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What Happens If I Was Sued for a Debt but Missed My Court Date? | Virginia Law Help

What Happens If I Was Sued for a Debt but Missed My Court Date?

Read this in: Español

Reviewed by: Jay Speer, Sarah Morton

If you were sued for a debt and didn't go to court, the company or collector suing you almost certainly won the case. This is called a default judgment. It means you lost automatically because you weren't there to defend yourself.

Many people don't realize they were sued until after they've already lost. You might have discovered the judgment because:

  • Money suddenly started disappearing from your paycheck (you should get notice from the court)
  • Your bank account was frozen or money was taken (you should get notice from the court)
  • You got a letter saying a judgment was entered against you
  • You looked up your name in court records
  • Someone told you about the case

Important: A creditor may get a judgment and then wait months or even years before starting to collect. So even an old judgment can suddenly affect your paycheck or bank account.

With a default judgment, the creditor can:

  • Take money from your paycheck (known as wage garnishment)
  • Take money from your bank account (bank account garnishment)
  • Claim a portion of the money if you sell your home or property (known as putting a lien on your property)
  • Collect interest on the debt, 6% or whatever the stated interest rate was in the contract that was in effect.
  • Add court costs and lawyer fees to what you owe

You may still have options. In some situations, you can ask the court to undo the default judgment and give you a new court date. This is called "reopening your case." But you need to act quickly because the longer you wait, the harder it becomes.

Can I reopen my case? 

It depends on when you found out and why you missed court. There are two different ways to ask a court to undo a default judgment, and they have different deadlines and rules.

Contact legal aid or a lawyer as soon as possible. The deadlines on both options below are very short. A lawyer can help you correctly handle your situation. See the “where can I get help?” section below.

Option A: Motion to rehear (also called motion to reopen or motion for new trial)

This option is if you found out about the judgment quickly, within days of it being entered.

The deadline is either 10 or 30 days from the original judgment, depending on the situation. 

This option allows more flexibility in the reasons you can give. Valid reasons include:

  • You were not properly served. There are strict rules about how lawsuit papers must be delivered to you, usually in person or taped to your door and mailed to your home. If the papers were sent to the wrong address or delivered incorrectly, the judgment may not even be valid. This is one of the strongest arguments you can make, and it happens more often than people realize. Sometimes a creditor intentionally serves papers to an old address. This is also a strong argument for a motion to set aside (see Option B below).
  • You were seriously ill or hospitalized. Be prepared to show proof, such as medical records or a hospital discharge summary. A note on your phone is not enough.
  • You had a serious family emergency. For example, the death of a close family member. Again, be prepared to prove it.
  • You are a member of the U.S. military and the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act was not followed.
  • Fraud on the court or other complex legal reasons. a lawyer can help you identify these.

Reasons that will not be accepted:

  • You forgot about the court date
  • You had to work and could not get time off
  • You did not understand the papers

Option B: Motion to set aside default judgment

This option is if you found out about the judgment later, after the 10- or 30-day window for a motion to rehear has passed.

The time period is more generous, but the reasons you can use are very limited. The strongest reason is that you were never properly served with the lawsuit papers. There are strict rules about how lawsuit papers must be delivered to you, usually in person or taped to your door and mailed to your home. If the papers were sent to the wrong address or delivered incorrectly, the judgment may not even be valid. This is one of the strongest arguments you can make, and it happens more often than people realize. Sometimes a creditor intentionally serves papers to an old address.

Other valid reasons include:

  • Fraud on the court
  • The court lacked authority to hear the case (subject matter jurisdiction)
  • The judgment was void from the start, for example because it was based on an unsigned complaint

Contact legal aid or a lawyer as soon as possible to help you with either of these options. See the “where can I get help?” section below.

What if the court won't reopen my case? 

If the judge denies your motion, or if you're past the deadline to file one, talk to legal aid right away. See the “where can I get help?” section below.

Check if the judgment is being enforced correctly

Even if you can't reopen the case, you can still fight about how the creditor collects money from you. 

If money is being taken out of your paycheck or bank account, this is known as garnishment. You can check if they’re taking too much, or if your income is protected from garnishment

Read more:

Negotiate with the creditor

You can try to work out a payment plan after a judgment and before a garnishment. Make sure the payment plan works with your ability to pay.

If the creditor agrees:

  • Get the agreement in writing (verbal agreements will not work!)
  • Make sure it stops any garnishment–creditors must agree to stop the garnishment or they could simultaneously continue to garnish you and also demand the payment under the payment plan
  • Keep proof of all payments

Consider bankruptcy

If a payment plan does not work and you have multiple debts you cannot pay, bankruptcy might help. Bankruptcy can:

  • Stop wage garnishment immediately
  • Wipe out many debts including judgments
  • Give you a fresh start

Read more about bankruptcy.

What should I do right now? 

  • Contact legal aid or a NACA lawyer immediately. See the “Where can I get help?” section below.
  • Gather evidence about why you missed court
  • Look for any defenses to the debt

If money is already being taken from your paycheck or bank account:

Where can I get help? 

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