Judgement, Garnishment, Statute of limitation question

[itmanusa]

Hi,
Hoping I can get some advice and course of action. Any and all help is greatly appreciated.
Rented kiosk space in Mall for Christmas in KS in 1997. They promised help in merchandising and verbally told me I would have enough sales to cover rent and much more. Never received any merchandising assistance and barely broke even. So decided not to pay last payment as I couldn't contact the leasing office to settle dispute. Moved to WV since then.
In 1999 they received judgment in County Court against me for the balance due. (I never received any correspondence of any kind as I moved several times)
In December 2007 they filed renewal affidavit.
In June 2009 they sent garnishment to my employer.
Original amount $6333
Now with interest its upto $13894.
I have found out all of this now after I saw the garnishment on my check.
Here are some of the questions that I have.
1. What is the statute of limitation for judgment debt collection? Looked on google and saw 5 years, is that correct?
2. If 5 years is the limit, they renewed after that time, can this be reversed and thrown out.
3. I have never received any communications (looking at court documents, it shows that they sent mail to my old addresses in KS), can it somehow help me to settle/minimize the amount?
4. Would filing bankruptcy be an option just for this 13k debt?
Even with 25% garnishment and the interest they are charging, it will take years for me to pay it off. I have no other debts as I have/had very good credit. Last time I checked I had a credit score of 762. I would hate to file bankruptcy just for this as I cannot afford to keep paying 25% of my check to them with a family of 4.
I would greatly appreciate if anyone can provide some help.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

1) Judgment collection is usually more than 5 years. In your case, it could even be extended above the 10-20 year limit if you moved out of state.

2) Why would it be thrown out? You didn't pay what you owed - and no court will bend over backwards to aid what it deems to be a "deadbeat" (no offense.) My guess is that it was five years to sue, not five years to collect.

3) You waited 10 years to fight a debt that you will have to admit you owe. The best you can hope for is to work something out with the holder of the judgment. Trying to reopen the case/judgment will likely be a time consuming effort, assuming you even can do so. My guess? The addresses that the summonses were sent was the address listed on your rental agreement and a defense that "I moved" without notification to the landlord will likely not help you.

4) Can't say. There are many factors that go into making a bankruptcy filing. You may want to work out something with the creditor if you can before doing so. Be prepared to come up with some viable solution or else the creditor will have little incentive to settle.