Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Pennsylvania

I recently had a sheriff place a levy on my vehicle which was parked at a relatives home in their driveway for the weekend. My car is not registered in that county and I do not even live in that county. They served the papers to my relatives who had no idea what was going on. I contacted the sheriff office and they said a creditor had given them that address as my address, but I haven't lived there for 15 years and the debt is only 5 years old and the creditors have my current address. Now my relatives want me to take the car off their property but the sheriff's office says i cannot move it until the sheriff sale. Any advice?


Asked on 5/03/13, 7:11 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

That car is not coming back unless you find another way to pay the judgment creditor. And you cannot move the car since it is under a levy.

There is a whole lot more going on than you relate in your post.

I don't know your circumstances or what you intend to do in regard to the judgment. Bankruptcy will stop any execution sale so if you intend on filing and have at least $10,000 in dischargeable debt, consider this option. You do not indicate when the judgment was entered or how service was achieved, which I question here because even if the creditor used your relatives' address, then they should have notified you about the lawsuit. So this was not done is secret. However, I do not know if you can still get the judgment vacated. If you think you may want to do that, then seek out local counsel who handles defense of consumer debts and see whether this is feasible.

Since you seem to think that this was a surprise, you should go to the county where the judgment was entered and get a copy of the complete court file - the summons and complaint, return of service, default judgment and execution. The attorney will need that to do a review.

Depending on what these documents show and if you have the funds to resolve the debt, you may be able to do that too.

Read more
Answered on 5/03/13, 11:20 am


Related Questions & Answers

More Credit, Debt and Collections Law questions and answers in Pennsylvania