Clearing a Judgment from the Public Record
My question involves judgment recovery in the State of: Florida
About 8 years ago I rented a room in a house (in FL, Broward county), I went into it with a guy who I didnt know very well who rented the other room. Well, the guy turned out to be a real scum bag. I eventually moved out and everything was fine and dandy until one day I get this notice on my credit report for a judgement for $146. Yeah, my credit ruined for $146!! Anyways when I asked the owner he said that since we were on one lease, in order to evict the other guy, he had to put my name down too (even though I had already moved out). I didnt owe him any money and would have gladly paid the $146 if he just called and asked.
Finally, after a few years went by (with me begging the guy to notorize a document saying he withdrew the judgement, he just didnt want to take the time to noterize it) I paid it. It was taken off of my credit report, however, my name is associated with the scum bag that I agreed to rent the place with. He is a criminal of the worst kind and being associated with him makes me look very bad. I am working on my masters degree and it is important that I look good on paper.
How can I get my name off of this judgement or the judgement sealed or expunged so that it is not a public record?
Re: Clearing a Judgment from the Public Record
Not wanting a public record to be public isn't going to get it "sealed". There are lots of celebrities who would rather not have their public records splashed all over "The Smoking Gun", but there they are.
You can talk to the plaintiff about stipulating to amend the judgment to remove your name. That wouldn't remove your name from the court record or old judgment, but would introduce a final judgment naming only the other party. I don't see much benefit from that exercise, though.