Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Georgia

You are confusing the statute of limitations (as a defense to a collection lawsuit) with the validity of a judgment after it is entered. The tie to raise the statute of limitations is in the lawsuit. You need to check with a Michigan lawyer about the judgment, but those time periods are certainly in the normal range.

You need to speak to a Michigan lawyer. I have a colleague in Michigan and from speaking to him, having a judgment in Michigan is NOT a good thing. The judgment creditor can levy (freeze) your bank account or lien your house or other property. They may also garnish your wages (if your employer is in Michigan) unless some kind or order or agreement is reached.

Whenever a person is sued, they are typically not advised of a court date unless the action is in small claims/magistrates court. The question is were you properly served with notice of the lawsuit? And why was it in Michigan? Was the debt created there? You may be able to get the judgment opened if you were not served properly or if there is no jurisdiction over you. You need to talk with a Michigan lawyer ASAP. And don't think that you are necessarily safe because you are in Georgia. Judgments entered in one state can be transferred to Georgia. Once properly registered, they can be enforced just like a Georgia judgment can which means bank levy, wage garnishment and liens on cars or real property.

The statute of limitations refers to how long a creditor has to bring an action. In Michigan, the statute does appear to be 6 years. Which means the creditor has 6 years from the date on which the cause of action arose to sue you. This is a waivable defense which means that if you do not raise it in an answer to the complaint, its waived. I don't know whether you filed an answer or not which is another reason why you need to speak to a Michigan lawyer.

However, the statute of limitations has no bearing on a judgments. Judgments last forever. The 10 year period just refers to how long the judgment is collectible. From what you have stated, it appears that the judgment is collectible for 10 years, unless it is timely renewed, in which case it is collectible for another 10 years.

What was this debt for? Or why were you sued? Is this for a credit card debt or other unsecured debt? If so, how much is the judgment for? Do you have the needed funds to resolve/settle this debt?

The answers to these questions will dictate what you do next. If you owe a lot of money with no means to repay it, maybe bankruptcy is the answer. If you don't own anything and your income is exempt (like Social Security), maybe save up and try to resolve when you have the funds. If you have the funds now, maybe try to resolve it now and get an agreement in place so that you do not have to worry about levy on bank accounts or wage garnishment.

I cannot stress this enough - you need to speak to a Michigan attorney and also a bankruptcy attorney in Georgia to decide what your best options are for resolving this judgment.