what is the staue of limitation on a civil case after a judgement is placed in the courts?

Question

i went to civil court and won a judgement in my favor and the judgement was filed on april 26th of 2006. i just recieved a notice that i am going back to court on this same judgement. the only thing the clerk of court could tell me( she had no clue what she was doing) was that there was a paper in my case file that said they wanted to void the judgement. she doesn't see any paperwork from the defendant trying to bring this back to court. as a matter of fact the defendant didn't show up for court the first time. also can they take back my judgement???

to amke this short i filed a claim and a week later when she was served she filed a counterclaim. which was totally untrue but anyway, then a week later when court was scheduled she didn't show up. neither one of us had a attorney. now this paper that is in my case file just says put my judgment in void and to vaccate the judgement. the clerk doesn't know if it is the courts bringing it back or the defendant.

Answer 1

Not enough details, but the Judgment could be voided if the Defendent could prove that he was ever served/received the Notice of Hearing (ex: in the military and out of the country when the papers were delivered to the address on record).

Answer 2

Yes, the court can 'take back your judgement.' Courts make mistakes such as not having proper jurisdiction to hear a case.

I am a student paralegal: This is not legal advice. The Clerk of Court is not an attorney; neither she, nor I, can give you legal advice. That would be the Unauthorized Practice of Law, UPL, only an attorney can give you legal advice. You will need to contact an attorney.

Your initial question: Statutes of limitations are laws that set the deadline or maximum period of time within which a lawsuit or claim may be filed. Your case has already been heard, there are statutes of limitations for enforcement of civil judgment, and they vary roughly (5 to 25 years) depending on state or federal questions and subject matter.

Most likely the defendant is appealing on the grounds that the court lacked jurisdiction. Jurisdiction: The authority or power the court has to act or hear a case and make a decision.

The defendant may be questioning the authority or power of the court to act or hear and make a decision on the case. You have a notice. It is a legal document. It tells you what is happening, i.e. the defendant is now the petitioner, and you are the respondent… Call an attorney.

See the sources below; there are many reasons to question why a judgment is void.

Answer 3

Perhaps, depending upon what the paper is.
A defendant who gets a default judgment filed against them can, in some circumstances, petition the court for relief from the default (for reasons like they were not served with process, their attorney misinformed them of what was happening, they were in the hospital and could not respond, etc.)
"Statutes of limitations" don't really apply here because that's the time between when a legal claim arises and when you file suit. This is the time between when a judgment is entered and the defendant petitions to have it expunged. There are court rules about such requests, and there may be "equitable" issues (i.e. you've gotten the judgment, have the money or are trying to collect the money and woudl be prejudiced if the court were to revisit this), but generally not a "statute of limitations."
(The good news is that, depending upon the facts in your case, courts are hesitant to open old judgments just because the defendant doesn't want to pay now. However, if there was a procedural problem, like failure to serve the defendant, the court may be more interested.)

Get the paper; grab a lawyer, and good luck!