have we been scammed?

[wildorchid053]

about two months ago i was talking about a contractor suing us for 26k ... he never finished his job because he was so bad we fired him.. he did get paid 80k and we still owed him 10k well during the summer we recieved a document saying we were to go to court.. well we got all our photos and evidence ready and called his lawyer to find out when the time and date was.. he said we missed it and that it was decided in his favor and that we owed the money.?????? he said would we like to make an offer for what we owe him.... so we called the down town offices and they have no record of anything about it.. no court records filed from his co.. and settlement listed/???? what the heck is going on? was it just a nerve wracking thing to try to get us to cave in ?? if anyone knows anything about how the court system works help plzz.. we have not recieved a bill for his lawyer or anything and it has been a month..we do know he put a lien on the property but that goes away in a yr with nothing on our financial status showing it..help? he also was fired 2 yrs ago..

 

[Cindiloohoo]

Trying to get u to cave!!! They have to serve papers for you to show in court.

 

[debilorrah]

If you had a court date, the court would have mailed you about a bajillion papers telling you how much trouble you would be in if you didn't show. And if you didn't show, you would have received MORE papers telling you what a bad person you are. SCAM!!!!

 

[redhen]

He has to show you the court ordered payment papers...
i would not pay a thing until he shows you the court papers...

 

[Marlinchaser]

There has to be court documents to show you lost the case. Also if they are sueing you they must send you certified letter letting you know when and where you are to appear.

 

[redhen]

Quote:
right..you would have gotten certified papers from the court house...saying when the case was...

 

[lockedhearts]

If anyone had files against you in court, a Deputy would have come to your house and served you papers and generally you have to sign something saying you received them. Not sure about laws on placing liens but I would suspect they would have to have a judegment from the court before a lien could be placed. Personally I would contact a lawyer , you may have grounds to sue them for the unfinished work and also for what they are putting you through. A lot of lawyers will take this kind of case Pro Bono.

 

[Tala]

When you sue someone in small claims court (or I assume regular court) the person suing has to pay a martial to serve you papers in person - and they can bring them to you anywhere even at your place of employment, OR you have to sent them a certified letter within 3 days of filing suit (which is what I did since I was suing a company based across the country). A lawyer's letter doesn't count.

If you received neither, then they can't do Jack.

 

[deerman]

Sure it is different depend on you State. The Lien thing, will stay until you payoff the bill. Judgment from the court before he can place the Lien, but you would not have to be in court.

Are you sure you didnt miss the court date, if you didnt pick up a certified letter, they would still have the law suit trail, no show you lose.

 

[Soccer Mom]

If the court knows nothing about it, is indeed a scam. Ask to see a copy of the judgment. If they present you with any papers claiming a judgment, confirm with the court that they are accurate.

We had a run of people pulling that scam down here in TX a few years back. They would mock up fake judgments that looked as if they came from one of our courts. They had even taken a real judgment issued by our court and scanned the judge's signature. The worst part is that the person actually perpetrating this was a lawyer. We never might have known, but people would actually hire this lawyer to file small claims. The lawyer would charge them for her time, plus pocket all the filing fees. Then she wouldn't actually file the case. She would make the mock judgment and tell them that she had won the case.

I can't say that is what is happening there. The lawyer and contractor may be in something dirty together, but it definitely needs investigating. Get a copy of the alleged judgment, contact the court, and if the court knows nothing about it, call your attorney general's office to file a complaint.