Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Texas

I recently moved from California to Texas and found out a collection company filed a case a month after I left the state of California. I have not been served by the collection agency, I received an advertisement from a company that assist with debt cases. There is no forwarding address on file for my last residence. If, they claim to have served me in California, will the case be dismissed? Can they proceed with the case although I am not a resident in California?


Asked on 1/17/14, 9:35 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Mark Dunn Mark D. Dunn

You don't have to be a resident of California to be sued in a California court.

It is somewhat common for process servers to "fudge" about having served someone. A return of service makes its way into the Court's file that swears that Edwin Carswell was PERSONALLY served when, in fact, the scumbag process server handed the citation to a next-door neighbor, or an apartment manager's secretary. The Court doesn't know the difference; there's a return of service on file that's valid on its face, and the result is that the plaintiff gets a default judgment.

In a perfect world, you'd have a friend in California who could go to the courthouse and check on the case in person.

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Answered on 1/21/14, 10:11 am


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