I moved - received information subpoena

[JTJERSEY]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
NJ - USA


Hello All,

I officially moved to NJ from Brooklyn NY during the fall of 2006 (September 14th/ Autumn time).

Apparently, there was a judgment awarded against me (~$1000) during 8/8/2006.

I have recently (8/24/2009) received an information subpoena from a NY Atty who represents the plaintiff who was awarded the above mentioned judgment.

The information subpoena came in regular mail, not certified or served by any "official."

What is my recourse?

Does the plaintiff/atty not have to re-file a lawsuit in NJ in order to have the ability to enforce any judgment/force collection?

Any and all advice will be greatly appreciated.

Many Thanks

- JT

[dfromnyli]

NYS law says information subs are supposed to be sent certified but I do not believe that makes the info sub void, I can check in the morning. But none the less it is still a court order for you to respond to, take that however you want.

and as for your other question about would they have to refile an action against you in NJ, the answer to that is no. see below.

The Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act ( N.J.S.A. 2A:49A-25 et seq.)permits a judgment , decree, or order of the United States or of any other Court that is entitled to full faith and credit in this State to be filed [ii] with the Clerk of the Superior Court of New Jersey . The Clerk shall treat the foreign judgment [iii] in the same manner as a judgment of the Superior Court of this State. Upon recording , the Clerk will issue a notice to the defendant providing 14 days during which the defendant may file an objection to the judgment. No execution of process can occur during that 14-day period.

[JTJERSEY]

Dfromnyli

Thanks bunches for your response.

I guess I will be required to contact them. Do you recommend I attempt to negotiate down?

The original debt was one that occured following an operation that I had.
I did not have health insurance, and consulted with hospital personel who told me that in order to have the operation there, i would need to pay a certain sum.
I paid them, and the surgeon separately, but never had any other consultations where any other sum of money was discussed for any other reason.

After my operation, i received a debt collection notice, quite some time after my operation, i cant rightly recall the amount of time. I had no idea who those who were seeking money were. I realized after speaking with the plaintiff's atty who they were and why they were contacting me, but it was quite some time after the operation (more than a year).

So that brings me to where we are today.

Many thanks for your advice and prompt response.

- JT

[dfromnyli]

I'm actually really curious as to which hospital/attorney you have been contacted by because the firm I work for represents most major hospitals in the state of NY - but we do not send info subs directly to defendants, only to employers or financial institutions we believe they do business with.

None the less, a year is not that long for a medical bill considering the statute of limitations is 6 years in NY. But yeah try to make a settlement, our clients usually take 75 cents on the dollar to get rid of the claim - especially on claims where the patient was uninsured.

[JTJERSEY]

Hi dfromnyli and thanks again for your input

The company is Brooklyn Anesthesia Research, PC. - not the hospital itself.

The funny thing is, if they had told me during my pre surgery consultation that I would be responsible for a certain amount of money, I would have paid the damned thing like i did the surgeon and hospital.

Now all this mess. Im very tempted to have them go through the legal ringer of filing in NJ, serving me with notice, having me respond. You know, the whole domestication thing. It was a default judgment and i don't remember being "properly served." I don't know how much it would cost them to sue me again in NJ, but i would imagine it probably would not be worth it for the amount of money that the judgment is (~$1200).

Then again, what the heck do i know.

Thanks again.

- JT

[dfromnyli]

Originally Posted by JTJERSEY

Now all this mess. Im very tempted to have them go through the legal ringer of filing in NJ, serving me with notice, having me respond. You know, the whole domestication thing. It was a default judgment and i don't remember being "properly served." I don't know how much it would cost them to sue me again in NJ

This is the tricky part, because it is my understanding that the NY atty just has to file an authenticated copy of judgment in the superior court, and you have 14 days to object to the judgment.

Now, you will not be able to raise jurisdictional defenses in NJ, just because the Superior Court of NJ does not have jurisdiction to hear your argument. What you would have to do is prove to the Superior Court of NJ that there is and I quote

"... If the judgment debtor shows the Superior Court that an appeal from the foreign judgment is pending or will be taken, or that a stay of execution has been granted, the court shall stay enforcement of the foreign judgment until the appeal is concluded, the time for appeal expires, or the stay of execution expires or is vacated, upon proof that the judgment debtor has furnished security for the satisfaction of the judgment required by the state in which it was rendered...."

The above would have to take place in the court with original jurisdiction.

Originally Posted by JTJERSEY

but i would imagine it probably would not be worth it for the amount of money that the judgment is (~$1200).

The filing fee is $35 for what it is worth. And the fee to obtain an exemplified judgment from most county clerks in the State of NY is around $15

[JTJERSEY]

Well, it seems that I should just go ahead and call them up and try to get it squared away.

These are the things that make life interesting eh? Lord knows the damage done to my credit because of this. Oh well, i will take your advice and see if i can settle this thing. Problem is, i am unemployed, and am barely able to make the payments on the mortgage, car insurance and utilities. I don't even know what to offer them. I guess i could borrow $500 from a family member and try to pay them back. I hope they will accept the $500 and issue me/help me get a warrant of satisfaction to put this behind me.

I guess there is also a chance they might not accept my offer without the completed and returned Information Subpoena. I wonder how often that happens; an offer dismissed in favor of a completed info sub.

Thanks tons.

- JT