Q: What do I do of I received notice from district court for a Motion for Summary Judgment?
County is Mecklenburg,NC. Attorney representing Discover Bank for the amount of ~$2400. I have not paid on this for over 2 yrs due to financial hardship but debt is legitimate. Originally when I received communication from court, I filed an answer, but ever since then, I have received periodical paperwork from attorney with statement documentation and stating they will be taking me to court, but nothing signed by court actually so I ignored those. Today is first time in months I actually received notice from court. I don't have any assets at all and no money in bank account because I was victim of fraud. My paycheck goes into my girlfriend 's account. I'm not sure what to do next. Do I attend this virtual hearing when I already know that judgements will be against me. Can they garnish my wages. Should I file a motion to compel arbitration or contact attorney?
A: Thee is no wage garnishment for a judgment of this type in North Carolina. You have to file an Affidavit stating contested facts in order to keep from losing a Motion For Summary Judgment. It sounds like you can't honestly contest any of the facts. It won't do you any good to appear at the hearing, and you won't be arrested if you don't show up. If you don't have any vehicles, trailers, motorcycles or bank accounts in your name, you are safe. I suggest if you have other debts that are charged off, you should consult with a consumer bankruptcy lawyer before deciding what to do. If this is the only unpaid debt, after the hearing, there is nothing wrong with contacting Discover's lawyer and seeing what they can work out with you. You need to either settle/pay off the judgment or file bankruptcy to take care of it. Judgments stay on record for 10 years and are easily renewed for another 10 years. Judgments stay longer than the debt itself remains on your credit report. People ignore judgments and think they ar ein the clear when the debt falls off the credit report - and get an unpleasant surprise yeas later when they try to buy a house or get served with papers and find out the Sheriff can take their paid off car. Make a plan to take care of this sooner, rather than later.
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