WHAT IF YOU HAVE AN OLD JUDGMENT AGAINST YOU? (WRITS OF SCIRE FACIAS IN GEORGIA)

Generally speaking, money judgments in Georgia are collectable for seven years after they are entered by a court and can be renewed for additional seven year periods.  Once seven years have elapsed without renewal of the judgment, the judgment becomes "dormant" and uncollectable.  Creditors may "revive" judgments that have gone dormant by filing with the court a petition for a writ of scire facias (literally translated from Latin as "cause him to know") within three years of the judgment becoming dormant.

Many judgments that were taken during and in the aftermath of the "Great Recession" (approximately December 2007 through June 2009) are now dormant under Georgia law. Most of these dormant judgments are now in the three year period when the creditor can seek to revive it.  

If you are served with a petition for writ of scire facias, I strongly recommend that you have it reviewed by counsel.  You have procedural and substantive rights to defend such a petition.  In addition, there may be defects in the underlying judgment.  That means that there may still be an opportunity for you to fight the writ and let the judgment remain dead and, therefore, uncollectable.

If you have been served with a petition for a writ of scire facias, give us a call to discuss your options.