Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Georgia
I was involved in a fender bender and a month later accepted a job out of the county. A few months following my departure my father signed and accepted a lawsuit they were serving me. He informed the insurance company was going to take care of it and since I am out of the country I was not served and they cannot proceed. He said the judge put the case on hold til I return. Over a year later I have now been ordered to pay a judgement of 19K. I feel as I was misinformed by everyone involved and I am the one who will suffer upon arrival. What can I do at this point?
2 Answers from Attorneys
It is less of an issue of you being "misinformed" than you failing to handle the lawsuit appropriately. You chose to rely on what your father (presumably, not a lawyer) told you instead of personally making sure it was handled properly by your lawyer (one hired by you or the insurer). Now, you have little choice other than to retain a lawyer to look into the case to see what happened and see if there is anything at all that can be done.
You handled this inappropriately and suffered the consequences. When you learned of the suit, your insurance policy gave YOU a duty to contact the insurer (read it) and give them the suit. At that point, they would have defended it and paid any judgment. Obviously you chose not to do those things and have no choice but to pay a lawyer to review things (and probably have to pay the judgment).
Related Questions & Answers
Looking for something else?
10,200 active attorneys ready to answer your legal questions today.
Featured Attorneys
Earn additional revenue and grow your business.
