Civil Capias question

[JennyD]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Virginia

So I apparently missed a small claims court date a couple months ago for a dental bill (which I don't think I even owe since I paid in FULL before services were rendered) for $300 outstanding balance, or so they claim. At the time I was upstate visiting my dying father and taking him to the Docs because he couldn't walk anymore and was on oxygen 24/7 and had been skipping doctor appointments for months because he couldn't get himself there, so when I found this out I dropped what I was doing and went to help him...missing my court date. My sister who was also ill couldn't help him even though she lived nearby so it had to me. Since then my sister died, three weeks ago in fact Now with that out the way....Today I went to JAIL.

Yesterday I found a note on my door from the Sheriff's office telling me to call. I called. I was informed that there was a civil capias out on me and we arranged for me to come in today and turn myself in. I went before the magistrate and bond was set and I was released on my own recognizance without having to pay the bond but agreeing to go to my next court date. I was booked, fingerprinted, mug shots, frisked and then released.

My question is...what comes next? My new court date is for the capias and also the original case from the attorneys of the dentist. Do I need a lawyer for this? Am I going to be hit with mega fines, a misdemeanor etc? I really need advice.

 

[Mass_Shyster]

I'm not familiar with the rules in VA, so I'll tell you how it works in MA (which is also a Commonwealth).

A capias issues when a debtor fails to show up for a debtor's examination. That doesn't happen until the creditor already has a judgment. So in Mass, you have to miss two court dates before the capias issues.

It probably cost the creditor more than a few dollars to have you locked up. You are likely liable for that. You are also liable for the judgment. If it was a default judgment, and you have a good reason for missing the court date, and you have a valid defense against the judgment, you may be able to get the default vacated.

The bottom line is you really should never miss a court date. If necessary, call the court and let them know of the emergency. They may reschedule the case. If you simply ignore things, the repercussions escalate.

 

[JennyD]

Well thank you for the response. Gosh, I don't think I missed two court dates just the one (I think?). How do I find out this info? You said they can't get a capias until they have a judgment, so does that mean that when I missed the court date the judge ruled in their favor and this next court date is just for the capias and to arrange payment? How do I find this out? I am digging through my file cabinet looking for my receipt that show I paid in full but maybe there is no point if they already won the case which I sort of assumed at first that they did, because I thought if you don't show up they automatically win. Now I'm worried what else they will do to me because honestly, filing a civil capias over a stupid $300 bill seems insane to me. It seems personal which is crazy to me but who would go to this much trouble over $300? It's not like I owe thousands. Maybe I am not really understanding the legal jargon and just who filed the capias? I understand that the capias was for failure to appear and that courts take that very seriously, but on the actual capias it shows the law firm who is sueing me so I then assumed that it wasn't the judges idea but theirs and they filed it. Am I understanding all of this correctly and BIGGER is do I need a lawyer over all this? I don't want to end up back in jail over a bill. I've never been in trouble for anything so this is all shocking to me and I just lost my sister so this couldn't come at worse timing.