This client initially contacted our firm after his bank account was frozen due to a New York judgment that had been entered against him in 2003. He had already moved to Florida at that time and was still living in Florida. Despite the 14 year age of this debt, the current creditor was vigorously pursuing him to collect any funds possible to satisfy the judgment. This is very common and very often a reason that clients retain our services. These clients usually do not recall ever being served with any court documents, and they usually cannot recall the original creditor the debt originated from. Additionally, the debt is often sold multiple times during these years of inactivity. In our client's case, the action was started by Platinum Financial Services, who purchased the debt from Beneficial, and the judgment was later purchased by Palisades Acquisition XVI, LLC a common debt buyer.
Although these observations often assist in obtaining a favorable resolution for our clients, it is important to note that these old judgments continue to accrue 9% post judgment interest each year for 20 years or until the balance is paid. As a result, the current balance for these old judgments are usually significantly higher than the original judgment amount. In this case, the judgment balance was up to $12,320.20 from the original judgment amount of $5,709.95, and our client's bank account was frozen with about $8,000 on hold.
We confirmed that our client never received any documents prior to the frozen bank account, and he did not recall this account. He was also very young at the time of the supposed accrual of the debt, so he believed this to be his father’s debt as they had the same name. After contacting Houslanger & Associates, the attorneys retained by Palisades to collect the judgment, we were able to reach a settlement of $800 and have the judgment vacated against the client.