Removal of Incorrect Judgement

My question involves collection proceedings in the State of: Massachusetts.

In the September 2010, I rented an apartment with 4 other friends. Eventually, we all became severely behind on rent (I ended up owing about $1000, but the other roommates owed more) and we were given notice to quit and vacate the apartment in March 2011.

The total sum owed was actually $4200 ($3200 more than I actually owe her). I settled out of court with the landlord, moved out and agreed to pay her ($1000) as long as she did not allow for legal or credit action against me. (I have this in writing--dated and signed.) I decided not to go to the court date (March 31, 2011) because I believed we had settled things and I would not be held at fault for what the other roommates owed and had not worked out with her. Not to mention---I needed the money and couldn't afford to take time off. However, what I didn't know was that my name was not "cleared" because my name was still on the court summons.

A couple of months later, I received a notice of a default judgement in her favor for the sum of $4200. Again, in my own ignorance, I didn't think anything of it because I had settled with her. I did not pay her because she violated our agreement not to take legal action against me. I called and asked her about it and she said that she couldn't remove me for some reason.

In any case, just a few weeks ago, I checked my credit report and in my public records there is a judgement for $4200 against me. I contacted her and she recognized the huge error that was made. She said she would try to contact the court to have them correct it and/or remove it. I agreed to pay her if it was removed. I'm at a loss for what to do at this point though.

Is this possible: Is this judgement removable if she say it was a mistake? Should I take her back to court again and show them the signed and dated contract she made with? Should I file a motion to vacate? I have a lot of questions and I appreciate, in advance, all of the help I receive.

You're probably screwed. Your option to vacate the protest the default judgement would have been to do so in a timely fashion after you were notified of it. It's been what a year since then? She can certainly indicate to the court that the judgement has been satisfied, but it may be harder to get the history of it removed.

first rule: never ignore a summons.


actually, even before that, apparently you didn't even file a response to the complaint. If you had done that, you would have likely been dropped from the suit. Seeing that you were properly served, failed to file a response, and failed to show up for court, there was no mistake, other than yours, that allowed this judgment to be filed against you.

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In the September 2010, I rented an apartment with 4 other friends. Eventually, we all became severely behind on rent (I ended up owing about $1000, but the other roommates owed more) and we were given notice to quit and vacate the apartment in March 2011.

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for future reference: if this was a joint lease, every one of you owed the $4200. She could have sued any or all of you end would have gotten a judgement for $4200 against each defendant. She would have been limited to collecting $4200 total though. You can negotiate a separate release as you did but that doesn't prevent one of your co-tenants from suing you if they believe they were injured by you.

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I agreed to pay her if it was removed.

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pay her what? The money you say you don't owe?

What you want can be done, sometimes, but it isn't easy and unless she wants to pay a lawyer to do it, it is unlikely she would be successful. Are you willing to pay for her lawyer also?

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Should I file a motion to vacate?

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You could but it would be denied.

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Should I take her back to court again and show them the signed and dated contract she made with?

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that's what you should have done in March of 2011. That was what all that hubbub was about back then.

In any case, I have disputed the record with the credit bureaus. I did not say I don't owe her the money, but that the agreement we had did not go as written. I would potentially be willing to pay to have a lawyer help remove it. And no, I know this isn't the easy route, but thank you for your advice.

...and they will contact the court and verify the judgement reported is correct. What do you think is going to happen?
The best you're going to get is to have the judgement marked as satisfied. The history is NOT going away, even with her help.

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Quoting flyingron

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...and they will contact the court and verify the judgement reported is correct. What do you think is going to happen?
The best you're going to get is to have the judgement marked as satisfied. The history is NOT going away, even with her help.

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Actually, I have been hearing cases of it being removed if verification doesn't occur within 30 days. Though I don't necessarily expect that to happen. Thank you for your help, flyingron.

I'm still willing to hear more opinions, if there are any though.

My question involves collection proceedings in the State of: Massachusetts.

I posted a while back about a rent debt collection and subsequent posting on my credit reports. http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=142837

This is a message of faith.
I just wanted to say I got all of the debts removed from my credit reports, mitigating damages. And I surely learned my lesson.

So before you consider any of the ridiculous lawyer wannabes on here, or people who don't know what they're talking about, (no disrespect to the people that genuinely help) be sure to try to do what you can in your power to help your situation. They say it can't be done, but you can do it! A lawyer and professional help and yourself are sometimes all you need. Believe.

Good luck!

And you removed valid, unsatisfied judgments from your credit reports by doing what?

If you're a typical blowhard, you filed fraudulent objections resulting in their temporary removal from your credit pending investigation, and think that's the end of the story. And they'll be back on in a month after they're verified.

I removed it by ignoring people from the land of fruits and nuts. SO, actually, it's been more than a month. Try 6. I went through the process of disputing and it was removed. Thanks, lawyerwannabe. And remember no one is your judge on here -- never have been, never will be. They're usually just some internet flunkie who maybe dropped out of law school because it was too hard.

Like I said. Fight hard for your cause, people. And you will see results.

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Quoting th3215

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I removed it by ignoring people from the land of fruits and nuts. SO, actually, it's been more than a month. Try 6. I went through the process of disputing and it was removed. Thanks, lawyerwannabe. And remember no one is your judge on here -- never have been, never will be. They're usually just some internet flunkie who maybe dropped out of law school because it was too hard.

Like I said. Fight hard for your cause, people. And you will see results.

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6 months? It hasn't been 6 months since you were here asking about how to vacate the judgment. You can lie all you want but it doesn't change the truth.

"I went through the process of disputing...."

Which is exactly what I said. You made a fraudulent objection to accurate information. There's every reason to expect that the accurate information will return to your credit report. Assuming you're not lying about that part as well.

Thank you for confirming my suspicion.

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Quoting jk

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6 months? It hasn't been 6 months since you were here asking about how to vacate the judgment. You can lie all you want but it doesn't change the truth.

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Its only 5 days short of six months...so that bit was a tad silly.

It IS possible to get mistakes removed from credit reports. If the person obtaining the judgement agreed that it was a mistake, then its quite possible that it got removed from this person's credit report, even if we don't like to believe that what we said was impossible, was indeed possible.

Well, 5 in any case. Happy, Judge Judy?

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Quoting llworking

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It IS possible to get mistakes removed from credit reports. If the person obtaining the judgement agreed that it was a mistake, then its quite possible that it got removed from this person's credit report, even if we don't like to believe that what we said was impossible, was indeed possible.

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A judgment is a public record. Whether not it is owed is something that is verified with the court, not with the judgment creditor.

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Quoting llworking

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Its only 5 days short of six months...so that bit was a tad silly.

It IS possible to get mistakes removed from credit reports. If the person obtaining the judgement agreed that it was a mistake, then its quite possible that it got removed from this person's credit report, even if we don't like to believe that what we said was impossible, was indeed possible.

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he said it had been removed for 6 months. He was here (just shy) of 6 months ago and was only then asking about disputing the report. They do not remove the posting immediately when disputing it but send out a request for verification. If a request is not answered within 30 days the report is then taken down. That means a report is not likely to dissappear for at least a month but could be 2, 3, or even 4 depending on where in the specific CRA's reporting cycle they are.
So, to claim it has been down for 6 months is ridiculous.

from experian:

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The first step in disputing something in your credit report is to get a copy of your report directly from Experian. You can do so at www.annualcreditreport.com for your free annual report, directly from www.experian.com for a fee unless you have been declined based on an Experian report or qualify for a free report for other reasons, or through a subscription credit monitoring service such as www.freecreditscore.com.
If your application is declined, the lender will provide instructions for getting a report from the credit reporting agency that provided the report used in making the decision.
Obtaining a report from Experian through any of those services ensures you have the most recent information in an easy-to-read format. The report will include instructions to contact Experian to dispute anything you believe is inaccurate.
Simply follow those instructions to dispute any information you believe is being reported inaccurately. You will be able to enter disputes online, by telephone or by mail. In most instances, entering disputes online results in the fastest resolution. Experian will communicate your dispute to the creditor that is the source of the information.
While the law allows 30 days for the dispute process and we must allow creditors that long to respond, in many cases disputes are completed with a matter of a week to 10 business days. Experian will notify you of the dispute results when the dispute process is completed.
Thanks for asking.

- The "Ask Experian" team

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and then, as Mr K stated, this is the report of the judgment, not the underlying debt, that is the issue. It doesn't matter what the creditor/judgment creditor says or doesn't say to the issue.

There's long been a cottage industry that advises debtors to submit fraudulent objections to valid debts in the hope that they are temporarily or permanently removed. It rarely works. As the judgment is a public record, the odds are pretty good it's going to end up back on the credit report if it remains unsatisfied even if false objections result in temporary removal.

In any case, I did it electronically and the same day I posted. So at the very least it has been gone for 5 months in a few days. BOOyah.
And to aaron. Yes, but by that time the defendant will be dead and judgement appearance on report expired. This will at the very least give me a window and I can continue to dispute it. Booyah.

At this point I could care much less about the judgement. I'm worried about it being on my report. So all you naysayers can get over yourselves. ;)
Good luck saving to get into law school.

<3 ME.

they do not remove the credit line until after the 30 days period they are required to allow the creditor to respond. Then, things do not move at the speed of light.

once it have been disputed and validated, you don't get a "do over" anytime you feel like it.

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Yes, but by that time the defendant will be dead and judgement appearance on report expired.

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If the judgment is against you , you were the defendant in the suit.

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At this point I could care much less about the judgement. I'm worried about it being on my report.

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as to the reporting period: that would be 20 years from the date it is ordered. That means you only have to wait until March of 2031 for it to go away.


BOOya right back at ya!!