Complaint Review: COHEN AND SLAMOWITZ - Woodbury New York

Crystal, It sounds like they engaged in what is known as "sewer service" where they serve a bogus address knowing you will not get it and will not respond. This is unethical and illegal. If this was the case, be sure to file a Bar Association complaint against all "lawyers" involved, and also file a civil lawsuit for your damages. Then go to the DA and seek criminal charges, as it is a felony in most states to file a falsified document with the court. Get these freaks disbarred, and put them in jail. They have a long documented history of underhanded and illegal tactics. Good luck!

Crystal, It sounds like they engaged in what is known as "sewer service" where they serve a bogus address knowing you will not get it and will not respond. This is unethical and illegal. If this was the case, be sure to file a Bar Association complaint against all "lawyers" involved, and also file a civil lawsuit for your damages. Then go to the DA and seek criminal charges, as it is a felony in most states to file a falsified document with the court. Get these freaks disbarred, and put them in jail. They have a long documented history of underhanded and illegal tactics. Good luck!

Crystal, It sounds like they engaged in what is known as "sewer service" where they serve a bogus address knowing you will not get it and will not respond. This is unethical and illegal. If this was the case, be sure to file a Bar Association complaint against all "lawyers" involved, and also file a civil lawsuit for your damages. Then go to the DA and seek criminal charges, as it is a felony in most states to file a falsified document with the court. Get these freaks disbarred, and put them in jail. They have a long documented history of underhanded and illegal tactics. Good luck!

Robert is exactly right. Except for in very limited circumstances, usually involving debts to a government agency or contractor, garnishments can only stem from a money judgment. So it sounds like you have a default judgment against you. Your only real hope of getting that judgment vacated is to find a procedural irregularity. Most likely, this would be in the form of improper service. Even that is probably a long shot. But its worth a try. At any rate, you're going to need a lawyer if you want this to go away, and there is, by no means, any guarantee that a lawyer will even do you any good. Find out how you were served, and then find a lawyer who will at least give you a free initial consultation to see if you have any recourse. Bankruptcy is another option. Best of luck!

In order to have your wages garnished, 2 different court actions had to take place. 1. They sued you in civil court and won a money judgment against you. 2. After a period of time whereas you did not make any payments to satisfy the judgment, they went back to the court and requested an enforcement order (wage garnishment) from the court and the court granted the enforcement order. During BOTH of these proceedings you should have been contacted by the court and given the dates/times of the hearings so that you could respond to the original civil suit as well as to the request for the enforcement order. You should go to your employer HR/payroll department and obtain a copy of the enforcement order to determine what court granted the judgment and ordered the garnishment. Once you know the name of the court, you should go to the clerk of the court to obtain copies of ALL DOCUMENTS that were filed in the case against you, including PROOF OF SERVICE. IF you were not properly served, you should consult with an attorney to determine how to petition the court to vacate the judgment and the enforcement order. I would not expect any help from the Office of the AG because this matter has been adjudicated - there is a money judgment against you. An expired SOL is an affirmative defense to a civil action, but the courts will NOT envoke this protection for you. You must respond to the summons and assert an expired SOL as your affirmative defense. You're only hope at this point is that you can establish that you were not properly served and that the improper service was DELIBERATE on the part of the plaintiffs. This would be cause to have the judgment vacated and the case reheard. Note that even if you are successful at having the current judgment and enforcement order vacated, it is very likely that there would be a new trial for the money judgment. I suggest you obtain all copies of the court case against you and you consult with a competent attorney in your area.