If 4 years ago my car was stolen and involved in an accident but I only recently found out I have a judgement against me, is that legal?

Get Legal Help Today

Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption

If 4 years ago my car was stolen and involved in an accident but I only recently found out I have a judgement against me, is that legal?

I didn’t find out until now that their insurance company filed for and received a judgement on me for over $20,000.

Asked on April 29, 2019 under Accident Law, Washington

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 4 years ago | Contributor

It is legal, but you should be able to get it vacated as against you.
It is legal in the sense that a car's owner is, on the face of it, liable for any accidents his or her car was win. Since it is a valid claim on its face, if the other side did their paperwork properly, they could get a judgment. 
However, judgments may be vacated (voided or set aside) due to either procedural irrelegularities--if, for example, you were never in fact served with the papers for the lawsuit and can prove (or at least credibly testify) that they went to the wrong address or were accepted by some other person who never gave them to you--or because there is ultimately no merit to them--such as if you can show that even though you were ostensibly the car's owner, it had been stolen when the accident occured, since you are not responsible for what a thief does.
So you should have one or two grounds to get out of this, but will want an attorney to help you, since you need to understand the procedural/court rules to vacate a judgment. If the judgment is for $20k, an attorney is well worth the investment.
Note that IF if you did receive the lawsuit papers properly and in time but ignored them for some reason (e.g. thinking that you could not be responsible) it may be harder to vacate the judgment: even when you think a case is not valid, you are expected to respond to it, and would have to show a compelling reason why you did not.
Or if you never informed the authorities that the car was stolen, or the date you told them that it was stolen is after the date of the accident, that would also hurt your chance of getting the judgment vacated, since it would undercut the fundamental idea that the car was not then under your control.


IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.

Get Legal Help Today

Find the right lawyer for your legal issue.

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption