Q: I was never served papers (citation) and now i have a default judgement agaisnt me. What can i do?
This is on a civil forfeiture/seizure of my truck. The district attorney knew how to get ahold of me cause ive went up there twice to try to get the papers they were trying to serve me, both times she was gone early and they took a copy of my ID, my phone number, and the case number. Nobody has ever even tried to call me. I talked to a couple of sheriffs trying to serve me and thy said they no longer had the papers and for me to pick them up which i did try. The investigator on this case knew i was not staying at the residence they kept trying to serve and they all had my phone number. All they had to do was call me. They sent my dead fathers papers to my address and not his. They told the judge that they have exhausted all ways of trying to serve me and thats a big fat lie.
A:
You should hire an appellate lawyer to file a motion for new trial within 30 days of the entry of the default judgment against you, or a restricted appeal within six months of the default judgment, or a bill or review within four years of the default judgment. There are differing requirements depending on the remedy available to you given the length of time that has passed.
In most cases involving the seizure of a motor vehicle, the address on the vehicle registration is going to be important for purposes of serving you with the citation and petition because the owner of a motor vehicle is required by law to change the address on the registration within 30 days of moving to a new residence. Depending on whether they served you via substitute service of process at THAT address, what remedy remains available to you, and what information they actually filed in the court, any negligence by you in failing to properly change your address on the vehicle registration may, or may not, impact your prospects for success.
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