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Do Not Ignore a Lawsuit

By Law Office of Abel L. Pierre, Attorney at Law, P.C.

Most civil courts handle cases that range from a few hundred dollars to a few several thousand dollars. Sometimes people receive court summons for a dispute that might involve a few hundred dollars. A person may think that these small summons are not a big deal and ignore them. However ignoring even a small civil court lawsuit can have disastrous effects.

The most immediate and obvious impact is that a small debt of a few hundred dollars can snowball into several thousands of dollars once it goes through the civil court process. That is because many creditors such as credit card companies, banks, and medical billing companies, will add interest, penalties, mysterious fees, and their own attorney fees to this debt. Although these items are governed by contract, it is difficult for a nonprofessional to determine whether these fees and expenses are properly calculated. That’s why it was people are often bullied into paying thousand dollars more than what they actually owe.

Secondly if you ignore a civil court papers, this may result in a default judgment being levied against you. The ripple effects are vast. This will follow you around on your credit score. Even a small judgment of a few hundred dollars will bring the mortgage application process to a screeching halt. Auto finance companies and credit card companies will use a judgment on your https://www.apierrelaw.com/debt-collection-defense/credit-repair/credit report as an excuse to charge you a much higher interest rate than you would’ve originally qualified for.

Third, you can be in for the shock of your life on a Friday afternoon when you attempt to use a credit card and you find out that your account has been frozen because of this judgment.

Fourth is the embarrassment of having a civil court judgment sent to your employer in order to begin the wage garnishment process and having a piece of your paycheck snatched from you on a regular basis in order to satisfy the judgment.

If you receive a civil court summons and complaint or any other type of court papers the best thing to do is to contact an attorney to represent you. The credit card companies and banks have attorneys working aggressively on their behalf. You should have an attorney on your side as well. Feel free to contact the Law Office of Abel Pierre. Our attorneys will be happy to discuss an effective strategy to permanently solving your civil court lawsuit problem.

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