I am unemployed and need advice on a small claim suit filed against me can someone please help?
Welcome and thank you for your question!I am sorry to learn of the circumstances you've described. Please clarify: what is your actual question that you'd like assistance with? What information are you seeking from JustAnswer?
The suit filed against me was sent 8/9/12 and I have 14 days from that date to respond to this suit or a judgment can be made against me. Please advise me on how to respond. This apartment complex (that I lived at 3 years ago) is claiming that i owe them $832.57 in damages plus $71.39 court costs and $277.53 for attorney fees. I have NO money. I have been looking for a job for a year and my unemployment has run out. I feel like this is a scam and I need to know how do I respond to this suit? I don't owe these people anything. Thank you!
If it your position that you do not owe them any money, then your response is that you deny all the allegations as untrue.It is that straight forward. File the written response with the court, mail a copy to the plaintiff's attorney, keep a copy for yourself, and ask the court when you'll get a hearing date and then go to court at that time to tell the judge your side of things.It has been my pleasure to assist you today with your information needs. It is my goal that you are satisfied. No expert can promise you an answer that is favorable to your circumstances. But I will do my very best to explain the legal principles that are related to the facts you’ve described so that you can better understand the “why” of things. What are your options now?If you wish to continue this conversation, click on the Reply tab. If you are satisfied that I have answered your question, then please rate the answer with “excellent service” so that I receive credit for assisting you. Positive ratings are the only way I receive credit for assisting you today.IF you feel the need to click either "Helped a little" or "I expected more," then do not rate me (not yet, anyway!). Instead, reply to me using the REPLY tab. Specify what additional information you need and I will be happy to continue further and do everything I can to provide you with the service you seek. Thanks, ~~ J.B.
Is there any other way to respond to suit without having to go to court since I cannot afford my own attorney?
Not at all. If you do not go to court, you give up all rights to fight and a default judgment will be issued against you.~~ J.B.
If they fault against me how can they collect if I have no money?
Clearly they won't collect right away from you. But they have 10 years to collect and they can put the judgment on your credit report.If you were to file for bankruptcy, you could likely have that judgment and your other debts erased and you'd no longer be financially responsible for them.~~ J.B.
I have excellent credit so I'm not worried about a ding from these jerk offs. Is there anything else that they can do to me legally if they win a judgment against me? I have no money and no job right now, I do have a car... they can't try to take my car can they? They can't come after my husband can they? the suit is against me and me only.
Right, they can't go after your car or your husband.~~ J.B.
Let me see if I understand correctly, if they win a judgment against me they can put this on my credit report and try to collect for 10 years which means it would stay on my credit report for ten years? This is the only steps they can take to collect or do they have other means of harrassing me?
They can garnish your bank accounts, if you have any. If you later get a job, they can garnish your wages. If you win the lottery, win a lawsuit, or inherit any money, they can garnish it. If the judgment is not paid in 10 years, they can petition the court to renew the judgment.~~ J.B.
How can they garnish my bank account when its a joint one with my husband?
They can garnish it because, since your name is XXXXX XXXXX you have 100% legal rights to it. They can garnish any account that includes your name.~~ J.B.
I don't have any more than $40 in my account how can they garnish that if I have no income?
These are the forms you would use to try to stop the garnishment of your bank account: http://www.alabamalegalhelp.org/resource/request-to-stop-garnishment-of-bank-account?ref=tayXA~~ J.B.
Would I file this paperwork with my bank now before they tried to garnish? You say try to stop does that mean that it may not work?
You cannot file the paperwork now. The paperwork would be filed after they obtain the judgment and after they file the garnishment with the court and the bank.And, yes, it's possible that the judge will deny your request to stop the garnishment. I can't speculate into the future, however, because things can depends upon the facts. I can only give you an outline of the procedure.~~ J.B.
Thank you for your help. If I try to settle with them sending them a response saying I will pay a fraction of what they are asking then what will happen?
And this juncture, nothing will happen. They'll continue with their lawsuit. If you want to negotiate a settlement, you can do that at the court hearing that will happen after you file your response.~~ J.B.