Vacating Default Judgements

 There is a restitution provision available for anyone whose wages have been garnished for a few years due to a matter that should not have happened. Because many of my clients in situations such as this did not know that they were ever sued before, there is a section of the Civil Practice Law and Rules, 5015, which allows a court to vacate a default judgment for improper service of process. It is rather common for us to discover when we examine the affidavit of service for this lawsuit that our clients were served at the wrong address. This discrepancy means we can have the entire lawsuit dismissed and allow our clients to be paid restitution for any money that was wrongfully collected. Results like these are not guaranteed, but for almost every 5015 motion that we have filed, we have had a favorable result for our client, resulting in a vacatur of the default judgment. Garnished wages  are nothing to be ignored, and those affected are not helpless. There are still many defenses available.