No, not that I know but you MIGHT have an action against the person who told you you didn't have to appear in the first place. In most States there's a number of days in which you can open the Judgment and then your time runs out.

Unless it's a very high Judgment even if you do find someone it will cost you more to attempt to set it aside than you owe.

Do you have a valid defense in the event you do get it set aside?

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Originally Posted by JudyKayTee

Do you have a valid defense in the event you do get it set aside?

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I do have a good case, I also have a good suit against the institution as well (as 3 attornies with conflicts of interest let me know before they weren't allowed to take the case). The amount of money required to sue the institution is more than I would pay for the judgement though (~8,000 to 14,000 dollars).

Unfortunately, I was ignorant of my rights and responsabilities to open the judgement and to respond to the court. That's what I get for taking the word of the person sueing me.

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Originally Posted by utopianmirage

I do have a good case, I also have a good suit against the institution as well (as 3 attornies with conflicts of interest let me know before they weren't allowed to take the case). The amount of money required to sue the institution is more than I would pay for the judgement though (~8,000 to 14,000 dollars).

Unfortunately, I was ignorant of my rights and responsabilities to open the judgement and to respond to the court. That's what I get for taking the word of the person sueing me.

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The person suing you told you you didn't have to appear - obviously for good reason.

Sometimes these things are not fair. Cannot be changed but are not fair.

Do you have proof that the plaintiff told you did not have to appear? Was the suit done in small claims court?