Summons to court for debts I did not make!?

Question

Has any of you good folks had a similar experience?
I was awakened today by the doorbell ringing, when I went down I saw a car driving away and a pile of papers attached to my front door. When I started reading I saw it is addressed to the previous owener of the house (we bought it just last summer), and it is called "Garnishment Summons" - I have no idea what that is. Apparently, the previous owner owed some 3,000 dollars to Wachovia Bank, and now they are coming for it... to our home.
Do you think I should just ignore it because it is not against us or does the fact that we live in this house now makes us liable in place of the previous owner? That would suck big time! I know we have some insurance against liens and judgments we bought along with the house, but even if we contact them,I am still not sure what to do with the summons. Throw it away?
Thank you for your answers.

Answer 1

I'm a nice guy; I'd take a minute and call the court and advise them the summons was not served on the debit holder; and I'd call the Wachovia number as well; they may also believe they have a secured interest in the property and best to find that out now and get your title insurance company involved if so

Answer 2

I agree with everything Dixie posted except for the collecting SOL. If you try to use the 6 year SOL as an affirmative defense, you will probably lose. The Ohio collecting SOL is 4 years from your first default that led to the charge off. § 2305.09 Ohio Statutes § 1335.02 & § 1109.18 place credit cards in the 4 year SOL. Also, the Truth In Lending Act (TILA) places credit cards in the Open SOL, which in Ohio is the 4 year SOL. They may try to claim that it is a 15 year SOL, under written accounts. Though, if you or your lawyer includes the correct Open statutes they will probably fold if you are past the 4 year mark, if you fight back. If it is a true summons then, in Ohio, the written and signed contract must be included in their filing, along with complete account of the alledged debt from a beginning zero balance to present. Chances are that if it is an older debt, they won't have that information. They may try to place a generic contract in the filing, if so, it MUST be from the same year as the original contract date. If they have no contract and/or no papers showing the complete account, then it should be challenged. Agreeing with Dixie: Your mom should contact the court clerk and ask if anything had been filed in your name. If there is not a suit filed then you should send a validation request ASAP. If there is a suit filed and you are out of the country, then you should either hire a lawyer to represent you or you should request a later trial date. If you are past SOL, you really should consider fighting it. Whether it is within SOL or not, your mom pays or not, you or your lawyer should show up in court. Even if your mom pays, they will still try to go ahead and get the judgment. By doing that, you will be responsible for the court and their lawyer fees and if they had given your mother a discount in paying, you will be responsible for the remaining portion.

Answer 3

You are not being summoned. The former owner is. You do not need to take any action unless your name is on the papers. Your title insurance (always a smart thing to get) should protect you from any liens existing at the time of the sale. Any judgments against the former owners after the sale cannot create liens against your property. If you are concerned about this matter you can consult an attorney and your title insurer.

Answer 4

There are two things that would concern me.

The first, is why they think the previous owner still lives there? I would call the courthouse and make sure that when you purchased the home, the proper deeds were recorded.

The reason that it concerns me, is if they filed a lis pendens against your property, they would have HAD to have seen the property was transferred to someone else...unless the deed was never recorded...rare, but it as happened.

Second, you need to make at least a phone call to the people who places the papers on your door...some debts, according to state law..."run with the land" and others "run with the debtor".

In either case, if you purchased title insurance (which you most likely did), when you bought the house, if something gets filed on it later that is legally correct....the title insurance will cover those expenses.

To find out who you are covered through, call the attorney that did your closing and find out who they insured you with.

That is all you can do for now.

Answer 5

I don't think you are in any trouble, you might want to check to make sure that there are no liens on your title though. I always thought that when you are being served, that you you are supposed to sign saying that you have received the documents. If they had stuck around a few minutes, they would have seen that they were serving the wrong person.

Answer 6

Call you title company to make sure title is clear. Your name isnt on it and so you have no legal issues. Your title company might if thier are title issues. You can call the bank an dcourt an dsay that the process server served the wrong person. You might get him/her fired for being incometant but he/she was lazy anyways..

Answer 7

Of course you're not liable. Put all items in an envelope, mail it to the address on the paperwork with a giant note that says "No longer at this residence" enclosed.

Answer 8

i would call the attorney filing the lawsuit and court. this is them being sloppy in finding the debitor. Your previous owner is hiding somewhere to avoid them.

Answer 9

Turn it back to the one who delivered it, or to the courts.
You are not in jeopardy.

Answer 10

Wizjp is right on the money