Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in California

It means you lost and they got a judgement against you because you didn't file an answer to the complaint. They can now begin collection using liens, levys and wage garnishment. So unless you just want to pay-up, you need to hire a lawyer immediately and hope there is enough time to try to set aside the default.

Tim is correct and I would not wait too long to start the process. There are a number of good attorneys out there that will do a motion to set aside the default for a reasonable fee.

Check out the national Association of Consumer Advocates for someone local.

Good luck.

You will get exactly one opportunity to attempt to persuade the court that you were not served with the lawsuit, or that you had a good excuse for not filing a response within the legal time limit. Your motion to set aside default will also need to demonstrate that you have a valid defense to the lawsuit, for example that they filed past the legal time limit, a collection agency does not have legal authority to file the lawsuit, or other legal defenses that you will want to discuss with a local attorney.