If a company is suing you for money owed (i.e. credit card ) what can they benefit from a civil action lawsuit if the person they are suing has no assets. Can they attach that person's wages? If so, how do they determine they wage attachment amount?
2007-01-04 06:24:10 · 5 answers · asked by GFC 1 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
Ok.. first some basics.. you didn't mention which state you are in and Criminal and Civil laws will vary accordingly. So. with that said here are some general issues based in a California scenario.
1) Anyone can sue anyone for anything. That is a given (and is prob. why we have so many lawyers)
2) If you are sued in Civil court it means that someone is alleging that you have 'wronged' them in some way and is seeking to be made whole. Generally this is via a financial award although it can also be for the return of property or interest.
3) If you are sued and lose (and do not appeal or lose the appeal also) the winner will be issued a notice of judgement. This is the court's way of certifying the debt. With that notice the plaintiff has a lot of options. They can:
a) Lien your assets (bank account, property, car, ... anything that has value. The general process is that they present the Notice to the Sher. he creates a seizure notice and goes out and takes it. If it is cash he deducts his fee and turns it over to the plaintiff. If it is property or assets, it is stored (at your eventual expense) and then auctioned off. The proceeds are applied to the costs (storage, auction, etc.. and the debt) and any change is returned to you. If it didn't pay off the debt the process starts over again.
b) Attach you wages. In California this means that up to 50% of your check (after you pay the taxes) is with held by your employer and delivered straight to the creditor. Your employer may charge for this and deduct it from the payment to the creditor (who, of course, will add it to your bill).
c) MEANTIME.. your debt is now officially growing at whatever the legally prescribed rate is (I think it is 7% in California). This interest is automatic and does not require the plaintiff to sue again to collect it.
Finally, once entered, the judgement is good for 7 years and then can be renewed for another 7 years. Unless you do not plan to work, own a car, or have any asset whatsoever for the next 14+ years you will be, to use the technical term, screwed.
On the plus side. Some credit companies will write off a MAJOR portion of bills if you opt for some kind of debt consolidation. Sometimes you can end up paying 40 cents on the dollar and settle the bill. BUT.. this goes on your credit report and will stay there for 7 years. To me this is the lesser of two evils but you may not have that option.
anyway..... hope that helps.....
g
2007-01-04 06:45:29 · answer #1 · answered by ca_surveyor 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
they could garnish wages. After they get a judgment, all it usually takes is an enforcement hearing.
2007-01-04 06:45:51 · answer #2 · answered by BigD 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's possible for sure
2016-08-08 23:07:05 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
this is debatable there are basically many potential answers to the question
2016-09-19 11:36:00 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
that is a tricky question..
2016-08-23 14:22:34 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋