Tags: judgment, bankruptcy, contempt, vacate judgment
Creditors may not sue you on a debt that has been previously discharged in bankruptcy. If they do, they are in violation of the Bankruptcy Code and they are in contempt of the Bankruptcy Court’s orders. However, sometimes a consumer does not want a big legal battle. Usually our clients just want the matter resolved quickly. By contacting the offending creditor and informing them of their error and our willingness to bring the matter before the Court, we can often get their cooperation. In this particular case, the creditor pushed back at first, offering to only file a Satisfaction of Judgment with the Court. A Satisfaction of Judgment would cause the judgment to show zero balance, but the judgment would still be in the court records and on the client’s credit report. We refused that offer and ultimately reached an agreement with the creditor that it would vacate the judgment, dismiss the underlying suit, and inform the credit bureaus of the change. Total legal fees paid by our client: $312.50.
