Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Illinois

Does a judgment have to be revived, in IL, if there has been filings (wage garnishment) on the case with in the 7 years?


Asked on 9/04/12, 6:49 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

Lawrence A. Stein Aronberg Goldgehn Davis & Garmisa, LLC

Yes, unless one of those filings was an order reviving the judgment. On the seventh anniversary after the rendition of the judgment, the judgment becomes unenforceable unless it was previously revived, and can only be enforced after it is properly revived. This means that absent a proper revival, your employer should cease withholding funds from your payon the day after the seventh anniversary of the judgment. Most employers don't know this, and don't care to take a chance that the judgment has been revived, and will continue to withhold money from your pay after the seventh anniversary even if the judgment has not been revived. If you cannot persuade your employer to stop withholding, or convince the owner of the judgment to tell your employer to stop withholding, the only solution I can think of is seeking relief from the court, by properly filing, serving, and noticing a written motion seeking an order from the court directing your employer to stop withholding, and to return to you any funds withheld after the seventh anniversary of the rendition of the judgment. The problem with this solution is that it is likely to induce the owner of the judgment to revive it, and it's a pain in the ass for experienced lawyers to take all the steps necessary to prepare, file, serve, and notice the motion, so you may encounter extreme difficulties trying to do that yourself. Therefore, if there's a modest amount of money involved, and you can pay it off in full within a reasonable time, either by permitting withholding after the seventh anniversary, or by additional payments over and above the amounts being withheld, I reccomend you pay off the judgment. Then if you need help from the court, you can seek it without fear that it will backfire.

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Answered on 9/04/12, 9:08 am


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