Costa Mesa Lawsuits & Judgments Lawyer
Costa Mesa residents who have been served with a collection lawsuit, or who already have a judgment entered against them, are looking at a decision with a short fuse: answer, negotiate, or file bankruptcy. Wadhwani & Shanfeld is a consumer bankruptcy and debt relief law firm that handles creditor lawsuits, judgments, wage garnishment, Chapter 7, Chapter 13, and debt settlement for clients in Costa Mesa and throughout Orange County and Southern California.
A Costa Mesa lawsuits and judgments lawyer works on two fronts at once. Before judgment, the goal is to find out whether the creditor can actually win: whether the claim was filed on time, whether the plaintiff can prove it owns the debt, and whether a response is due. After judgment, the work shifts to limiting what the creditor can take from your paycheck, your bank account, and your property, and to deciding whether bankruptcy ends the problem entirely.
Most collection suits against Orange County residents are filed in the Orange County Superior Court, and the clock on your written response starts the day you are served. Missing it lets the plaintiff ask for a default judgment, which is the easiest win a collector can get.
Why Choose Wadhwani & Shanfeld for Judgment and Lawsuit Defense
Wadhwani & Shanfeld has helped more than 30,000 individuals and families get out from under debt, and the firm serves clients across Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties, including Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, Santa Ana, and the rest of Orange County. The practice is built around consumer bankruptcy and debt relief, so a lawsuit is never treated as an isolated court problem; it is evaluated alongside your income, property, and every other debt you carry. Clients reach an attorney directly from the first call, can handle the whole case by phone, email, video, or online chat, and can request a free consultation, including a fully virtual one.
Raj Wadhwani, founding shareholder and partner, is a Board-Certified Specialist in Consumer Bankruptcy through the American Board of Certification. He 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, also a founding shareholder and partner and a Board-Certified Specialist in Consumer Bankruptcy, earned his law degree at the University of Southern California and has handled more than 10,000 bankruptcy cases over three decades. Together the firm’s attorneys bring more than 90 years of combined legal experience.
That experience matters in judgment cases because the best answer is often not a courtroom answer. The firm files in every division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California, so when a garnishment or levy is days away, it can act quickly on the option that stops collection the moment a petition is filed, while also negotiating or defending when those paths serve you better.
Common Lawsuit and Judgment Situations We Handle for Orange County Clients
- Credit Card Collection Suits: Debt buyers and collection firms sue over card balances, often long after the original lender stopped reporting. The plaintiff must be able to show it owns the account and that the suit was filed within the limitations period.
- Default Judgments: When a summons goes unanswered, the court can enter judgment without hearing your side. Many of these are entered against people who never realized the papers required a written response.
- Wage Garnishment After Judgment: A creditor with a judgment can direct your employer to withhold part of each paycheck. The amount is capped by formula, and you may be able to claim a larger exemption if the withholding leaves too little to support your household.
- Bank Account Levies: A creditor can freeze and take money from a bank account. California automatically protects a set amount per judgment debtor in a deposit account, but the protection does not reach every kind of debt or every kind of funds.
- Medical Bill Judgments: Hospital and provider balances that went to collections frequently end up in court, and judgments on them are treated like any other money judgment for enforcement purposes.
- Judgments From Repossession Deficiencies: After a car is repossessed and sold, the lender may sue for the shortfall. Whether it can depends on whether it followed the notice and timing rules.
- Homeowner Exposure to Judgment Liens: A recorded judgment can attach to real estate. Costa Mesa owners often have significant equity, so the question of how much of it California law shields is central.
- Suits Over Second Mortgages and Personal Loans: Unsecured second mortgage balances and personal loans are common targets once payments stop, and some of these debts can be eliminated or reduced in bankruptcy.
What to Do After You Are Served in a Costa Mesa Collection Lawsuit
Start with the paperwork. Find the date you were served, the name of the plaintiff, the amount claimed, and the court. Collection suits against Costa Mesa residents are typically heard by the Orange County Superior Court, which operates a courthouse in Costa Mesa along with the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana, and the summons will tell you where the case was filed. Do not ignore it, and do not assume a phone call to the collector counts as a response. A written answer must be filed with the court, and that is the step that prevents a default.
The answer is also where limitations defenses live. Debt on a written contract generally must be sued on within four years, and oral contract debt within two. Importantly, the court will not raise that defense for you; if you do not assert it in a written answer, the judge can still enter judgment on an expired debt. Be careful with payments and signed letters, too. A payment will not revive a debt that is already time-barred, but a signed written acknowledgment can restart the period on a debt that is still alive, so do not sign anything a collector sends you before getting advice.
Gather every letter, the summons and complaint, account statements, and anything showing your income and your assets. Then call before the response deadline. An attorney can tell you whether to answer and fight, negotiate a payment arrangement or settlement, or file bankruptcy. If a judgment has already been entered, the same call can determine whether it can be set aside, whether a garnishment is calculated correctly, and whether bankruptcy would stop it right away.
The most common mistakes are waiting until the garnishment hits, paying a collector without confirming it can legally sue, and moving money around to hide it from a creditor, which can create problems of its own. If you want a bankruptcy to protect your property, remember that for Orange County cases the filing goes to the Santa Ana Division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California, and the automatic stay takes effect as soon as the petition is filed.
How Judgments Are Enforced in California and What They Cannot Reach
A California money judgment is enforceable for 10 years from the date it is entered, and a creditor can extend that by filing a renewal application, which restarts a 10-year period. Since a 2023 law change, renewal is limited for certain judgments: medical expense judgments with unpaid principal under $200,000 and personal debt judgments with unpaid principal under $50,000 can be renewed only once, and for five years. Knowing how old your judgment is, and whether it has been renewed, tells you how long the exposure can last.
Wage garnishment on an ordinary judgment is capped at the lesser of 20 percent of your weekly disposable earnings or 40 percent of the amount by which those earnings exceed 48 times the minimum hourly wage. For biweekly, semimonthly, and monthly paychecks the multiplier is 96, 104, and 208. If a 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 that is proven necessary to support you or your family. Your employer cannot fire you because wages are garnished for a single judgment.
Bank levies work differently. California automatically exempts a set dollar amount in a deposit account per judgment debtor, and the bank must apply that protection before turning money over, without you filing anything. It does not apply to levies for wages owed to someone else, child or spousal support, or debts owed to the state. Real estate is protected by the homestead exemption, which is the greater of the prior year’s countywide median single-family home price, up to a ceiling, or a statutory floor, and both figures adjust each year for inflation.
When Bankruptcy Is the Better Answer to a Judgment
Filing Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 stops most garnishments, levies, and pending lawsuits the moment the case is filed. Chapter 7 can eliminate the unsecured debt behind the judgment, including credit cards, medical bills, and personal loans, and most cases finish in roughly four months. Chapter 13 reorganizes debts into one payment over three to five years and suits filers with steady income who need to protect equity or catch up on a mortgage or car loan.
California has opted out of the federal exemption list, so filers pick between two state systems for the whole case: the standard system, which includes the homestead exemption, or the alternative system with a smaller residence exemption and a flexible wildcard. You also generally must have lived in California for at least 730 days to use the state’s exemptions. Choosing the system that fits your home equity, vehicle, and savings is one of the most consequential decisions in a case, and it is one the firm’s board-certified attorneys make carefully before anything is filed.
Bankruptcy is not always the right move, and the firm will say so. If the lawsuit is defective, if the debt is time-barred, or if a negotiated settlement costs you less, those routes may protect you better. Because the firm handles both bankruptcy and its alternatives, the recommendation follows your facts.
Questions Costa Mesa Residents Ask About Lawsuits and Judgments
How long do I have to respond to a collection lawsuit?
The deadline is stated on the summons and runs from the date you were served. Do not guess at it. A response must be a written answer filed with the court, and missing the deadline lets the plaintiff seek a default judgment.
Can a creditor sue me over a very old debt?
Only within the limitations period. Written contract and book account claims generally carry four years, and oral contract claims two. But the expired deadline is a defense you must raise in your written answer. If you do not, the court may still enter judgment.
If I make a small payment, does it restart the clock?
A payment cannot revive a debt that is already time-barred. A signed written acknowledgment of a debt that is still within the period can restart it, so avoid signing collector paperwork without advice.
How much of my paycheck can be garnished?
For an ordinary judgment, no more than the lesser of 20 percent of your weekly disposable earnings or 40 percent of what those earnings exceed 48 times the applicable minimum hourly wage. Different multipliers apply to biweekly, semimonthly, and monthly pay. You can ask the court to exempt more if the garnishment leaves too little to support your family.
Can my employer fire me because of a garnishment?
Not for a garnishment based on a single judgment. California law prohibits an employer from terminating you for that reason.
Does bankruptcy stop a garnishment or bank levy?
Yes, in most cases. The automatic stay takes effect when the petition is filed, and creditors must stop collection activity. In an emergency, the firm can often prepare and file quickly.
How long does a judgment last in California?
Ten years from entry, with the possibility of renewal by the creditor. For certain medical and personal debt judgments under the dollar limits set by recent law, renewal is allowed once and for five years.
Can a judgment against me be erased in bankruptcy?
If the underlying debt is dischargeable, such as credit card or medical debt, Chapter 7 can eliminate it. Some debts, including child support, alimony, most student loans, and most government fines, generally cannot be discharged.
Will a judgment lien force me to sell my Costa Mesa home?
Not automatically. A recorded judgment can attach to equity, but California’s homestead exemption protects a significant portion, and bankruptcy can sometimes remove the lien or let you keep the home through a Chapter 13 plan.
What if the collector violated the law while pursuing me?
California’s Rosenthal Act covers original creditors as well as collection agencies. A consumer can recover actual damages, an additional $100 to $1,000 for willful and knowing violations, and attorney fees if successful. The deadline to sue is one year, and a collector can avoid liability by correcting a curable violation within 15 days of learning of it.
Is it worth hiring a lawyer for a small collection suit?
Often yes. A default judgment of any size opens the door to garnishment and levies, and a limitations defense or an ownership challenge can end a case that looks hopeless. A free consultation will tell you where you stand.
Do I have to come into an office to get help?
No. The firm handles cases fully by phone, email, video, and online chat, and offers 100 percent virtual consultations.
Serving Costa Mesa and Orange County Lawsuit and Judgment Clients
Wadhwani & Shanfeld represents clients in Costa Mesa and across Orange County, including Newport Beach, Santa Ana, Huntington Beach, Anaheim, Garden Grove, Fullerton, Westminster, Buena Park, Tustin, La Habra, Placentia, Mission Viejo, Laguna Niguel, and Cypress. The firm also serves clients throughout Los Angeles County, in communities such as Long Beach, Lakewood, Torrance, Compton, Inglewood, Norwalk, Bellflower, Paramount, Gardena, Cerritos, and Signal Hill, along with the San Fernando Valley, Santa Clarita, Lancaster, Palmdale, and the Antelope Valley.
Inland, the firm works with residents of Riverside and San Bernardino Counties, including Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Upland, Fontana, San Bernardino, Pomona, Chino, Chino Hills, Montclair, Claremont, Glendora, West Covina, Riverside, and the Coachella Valley. Whichever county the suit or judgment sits in, the same questions apply: what the creditor can take, how long the judgment lasts, and whether bankruptcy ends it.
Talk to a Costa Mesa Judgment Defense Attorney Today
A summons has a deadline and a judgment has a collection plan behind it, and both get harder to deal with the longer they sit. Call Wadhwani & Shanfeld for a free consultation and speak directly with a Costa Mesa judgment defense attorney about your lawsuit, your garnishment, or your levy. The firm will review your income, property, and debts, explain every option inside and outside of bankruptcy, and tell you honestly which one protects you best.
