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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
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    6

    Default Can Civil Lawsuit Judgment Be Discharged in Bankruptcy

    My question involves bankruptcy in the state of: CA

    If a defendant in a civil lawsuit case files for bankruptcy after a judgment in favor of the plaintiff, does this mean that the plaintiff will never be able to collect the monies owed her ? The defendant in question does not have many assets but does seem to have a steady paycheck. Will defendant's bankruptcy permanently stop wage garnishment since that really seems to be the only way by which the defendant can pay the judgment ?

    Thank you for your time & response.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
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    CT & IL
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    5,273

    Default Re: Can Civil Lawsuit Judgment Be Discharged in Bankruptcy

    Generally yes, the BK wipes out the judgment but there are exceptions depending on the type of case the judgment arisen from.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
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    38,867

    Default Re: Can Civil Lawsuit Judgment Be Discharged in Bankruptcy

    If the debt is discharged, yes, that means the person cannot be made to pay the debt.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
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    6

    Default Re: Can Civil Lawsuit Judgment Be Discharged in Bankruptcy

    Quote Quoting jk
    View Post
    If the debt is discharged, yes, that means the person cannot be made to pay the debt.
    Thank you for your response.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Posts
    6

    Default Re: Can Civil Lawsuit Judgment Be Discharged in Bankruptcy

    I would like to know how bankruptcy works in community property states like California.

    Say a married but unemployed defendant in a lawsuit gets a judgment against him or her. H/she alone (and not the spouse) files for bankruptcy subsequently, in an attempt to get out of paying the judgment. Can the creditor (in this case, the successful plaintiff) then go after the defendant's employed spouse's wages ? Will the working spouse's wages also be considered community property (aka income of the defendant) ? Or will the defendant's bankruptcy protect the employed, non-bankrupt, spouse's wages from being garnished ?

    How does this work ? Could someone please explain ? Is this a reason why a plaintiff may want to jointly sue both spouses (even if only one of them was solely the underlying cause of the lawsuit) ? Is it even possible to include the not-at-fault spouse in such a lawsuit ?

    Thank you for explaining this to me !

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