Hollywood Lawsuits & Judgments Lawyer
A summons arrives, or a bank account suddenly shows a hold, or a paycheck comes up short, and the debt you thought was quietly aging has turned into a court case. Wadhwani & Shanfeld is a consumer bankruptcy and debt relief law firm that represents Hollywood residents and clients throughout Los Angeles County, Orange County, Riverside County, and San Bernardino County who have been sued by creditors or who are living under a judgment.
A Hollywood lawsuits & judgments lawyer works on two fronts. Before judgment, the job is deciding whether to answer, negotiate, or stop the case with a bankruptcy filing. After judgment, the job is limiting what the creditor can actually reach: your wages, your bank account, your home. The law gives debtors more protection on both fronts than most people realize, but those protections usually have to be asserted, and the deadlines are short.
Collectors count on silence. A large share of consumer debt suits end in default judgments simply because the person served never filed a written answer. Everything below is about not letting that happen, and about what to do if it already has.
Why Hollywood Clients Choose Wadhwani & Shanfeld for Creditor Lawsuits
Wadhwani & Shanfeld has helped more than 30,000 individuals and families get out from under debt, serving clients across Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties, with Hollywood and the surrounding Los Angeles communities at the center of that work. The firm handles Chapter 7, Chapter 13, debt settlement, foreclosure defense, wage garnishment, creditor lawsuits, and IRS tax debt, so a lawsuit gets evaluated against every tool available rather than the one a narrower practice happens to sell. When you call, you speak with an attorney directly, and the firm acts fast when a garnishment, foreclosure sale, or repossession is days away. Consultations are free, and cases can be handled entirely by phone, email, video, and online chat.
The firm is led by two founding shareholders, Raj Wadhwani and Greg Shanfeld, both Board-Certified Specialists in Consumer Bankruptcy through the American Board of Certification. Together they bring more than 90 years of combined legal experience. Greg Shanfeld, a University of Southern California law graduate, has handled more than 10,000 bankruptcy cases over three decades. Raj Wadhwani, a Southwestern Law School graduate, 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. The firm files in every division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California.
That bankruptcy depth matters in a lawsuit because bankruptcy is often the strongest defensive move available. The automatic stay halts the suit, the judgment enforcement, and the garnishment the moment a case is filed. A Hollywood lawsuits & judgments attorney who also files bankruptcy daily can tell you honestly whether to fight the suit, settle it, or end it.
Situations We See When a Creditor Sues or Collects on a Judgment
- Credit Card Collection Suits: Debt buyers and collection law firms sue on old card balances, often without the paper trail to prove they own the account. Their claim has to be supported, and an answer forces them to try.
- Medical Debt Judgments: Hospital and provider bills that went to collections can become judgments. Judgments on medical expenses now receive special renewal limits, which can matter years later.
- Personal Loan and Payday Loan Suits: Unsecured loans that fell behind after a job loss or reduced hours are common targets, and these debts are generally dischargeable in Chapter 7.
- Wage Garnishment After Judgment: Once a creditor holds a judgment, it can direct your employer to withhold a portion of each paycheck. Hollywood’s entertainment, hospitality, and service workers with irregular income often qualify for a reduced garnishment through a claim of exemption.
- Bank Levies: A levy freezes funds in your account. California protects a base amount of deposits automatically, without a claim, but money above that can be taken, and some levies, such as those for child support, do not get that protection.
- Deficiency Suits After Repossession: When a repossessed car sells for less than the loan balance, the lender may sue for the gap. The repossession notice rules matter a great deal to whether that deficiency is collectible at all.
- Judgments Nearing Renewal: A California money judgment lasts 10 years and can be renewed. Recent changes limit renewal for medical and smaller personal debt judgments, so the age and type of your judgment affects its future.
- Collector Misconduct: Harassing calls, false threats, or suing on a time-barred debt can violate California’s Rosenthal Act, which gives consumers a claim of their own.
What to Do Right Now If You Have Been Served or Hit With a Judgment
If you have been served with a summons and complaint, the clock starts on the day you receive it, and the response deadline is printed on the papers. Do not ignore it, and do not assume a phone call to the collector pauses it. A default judgment is entered against people who simply never filed. Call an attorney before the deadline so the response can be prepared in time, or so a bankruptcy can be filed first.
Read the complaint for what it actually claims. Check who is suing, whether they are the original creditor or a buyer of the debt, and how old the account is. In California, a suit on a written contract debt generally must be filed within four years, and on an oral contract within two. If the suit is outside those windows, that is a defense, but it is one you must raise in a written answer. The court will not raise it for you. Be careful about making a payment or signing anything the collector sends, because while a payment cannot revive a debt that is already time-barred, a signed written acknowledgment of the debt can restart the clock on one that is not.
Most consumer collection cases from Hollywood are heard in Los Angeles County Superior Court, which has a courthouse in Hollywood as well as the Stanley Mosk Courthouse and Spring Street Courthouse in downtown Los Angeles. Your summons will say which court your case is in. Keep every paper you receive, including envelopes, since service dates matter.
If a judgment has already been entered, the priority shifts to protecting income and accounts. If your wages are being garnished, you may be able to file a claim of exemption showing that the portion being taken is needed to support you or your family. If a bank levy hits, the protected deposit amount applies automatically, but you should still review the levy for anything that should have been released. Filing Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 stops most garnishments and levies when the case is filed, and in an emergency the firm can often prepare and file quickly.
For bankruptcy filings, the debtor’s zip code determines which division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California hears the case. Hollywood filers should confirm their division with the court’s locator tool, and the firm handles that as part of preparing the petition. Avoid the common mistakes: ignoring the summons, trusting a collector’s verbal promises, paying a small amount hoping it ends the suit, or paying a document preparer who cannot represent you if a creditor objects.
How Wage Garnishment and Bank Levies Actually Work in California
On an ordinary consumer judgment, a garnishment is capped. The creditor can take no more than 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. Where a local minimum wage is higher than the state’s, the local rate is used in that calculation, which helps workers in Los Angeles. For biweekly, semimonthly, and monthly paychecks, the multiplier is 96, 104, and 208 times the minimum wage instead of 48. Employers are barred by Labor Code section 2929 from firing you because wages are garnished for a single judgment.
Beyond the cap, you can ask the court to reduce a garnishment further by showing that the withheld amount is necessary to support you or your family. This is a claim of exemption, and it is not automatic; it must be filed, with supporting figures on rent, food, and other necessities.
Bank levies work differently. California automatically protects a fixed amount in a deposit account per judgment debtor, and the bank must apply that protection before turning money over, with no claim required. That protection does not apply to levies for wages owed to another person, child or spousal support, or debts owed to the state. Because the protected amount is adjusted periodically, a lawyer will check the current figure against your account balance.
Judgment Life, Renewal, and the Home Equity Question
A California money judgment can be enforced for 10 years from entry. After that, enforcement stops and liens created through enforcement are extinguished unless the creditor files a renewal, which extends enforceability for another 10 years. A change in the law limits renewal to a single five-year extension for judgments on medical expenses with unpaid principal under $200,000 and for personal debt judgments with unpaid principal under $50,000. If you are sitting on an older judgment, its age and type determine how much longer it can hurt you.
A judgment creditor can also record an abstract of judgment, creating a lien on real property you own. Homeowners should know that California’s homestead exemption protects a significant amount of equity in a forced sale, calculated from county median home prices within a statutory floor and ceiling that adjust yearly. In bankruptcy, California filers choose between two exemption systems, and the choice depends on whether you own a home, how much equity you have, and what other property you need to keep. Choosing the right system is one of the most consequential decisions in a case, and one the firm’s board-certified attorneys make with care. To use California’s exemptions, you must have lived in the state at least 730 days.
Frequently Asked Questions About Lawsuits and Judgments
What happens if I do not respond to a debt lawsuit?
The creditor can ask the court for a default judgment. Once entered, it can be used to garnish wages and levy bank accounts. Responding in writing before the deadline preserves your defenses and keeps the creditor to its burden of proof.
How long does a creditor have to sue me?
For debts on a written contract, generally four years. For oral contracts, two years. Many credit card and loan agreements are written, so the four-year period is the one most commonly at issue. The deadline is a defense you must raise in your answer.
Can a lawsuit be stopped by filing bankruptcy?
Yes. When a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 petition is filed, the automatic stay immediately halts the lawsuit, judgment enforcement, bank levies, and wage garnishments. Creditors must stop collection activity.
Can a judgment be wiped out in bankruptcy?
Judgments on most consumer debts, such as credit cards, medical bills, and personal loans, are generally dischargeable. Some obligations survive, including child support, alimony, and most student loans, so the type of debt behind the judgment matters.
How much of my paycheck can be garnished?
On an ordinary judgment, the lesser of 20 percent of weekly disposable earnings or 40 percent of the amount above 48 times the applicable minimum hourly wage. You may be able to reduce it further by showing the money is necessary to support your family.
Will my employer fire me over a garnishment?
California law prohibits an employer from firing you because your wages are garnished for one judgment. Your employer will learn of the garnishment because it must withhold the money, but it cannot lawfully terminate you for that reason alone.
If I make a small payment, does that restart the statute of limitations?
A payment cannot revive a debt that is already time-barred. A signed written acknowledgment can restart the period, though, so do not sign anything a collector sends without having it reviewed.
Can a collector sue me over a debt that is too old?
Some do anyway, hoping you will not respond. If the case was filed after the limitations period ran, you must raise that in a written answer or the court can still enter judgment. Suing on a time-barred debt can also create exposure for the collector under the Rosenthal Act.
What is the Rosenthal Act and can I use it against a collector?
It is California’s debt collection statute, and unlike the federal law it covers original creditors as well as third-party collectors. A consumer can recover actual damages, and a court can add $100 to $1,000 for willful and knowing violations, plus attorney fees to a prevailing consumer. The suit must be brought within one year, and the collector can avoid liability by correcting a curable violation within 15 days of learning of it.
Do I have to go to court if I hire a lawyer for a collection suit?
Often your attorney handles the response and negotiations, and the firm works with clients by phone, email, video, and online chat. If a hearing needs your attendance, your lawyer will tell you before it happens.
Is it worth hiring a lawyer for a small judgment?
Often yes, because even a modest judgment can carry interest, grow through added costs, and support a wage garnishment that lasts for years. A consultation is free, and the answer may be as simple as a negotiated resolution or a claim of exemption.
What if the creditor renews my old judgment?
Renewal extends enforceability for 10 years, though limits apply to certain medical and smaller personal debt judgments. An attorney can review whether the renewal was proper and what options remain, including bankruptcy.
Serving Hollywood and Surrounding Lawsuit and Judgment Clients
From Hollywood, our attorneys represent clients across Los Angeles, including nearby Sherman Oaks, Van Nuys, North Hollywood, Studio City area neighborhoods, and the Westside communities including Santa Monica. Throughout the San Fernando Valley, we work with families in Encino, Woodland Hills, Reseda, Northridge, Granada Hills, North Hills, Mission Hills, San Fernando, and Sylmar.
The firm’s reach extends across Los Angeles County to Long Beach, Lakewood, Torrance, Compton, Inglewood, Santa Clarita, and the Antelope Valley, including Lancaster, Palmdale, and Acton. In the east and south, we serve Norwalk, Bellflower, Paramount, Gardena, Cerritos, Cypress, Signal Hill, and Huntington Park, as well as Pomona, Claremont, Glendora, and West Covina.
In Orange County, we help clients in Anaheim, Santa Ana, Garden Grove, Buena Park, Fullerton, Huntington Beach, Westminster, Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, Tustin, La Habra, Placentia, Mission Viejo, and Laguna Niguel. In Riverside and San Bernardino Counties and across the Inland Empire, we serve Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Upland, Fontana, San Bernardino, Chino, Chino Hills, Montclair, Riverside, and the Coachella Valley.
Talk to a Hollywood Lawsuits & Judgments Attorney Today
A summons has a deadline, and a judgment does not get smaller on its own. Whether you have just been served or have lived under a judgment for years, a Hollywood lawsuits and judgments attorney at Wadhwani & Shanfeld can review the paperwork, explain whether to answer, negotiate, or file bankruptcy, and move quickly if a garnishment or levy is already underway. Call for a free consultation and speak directly with an attorney, or handle your entire case remotely, whichever is easier for you.
