Have a Louisiana default judgment from March 17, 2020 to July 5, 2020? It may be illegal.
Gov. Edwards of Louisiana “suspended” legal deadlines in March 2020 because of the COVID-19 Pandemic. In short, he delayed when Louisiana residents would have to answer the lawsuit.
But many of the creditors (like JPMorgan Chase and Discover) and debt buyers (Midland Credit Management Inc and Portfolio Recovery Associates) still took judgments against Defendants during March 17, 2020 and July 5, 2020. This is wrong and should not have been allowed.
Louisiana Judgment Settlement
What are the time frames to respond to a lawsuit in Louisiana?
Usually, you have 10 to 15 days to respond depending on the court they were file in Louisiana.
- Justice of the Peace Court, City Court, or Parish Court — 10 days to respond
- District Court — 15 days to respond
Under the Governor’s Orders, these deadlines were suspended until July 5, 2020. If your deadline to respond fell between March 17, 2020 and July 5, 2020, you were given until July 6, 2020. For example, if your normal deadline was April 1, 2020, you had until July 6, 2020.
If you do not respond to a lawsuit before the deadline, a default judgment may be entered against you. This can give the other side everything they asked for in the case.
If a default judgment was granted against you between March 17, 2020 and July 5, 2020, it’s possible that this judgment may have been illegal.
What can I do if I did have a default judgment entered against me during this time period?
You have a few options if a default judgment entered against you from March 17, 2020 and July 5, 2020.
- Do Nothing. You can always do nothing but understand that the judgment creditor can still go after paycheck, bank accounts, and non exempt real estate.
- Settle with them. Sometimes it may be cheaper to settle with them. Mention that they took a judgment they should not have and use that as leverage to possibly obtain a lower settlement.
- File a Petition for Nullity. This may be able to remove the judgment. But the creditor may be able to proceed with the original trial and try the case again. You may still end up settling with them anyways. But sometimes, the creditor may choose to settle for a lower amount rather than pay for attorney’s fees to respond to the Petition for Nullity. For judgments over $10,000 this may provide additional leverage against the creditor.
What if I do not settle a Louisiana judgment?
- Go after your paycheck taking a potion of it until paid in full. Learn more about Louisiana Wage Garnishment
- Freeze and take money from your bank accounts. Learn more about Louisiana Bank Garnishment
- Hinder they sale of your property until a settlement is made. Learn more about Louisiana Judgment Settlement
- Force the sale of unprotected assets like a home, cars, jewelry.
If you have further questions, call us at (844) 262-3946
Louisiana Apartment Collections
Apartment leases inside Louisiana are governed by Louisiana Civil Code Sections 2676, 2703, 2704, 2720, 2728, Louisiana Equal Housing Opportunity Act, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) if being collected by a third party debt collector. This property code lays out the rights and obligations of the tenant and landlord a residential lease situation and apartment collections.
When you hire our law firm we:
- Interview you about what happened and what your expectations are for the resolution of the account.
- If needed, we will send a dispute letter to the debt collector and or apartment complex.
- We will evaluate any documentation that is returned.
- A recommendation will be given to you to which may be the best course of action
- We will then help you act upon that recommendation. If an eviction judgment was issued we will work to release that judgment as well in our negotiation.
Why hire us to help you with a Louisiana apartment collections?
- A demand letter from an attorney may carry more weight than a demand letter sent yourself.
- The demand letter will be crafted to take advantage of existing state and federal law in an attempt to put you in the best position possible.
- Traceable proof of delivery of our demand letter.
- We followup with the demand letter to make sure the intended party receives it.
- We help you resolve the apartment debt collections.
- We can file a lawsuit to correct erroneous information if needed.
Louisiana Tenant’s Rights
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Sued by XXXX?
Why did XXXX file a lawsuit against me?
XXXX sues consumers that default on balances that they lent. They want their money back. They are counting on the fact that you will not respond or show up to court. If you do not then they may take a Default Judgment against you. In Louisiana, a judgment can be aggressively collected for ten (10) years and even longer if they keep renewing the judgment. This gives XXXX a long time in which to come after you. Many consumers think that a judgment is just a worthless piece of paper. They think that they can not be forced to pay a judgment in Louisiana,. They are wrong.
What are my options when being sued by XXXX?
If you have been sued then you need to answer the lawsuit. Participants in the system often have a better outcome than those that do nothing. Some of the options that you have are to:
- Attempt to Negotiate a settlement with XXXX before the answer is due. Many consumers recognize they may owe a debt and choose to attempt to settle the debt before an answer is due to the court. XXXX is often receptive to a quick settlement rather than spending more time and money in a lawsuit. Even if they can provide some of the documentation to the court, there is always a chance they could lose.
- Answer the Lawsuit filed by XXXX. Even if a consumer thinks they owe a debt it is still up to XXXX to prove that they own the debt, have the right to file suit, and have enough documentation to prove a debt is owed. They may not be able to successfully produce all required documentation when challenged.
- Do nothing. Many people decide to do nothing for lack of funds or fear of what can happen. XXXX may take a Judgment against them and then ultimately have their bank accounts frozen (Bank Garnishment). Judgments in Louisiana are good for 10 years initially and they carry a minimum interest of 10%. The amount of an unresolved judgment can significantly increase over time.
- Seek bankruptcy protection. Our law firm does help clients file bankruptcy. If you are interested in seeing if bankruptcy is right for you visit our site Louisiana Bankruptcy Attorney
The best time to take care of a lawsuit is NOW. It can potentially get more costly and worse.
Cost to Resolve XXXX Lawsuit
Under $2K Face Value
- 3 Payments Allowed
$2k to $5k Face Value
- 4 Payments Allowed
$5k to $8k Face Value
- 5 Payments Allowed
$8k to $11k Face Value
- 6 Payments Allowed
$11k to $20k Face Value
- 8 Payments Allowed
$20k+ Face Value
- Payment Plan Allowed
What happens if I do not answer the lawsuit?
Many choose not to answer a XXXX lawsuit. In that case, a defendant (you) can expect to:
- Possibly lose the court case.
- Receive a default judgment In Louisiana judgments automatically are good for 10 years. They can renew the judgment and it can stay in public records for a long time. A judgment can prevent you from purchasing homes and cars and an employer may deny employment. Judgments do keep increasing in value. They carry a state minimum interest rate that judgment creditors often calculate.
- Garnish bank accounts A judgment creditor may be able to garnish your bank account and take the money you do keep in it. Many are forced into closing their bank accounts and converting all payments to cash.
- Possibly be denied loans and employment A judgment can prevent you from purchasing homes and cars and an employer may deny employment.
