Mission Hills Lawsuits & Judgments Lawyer
A summons arrives, a bank account freezes, or a paycheck comes up short, and suddenly a debt you were already struggling with has a court case number attached. Wadhwani & Shanfeld is a consumer bankruptcy and debt relief law firm that represents people sued by creditors and people already carrying judgments, serving Mission Hills and the surrounding San Fernando Valley as part of its work across Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties.
If you are looking for a Mission Hills lawsuits and judgments lawyer, the first thing to know is that the lawsuit and the judgment are two different problems with two different clocks. Before judgment, you have a short window to respond and real defenses to raise. After judgment, the creditor gains tools that reach your wages and bank accounts, and your job shifts to limiting the damage or ending the judgment’s power altogether.
Mission Hills residents file their bankruptcy cases in the San Fernando Valley Division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California, which lists Mission Hills among the communities it serves. That matters because a bankruptcy filing is often the fastest way to freeze a lawsuit or a garnishment, and we file in every division of that court.
Why Choose Wadhwani & Shanfeld for Creditor Lawsuits and Judgment Problems
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, with more than 90 years of combined legal experience. Its attorneys handle Chapter 7, Chapter 13, debt settlement, wage garnishment, creditor lawsuits, foreclosure defense, and IRS tax debt for clients across Los Angeles County, Orange County, Riverside County, and San Bernardino County, including the San Fernando Valley communities around Mission Hills. You speak with an attorney from your first call, and cases can be handled entirely by phone, email, video, or online chat, with 100% virtual consultations available.
Raj Wadhwani, a founding shareholder and Board-Certified Specialist in Consumer Bankruptcy, 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 Board-Certified Specialist, earned his law degree from the University of Southern California and has handled more than 10,000 bankruptcy cases over three decades.
Why does that matter when a collection firm has sued you? Because the right answer is rarely obvious. Sometimes the best move is a written answer that raises a defense. Sometimes it is a negotiated settlement. Sometimes it is a bankruptcy filing that wipes out the debt and the lawsuit with it. A firm that handles all three can recommend what actually fits, and we move fast when a garnishment or levy is days away. Consultations are free.
Common Lawsuit and Judgment Situations We See
- Credit Card Collection Suits: Banks and debt buyers file in Los Angeles County Superior Court, often years after the account went delinquent. The case may be built on a written contract or a book account, and either way the lawsuit has to be filed within four years of default.
- Medical Debt Judgments: Unpaid hospital and provider bills are frequently sold to collectors who sue. Recent changes to California law limit how these judgments can be renewed, which can matter a great deal to an older judgment.
- Personal Loan and Payday Loan Suits: Lenders sue on signed loan agreements, and the paperwork often reveals problems with who actually owns the debt.
- Time-Barred Debt Suits: Some collectors sue on debts past the deadline, counting on you not to answer. Oral agreements carry a two-year limit and written ones four, but the court will not apply that defense unless you raise it.
- Active Wage Garnishments: Once a creditor holds a judgment, it can instruct your employer to withhold part of every paycheck. The cap on that withholding is set by statute and depends on your earnings.
- Bank Levies: A creditor can freeze and seize funds from your account. A portion of your balance is automatically protected without any paperwork, but only a portion.
- Old Judgments and Renewals: A California money judgment is enforceable for 10 years and can be renewed, which means a judgment you thought was dead may still have teeth.
- Repossession Deficiency Suits: After a vehicle is repossessed and sold, the lender may sue for the shortfall, and defects in the repossession notice can defeat that claim.
What to Do After You Are Served in a Collection Lawsuit
Do not ignore the papers. A default judgment is the most common way these cases are lost, and it happens to people who had perfectly good defenses. The summons states a deadline to file a written response, and a phone call to the collector does not stop that clock. Write down the date you were served, keep the entire packet, and call us before the deadline passes. Collection firms such as Hunt & Henriques, Reese Law Group, and Patenaude & Felix file these suits regularly, and we can tell you quickly whether to answer, negotiate, or file bankruptcy.
Gather what you have: the summons and complaint, recent statements, any letters from collectors, and records of your last payment on the account. That last date matters. The limitations clock runs from default, and a payment on a debt that is already time-barred does not revive it. Only a signed written acknowledgment can restart the period, so do not sign anything a collector sends you without talking to a lawyer first.
Most collection suits against Mission Hills residents are filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, which operates courthouses across the county, including San Fernando and Van Nuys in the Valley. Your summons will say where the case is pending. If you already have a judgment and a levy or garnishment is underway, the decisions get more urgent. You may be able to claim additional earnings as exempt if you can show the money is needed to support yourself or your family, but that requires a filing, not a phone call.
Common mistakes are predictable. People pay a small amount to “show good faith” on a time-barred debt, assume a collector’s letter is a court order, or wait until the garnishment hits before calling anyone. A bankruptcy filing triggers the automatic stay, which halts most lawsuits, garnishments, and levies the moment the case is filed, so waiting can cost you paychecks you could have kept.
How Garnishments, Bank Levies, and Old Judgments Actually Work
On an ordinary judgment, a wage garnishment is capped at the lesser of two figures: 20% of your weekly disposable earnings, or 40% of the amount by which those earnings exceed 48 times the minimum hourly wage. If the local minimum wage is higher than the state’s, the local rate is used. For biweekly, semimonthly, and monthly paychecks, the multiplier becomes 96, 104, and 208 instead of 48. Lower earners can lose far less than 20%, and some lose nothing. Your employer also cannot fire you because your wages are garnished for a single judgment.
Bank levies work differently. California automatically shields a set amount in your deposit accounts, and your bank must apply that protection before turning money over to the levying officer, with no claim of exemption required. 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 still be taken unless it is exempt for another reason.
Judgments also expire, with limits. A money judgment is enforceable for 10 years from entry, and after that enforcement stops and liens created by enforcement are extinguished. A creditor can file to renew, extending enforceability another 10 years from the filing date. But for medical expense judgments with unpaid principal under $200,000 and personal debt judgments with unpaid principal under $50,000, renewal is now limited to a single five-year extension. If you are looking at an older judgment, the dates matter enormously.
Bankruptcy as a Response to a Lawsuit or Judgment
Chapter 7 can discharge the debt underlying most consumer lawsuits, including credit cards, medical bills, and personal loans, and the automatic stay stops the case in the meantime. Chapter 13 fits people with steady income who need to stop a garnishment and repay on a court-approved plan over three to five years. Either way, the exemptions you choose decide what you keep.
California has opted out of the federal exemptions. A filer chooses one of two state systems for the entire case: the traditional system with a homestead protection tied to local home prices, or the alternative system with a smaller residence exemption and a flexible wildcard that often suits renters. You generally must have lived in California for 730 days to use these exemptions. Making that choice correctly is among the most important decisions in a case, and it is one our board-certified attorneys make carefully for each client. We work through every available exemption before you file.
Bankruptcy is not always the answer. If the debt is time-barred, a defense may end the case outright. If the amount is modest, a negotiated settlement may cost less than filing. If the collector broke the rules, you may have claims of your own under California’s Rosenthal Act, which covers original creditors as well as collectors, allows recovery of actual damages and up to $1,000 more for willful violations, and shifts attorney fees to a prevailing consumer. The suit deadline under that law is one year, so do not sit on a violation.
Questions Mission Hills Residents Ask About Lawsuits and Judgments
How long do I have to respond to a collection lawsuit?
The summons states your deadline for filing a written response with the court. Missing it allows the creditor to ask for a default judgment. Check the date on your papers immediately and call us well before it arrives.
Can a creditor sue me for a debt that is years old?
They can try. The limit is four years on written contracts and book accounts, and two years on oral agreements. But expiration is a defense you must raise in a written answer. If you do not respond, the court can still enter judgment.
If I make a payment on an old debt, does the clock restart?
For a debt already past the deadline, no. A payment cannot revive it. Only a signed written acknowledgment of the debt can restart the period, which is why signing collector paperwork carelessly is risky.
How much of my paycheck can be garnished?
On an ordinary judgment, the lesser of 20% of weekly disposable earnings or 40% of the amount by which those earnings exceed 48 times the minimum hourly wage, adjusted for pay periods longer than a week. You can also ask the court to exempt earnings you can prove you need for your family’s support.
Will bankruptcy stop a garnishment or bank levy?
Yes. Filing Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 triggers the automatic stay, which halts most garnishments and levies as soon as the case is filed. In an emergency, we can often prepare and file quickly.
Is any money in my bank account protected from a levy?
Yes. California automatically protects a set amount per judgment debtor, and the bank applies it before sending anything to the levying officer. It does not cover levies for wages owed to another, support obligations, or debts owed to the state.
How long does a judgment last in California?
Ten years from entry. The creditor can renew it for another 10 years, though recent law limits renewals to one five-year extension for qualifying medical and personal debt judgments under the dollar limits described above.
Can I get a judgment removed from my record by filing bankruptcy?
Bankruptcy can discharge the debt behind a judgment and stop enforcement, and in some cases a judgment lien on property can be addressed in the case. Which tools apply depends on the type of debt, the property involved, and your exemptions, so it takes a review of your specific facts.
Could my employer fire me over a garnishment?
Not for a garnishment on a single judgment. California law bars that termination. Your employer is not otherwise notified of a bankruptcy unless it is a creditor or must stop a garnishment as a result of your filing.
Is it worth hiring a lawyer for a collection suit over a small balance?
Often, yes. A default judgment on even a modest debt can lead to garnishment and a 10-year enforcement window, and a time-barred or poorly documented claim may be dismissible. A free consultation will tell you whether the case is worth fighting.
What if a collector is harassing me or breaking the rules?
California’s Rosenthal Act may let you recover damages and attorney fees, and it applies to original creditors as well as third-party collectors. The suit deadline is one year, and collectors get a limited chance to correct a curable violation, so document everything and call us promptly.
Which bankruptcy court would my case go to?
Your street address zip code determines the division. Mission Hills falls within the San Fernando Valley Division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California, and we handle cases in every division.
Serving Mission Hills Lawsuit and Judgment Clients Across Southern California
We work with clients in Mission Hills and throughout the San Fernando Valley, including North Hills, Sylmar, San Fernando, Granada Hills, Northridge, Reseda, Van Nuys, North Hollywood, Encino, Woodland Hills, and Sherman Oaks, and across the Westside in Hollywood and Santa Monica. We also serve Santa Clarita and Los Angeles, along with Long Beach, Lakewood, Torrance, Compton, Inglewood, and the rest of Los Angeles County.
Beyond the Valley, our reach extends to the Antelope Valley communities of Lancaster, Palmdale, and Acton, the Inland Empire cities of Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Upland, Fontana, San Bernardino, Pomona, Chino, Chino Hills, Montclair, Claremont, Glendora, and West Covina, and Riverside and the Coachella Valley. In Orange County, we represent people 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, along with Norwalk, Bellflower, Paramount, Gardena, Cerritos, Cypress, Signal Hill, and Huntington Park. Wherever the creditor filed, you can handle your case remotely if you prefer.
Talk to a Mission Hills Lawsuits and Judgments Attorney Today
A lawsuit has a deadline, and a judgment has a clock of its own. Both are easier to manage the sooner you know where you stand. Call Wadhwani & Shanfeld for a free consultation, speak directly with an attorney, and learn whether a defense, a settlement, or bankruptcy gives you the strongest way out. If you are searching for a Mission Hills lawsuits and judgments attorney who will give you a straight recommendation, including when bankruptcy is not the answer, we are ready to take your call.
