Practice Areas

EVICTION DEFENSE

Nightmare Scenario #1: You get home from work and there is an eviction notice on the door.

Nightmare Scenario #2: You open the door and someone is standing there with an unlawful detainer.

What can you do?

We are here to help. Whether you are responding to a notice to vacate, notice to quit, or unlawful detainer, our team of attorneys and legal experts can stop your landlord from taking possession of your home.

When clients arrive in my office asking if a legal garnishment can be “undone”, I answer with a “maybe”, and ask a series of specific questions to determine the likelihood. Here are some examples of situations that might result in a full or partial reduction/reversal of garnishment:

• Your rights as a tenant were violated.
• You paid your rent, you just deducted expenses you incurred in maintaining the property
• You recently lost your job or went through some other hardship
• You found a new place to live but you need a little extra time to move
• The amount your landlord is seeking is wrong, and they just won't listen

These are only a few examples of situations that could result in the reversal of legal garnishment in your home state. Many of these examples are “claims of exemption.” A consumer must file for a claim of exemption within 20 days of the notification of garnishment. The filing will result in a hearing that will stop the garnishment if the court rules that the consumer does qualify for the claim of exemption. If the court rules in the consumer’s favor, money previously seized will be returned.

The final example, voiding or vacating the original default judgment, is a bit more involved, and refers to the original judgment obtained by the Debt collector. When clients meet with me about stopping or reversing a legal garnishment, in addition to exploring possible claims of exemption, I also explore the possibility that the original judgment was obtained improperly, and could be vacated with a motion for relief. In this case, not only would the garnishment end and the client’s money be returned, but the judgment would be dismissed, and the consumer would have an opportunity to get out of the debt entirely. A local consumer attorney would be able to discuss and review your original default judgment for improper procedure (i.e. sewer service, improper notice, a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act violation, etc).