Paramount Lawsuits & Judgments Lawyer
Paramount, you have been served with a complaint, or a judgment has already been entered against you, and the next few decisions will shape what a creditor can actually take. Wadhwani & Shanfeld is a consumer bankruptcy and debt relief law firm that represents people in Paramount, throughout Los Angeles County, and across Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties, and a Paramount lawsuits & judgments lawyer from our firm can tell you whether to answer, negotiate, or file for bankruptcy before a deadline closes the choice for you.
The first decision is the most time-sensitive one. A collection lawsuit that goes unanswered can end in a default judgment, and a judgment is what unlocks the tools that hurt: wage garnishment, bank levies, and liens. Once a judgment exists, the question shifts from “do I owe this?” to “what can they reach, and how do I stop them?”
Those are different problems with different answers, and the sooner you sort out which one you have, the more options remain open.
Why Paramount Residents Choose Wadhwani & Shanfeld for Lawsuit and Judgment Defense
Wadhwani & Shanfeld has helped more than 30,000 individuals and families get out from under debt. The firm is led by two Board-Certified Specialists in Consumer Bankruptcy through the American Board of Certification: founding shareholders Raj Wadhwani and Greg Shanfeld, who together with their team bring more than 90 years of combined legal experience. We serve clients across Paramount and the surrounding Los Angeles County communities, as well as Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties, and we handle credit card suits, medical debt suits, personal loan suits, deficiency claims, and the judgments that follow.
Raj Wadhwani is a Southwestern Law School graduate who helped pilot the Best Case Bankruptcy software in 1998 and was the first attorney to file a bankruptcy case electronically in the Central District of California. Greg Shanfeld earned his law degree from the University of Southern California and has handled more than 10,000 bankruptcy cases over three decades. That depth matters in judgment work because the best answer is often bankruptcy, and the timing of that filing can decide whether a levy lands or a garnishment is stopped.
You speak with an attorney directly from your first call, and the consultation is free. When a garnishment, foreclosure sale, or repossession is days away, we move fast. Cases can be handled entirely by phone, email, video, and online chat, and 100% virtual consultations are available, so a work schedule in Paramount or a long commute does not stand in the way. Because we handle both bankruptcy and its alternatives, including debt settlement and direct negotiation, the recommendation you get is built around your income, property, and goals rather than the only service a firm happens to sell.
Situations We See When a Creditor Sues or Wins a Judgment
- Credit card lawsuits: Collection firms and debt buyers file suit after an account goes unpaid for months. Whether the creditor can win depends on whether it can prove the debt and whether it sued within the time allowed, and that defense has to be raised in a written answer.
- Medical debt suits: Unpaid hospital and provider bills often end up with collectors and then in court. Medical balances are generally unsecured debt that bankruptcy can discharge.
- Personal loan and payday loan suits: Lenders sue on signed loan agreements, and the written-contract limitations period is four years. A suit filed after that point can be defeated if you raise the deadline.
- Repossession deficiency claims: After a vehicle is sold, the lender may sue for the shortfall. Deficiency liability depends on the lender giving a proper notice within 60 days of repossession or surrender, so defects in that notice can be a real defense.
- Default judgments already entered: If you never answered, the court may have entered judgment automatically. Options may include challenging the judgment, negotiating a payoff, or discharging it in bankruptcy.
- Active wage garnishments: An employer withholds part of each paycheck under a court order. Filing Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 stops most garnishments the moment the case is filed.
- Bank account levies: A creditor with a judgment can freeze funds in your account. Some money is protected automatically, but protection for the rest generally has to be claimed.
- Judgment liens on a home: A recorded judgment can attach to real property in California, which matters when you want to sell or refinance. Chapter 13 and, in some cases, Chapter 7 offer ways to address it.
What to Do Right Now if You Have Been Sued or Hit With a Judgment
If you were served with a summons and complaint, do not set it aside. The most important step is filing a written answer before your response deadline. In California, the statute of limitations is a defense the court will not apply for you: it is four years for a written contract or book account debt and two years for an oral contract, and if you skip the answer, the court can still enter judgment even on a stale debt. Do not sign anything the collector sends, and do not make a “good faith” payment on an old account without advice. A payment cannot revive a debt that is already time-barred, but a signed written acknowledgment can restart the clock on some debts, so be careful what you put in writing.
Lawsuits against Paramount residents are typically heard by the Los Angeles County Superior Court, which has a courthouse in Norwalk and others in nearby communities such as Compton, Downey, and Bellflower, and the one assigned to your case will be listed on the summons. Read the summons for the exact courthouse and deadline, and gather the complaint, any collection letters, your pay stubs, bank statements, and a list of your debts. Our attorneys can tell you in a short call whether to answer, negotiate, or file bankruptcy.
If a judgment has already been entered, find out what enforcement has started. A wage garnishment on an ordinary judgment is capped at the lesser of 20% of your weekly disposable earnings or 40% of the amount by which those earnings exceed 48 times the minimum hourly wage; for biweekly, semimonthly, and monthly pay, the multiplier is 96, 104, and 208. If your local minimum wage is higher than the state’s, the local rate is used. You can also ask the court to exempt the portion of your earnings proven necessary to support you and your family. Your employer cannot fire you because your wages are garnished for a single judgment.
For a bank levy, California automatically protects a set amount in deposit accounts, and the bank is supposed to apply that protection before turning anything over, without you filing a claim. That protection does not apply to levies for wages owed to another person, child or spousal support, or debts owed to the state. Anything above the protected amount may require a claim of exemption, and the deadlines are short. If your wages are being garnished and you cannot tell what is protected, call before your next paycheck is cut.
The most common mistake is waiting. People hope the case will go away, miss the answer deadline, and then face a judgment that is far harder to unwind than a lawsuit was to defend. The second most common mistake is paying a collector in a hurry under pressure, which can drain the money you need to resolve the whole situation properly.
How Bankruptcy Stops a Lawsuit and Resolves a Judgment
When a bankruptcy petition is filed, the automatic stay takes effect immediately. It halts lawsuits, judgments, bank levies, wage garnishments, repossessions, and foreclosure proceedings, which is why filing can be the fastest way to stop a garnishment or an imminent levy. Bankruptcy cases for Paramount residents are filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California, and the division is determined by the zip code of your street address, using the court’s locator. The firm files in every division of that court.
Chapter 7 wipes out qualifying unsecured debt, including credit card balances, medical bills, personal loans, and repossession deficiencies, and a judgment on one of those debts is generally discharged along with it. Most cases finish in roughly four months. To qualify, your household income generally has to pass the means test, which compares your income to the California median for your household size and then accounts for your actual expenses. Chapter 13 reorganizes your debts into one payment over three to five years and may fit if your income is above the Chapter 7 limits or you need to keep property that exemptions would not fully cover.
What you keep depends on California’s exemptions, and California has opted out of the federal exemption list. You choose one of two state systems for the entire case: the standard system, which includes a homestead exemption based on county home prices, or an alternative system with a flexible wildcard that often suits renters. To use California’s exemptions, you generally must have lived in the state for at least 730 days. Choosing the right system is one of the most important decisions in a case, and our board-certified attorneys make it with care. Most of our clients keep everything they own.
Not every judgment calls for bankruptcy. A California money judgment is enforceable for 10 years from entry, and a creditor can renew it, though recent law limits renewal to one time, for five years only, on medical expense judgments and certain smaller personal debt judgments. Sometimes the better path is a negotiated settlement for less than you owe, and our firm handles that too.
Paramount Lawsuits and Judgments: Your Questions Answered
Can I be sued over a debt that is several years old?
Yes, a creditor can file suit at any time, but a debt older than the limitations period is a defense. In California that period is four years for written contracts and book accounts and two years for oral contracts. You have to raise it in a written answer, because the court will not apply it automatically.
What happens if I ignore the lawsuit?
The creditor can ask for a default judgment, which is entered without hearing your side. That judgment can then support wage garnishment, bank levies, and liens. Answering on time keeps your defenses alive.
How much of my paycheck can be taken?
On an ordinary judgment, the cap is the lesser of 20% of weekly disposable earnings or 40% of the amount by which they exceed 48 times the minimum hourly wage, with larger multipliers for biweekly, semimonthly, and monthly pay. You can also ask the court to exempt the portion proven necessary to support your family.
Can my employer fire me because of a garnishment?
Not for a garnishment based on a single judgment. California’s Labor Code bars an employer from firing an employee for that reason.
Will bankruptcy stop a garnishment?
Yes. Filing Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 triggers the automatic stay, which stops most garnishments as soon as the case is filed. If a garnishment is already coming out of your paycheck, we can often prepare and file quickly.
Can a judgment be wiped out in bankruptcy?
Often, yes. A judgment on a dischargeable unsecured debt, such as credit cards or medical bills, is generally eliminated in Chapter 7. Some judgments, such as those for support or certain other debts, cannot be discharged.
How long does a judgment last in California?
A money judgment is enforceable for 10 years from entry. A creditor can renew it before it expires, though a recent law limits renewal to one time for five years on medical expense judgments and certain smaller personal debt judgments. Once enforcement lapses, liens created by enforcement are extinguished.
Is any money in my bank account protected from a levy?
California automatically protects a set amount per judgment debtor in deposit accounts, and the bank must apply it without you filing anything. It does not protect against levies for wages owed to others, child or spousal support, or debts owed to the state. The amount is adjusted periodically.
If a collector violated the law, can I do something about it?
Possibly. California’s Rosenthal Act covers original creditors as well as collection agencies. A consumer can recover actual damages, a court can add $100 to $1,000 for willful and knowing violations, and a prevailing consumer can recover attorney fees. The suit must be filed within one year, and a collector can avoid liability by curing a violation within 15 days of learning of it.
Can a judgment lien affect my ability to sell or refinance my home?
It can. A recorded judgment can attach to real property and typically has to be paid or removed at sale or refinance. Bankruptcy can sometimes remove or address it, depending on how much equity you have and which exemption system you choose.
Do I have to come into an office to start?
No. We handle cases fully by phone, email, video, and online chat, and 100% virtual consultations are available, so you can get answers the same day you call.
Serving Paramount and Surrounding Los Angeles County Communities
We represent lawsuit and judgment clients in Paramount and throughout Los Angeles County, including nearby Bellflower, Norwalk, Compton, Lakewood, Long Beach, Gardena, Cerritos, Signal Hill, Huntington Park, and Inglewood. Farther along, we serve Torrance, Santa Monica, Hollywood, and the San Fernando Valley communities of Sherman Oaks, Van Nuys, Encino, Woodland Hills, Reseda, Northridge, Granada Hills, North Hollywood, North Hills, Mission Hills, San Fernando, and Sylmar. In the north county, we help clients in Santa Clarita, Lancaster, Palmdale, Acton, and the Antelope Valley.
Our reach continues into Orange County, including Anaheim, Santa Ana, Garden Grove, Buena Park, Fullerton, Huntington Beach, Westminster, Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, Tustin, La Habra, Placentia, Mission Viejo, and Laguna Niguel, and into the Inland Empire and eastern San Gabriel Valley, including Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Upland, Fontana, San Bernardino, Pomona, Chino, Chino Hills, Montclair, Claremont, Glendora, West Covina, Riverside, and the Coachella Valley.
Talk to a Paramount Lawsuits and Judgments Attorney Today
If a summons is sitting on your counter or a garnishment has already started, a Paramount lawsuits and judgments attorney at Wadhwani & Shanfeld can review your situation, tell you which deadline matters most, and lay out your options inside and outside of bankruptcy. The consultation is free, you speak directly with an attorney, and we can often act quickly when a levy or garnishment is close. Call today to find out where you stand and what to do next.
