Re: jail time for not paying Circuit Court claims
Posted by:
criminal or civil
()
Date: July 05, 2015 11:02PM
Keep in mind, I'm not a lawyer. But...
Generally, jail time is not a factor when it comes to not paying judgments. In the event you lose your case, then the plaintiff will have what is called a "judgement" against you, for a specific dollar amount. This will provide the plaintiff with the ability to then use the court system to collect on that judgment through a variety of means, such as:
1) Garnishment of your wages (if you are employed)
2) Garnishment of your bank accounts
3) Seizure of property that you own via a Fieri facias
4) Seizure of equity in property that you own
In the meantime, your credit report will take a hit if there is judgement in your name on the books; it can damage your ability to get leases on apartments, cars, etc... It also won't help your employment prospects if potential employers background check and look for civil judgments. And a judgement will be on your record for 10 years.
My advice; find the plaintiff before the proceedings, and see if they would like to mediate the issue. Vindictiveness on their side aside, this is about them getting some form of financial result for their efforts; if you are willing to make some form of accommodation, they might listen.
One last question; is this a hearing or the actual trial?