If a Civil Judgment Is Placed Against You, How Many Points Is Your Credit Score Affected?

If you do not pay your credit card bills or other unsecured debts, such as old utility bills, the creditor may sue you in court to get a civil judgment against you. Civil judgments are unhealthy for your finances, as they allow creditors to request wage garnishment as well as affecting your credit for the next seven years.

Factors

Bills.com reports that judgments affect your credit more if you have other derogatory information in your credit history than if the only negative mark is the judgment. For example, if you have several collections accounts in addition to the judgment, the judgment may severely lower your credit score. If your credit is perfect other than the judgment, the judgment will not affect it as much.

Removing Judgments

If a court issues a judgment against you, you may be able to mitigate its effect on your credit by settling the judgment. However, in many states you must do this before the judgment is reported to the credit bureaus; otherwise, the judgment will remain on your credit even though you paid it off. If you pay off the judgment before it is reported, in some states this nullifies the judgment and stops your creditors from reporting it.

Default Judgments

If you do not come to court on your court date, the court usually sides with the plaintiff because you were not there to present a defense. This is known as a default judgment. Default judgments have the same effect on your credit as other judgments. However, if you wish to vacate, or nullify, a default judgment against you, you must show a good cause for missing your court date as well as present evidence that you do not owe the money the creditor is seeking.

Legal Counsel

If a creditor sues you, it is often best to consult an attorney. Your attorney can advise you as to your best course of action and negotiate with the creditor on your behalf. You should also consult an attorney if you are attempting to vacate a judgment to find out if it is possible to do so and what procedure you must follow in order to remove the judgment from your credit history.