What is a judgment in an Alabama debt collection lawsuit?
“What is a judgment in an Alabama debt collection lawsuit?”
When we’re talking about collection lawsuits in Alabama, we mention various judgments.
We talk about avoiding a default judgment, and why we don’t agree to consent judgments.
We also have to wonder about summary judgments or even judgments at the end of a lawsuit.
Sometimes we don’t define what these words mean, so we want to explain what exactly this document is in an Alabama debt collection lawsuit.
A judgment is where a judge writes an order and signs it, which makes it final.
This document is where the judge signs off on what will be done and what won’t be done in a lawsuit.
If there’s a judgment against you, that’s the court saying you owe X amount to whatever company that sued you in the first place.
Now it can be executed.
This means that they can garnish your wages, bank account, and seize your property to satisfy the debt.
Unfortunately, this is possible whether it’s a default judgment (where you don’t answer in time), a consent judgment (where you agree to a judgment for whatever reason), a summary judgment (which is where the plaintiff can say that they don’t need a trial, they just want to file a judgment against you), etc.
It doesn’t matter how it gets there, it’s the judgment that matters.
Then there are all sorts of consequences.
Now, there can be good consequences if you win your case.
Normally, if you win your case, it means that you do not owe any money to the plaintiff.
That has some implications for us.
What about your credit reports?
What about being sued in the first place?
A judgment isn’t inherently good or bad.
It just means that the judge has spoken on your case, and has made their decision for your case known.
Hope this is helpful to you.
If you have any questions, feel free to get in touch with us.
We would be glad to answer any of your questions and help you figure out the best course of action for you.
You can reach us by phone at 1-205-879-2447, or fill out a contact form and we will get in touch with you quickly.
We look forward to chatting with you.
Thanks for reading, and have a great day!
P.S. Discover what you can do if you get a judgment against you, but you weren’t served.
You can also discover the key to setting aside a default judgment in Alabama.
And you may want to start our series where we answer over 150 questions commonly asked about being sued in an Alabama debt collection case.