Q: I was sued and lost but the case was filed in a different county than the one i live in is this a valid suit
It was a default judgement for debt collection, the case was filed in iredell county but i live, and the debt was incurred, in craven county. Nor was i informed of the hearing.
A:
You need to get a copy of the court file from Iredell County, including the return of service that shows how you were allegedly served with the Summons and Complaint, and take it to an attorney for review.
The general rule is that debt collection lawsuits must be filed in the consumer's home county - but there are exceptions. Breach of contract claims and lawsuits to recover a deficiency on a car loan following a repossession are notable exceptions to this rule.
An attorney can look at the return of service to see if you may possibly be able to file a Motion to set aside the default judgment due to improper service of the summons and complaint. Please also note that if you were served with a Notice of Right To Claim Exempt Property on this Judgment, and you filed a Motion To Claim Exempt Property in response - you have waived your right to dispute both the service of the summons and the Iredell County court's jurisdiction because you filed the Motion with the Court.
Depending upon how much the Judgment is for, pursuing a Motion To Set Aside may not be worth the time and attorneys' fees you will have to pay. Even if the default Judgment is set aside, unless this is a very old Judgment, the debt does not go away - they get another bite at the apple and can still go after you in Craven County.
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