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Hi,

In another life I was in a very bad relationship that ended with the dude taking me to small claims court over a dispute over money he lent me. I had a judgement against me which I did end up paying shortly after. I haven't thought about it in forever because the door was shut on that but I was curious if something like this/anything that negatively impacts a persons personal credit had to be disclosed when applying. I don't have T14 dreams (yah yah) if that means anything.

momoyome wrote:Hi,

In another life I was in a very bad relationship that ended with the dude taking me to small claims court over a dispute over money he lent me. I had a judgement against me which I did end up paying shortly after. I haven't thought about it in forever because the door was shut on that but I was curious if something like this/anything that negatively impacts a persons personal credit had to be disclosed when applying. I don't have T14 dreams (yah yah) if that means anything.

I don't think most law school applications ask about this. I've looked at over a dozen and didn't see anything. Most were T14, but I doubt it is a normal question. They usually ask about arrests/convictions and the like. The C&F portion of the bar may ask about it, but as long as you've paid it and put it behind you, I would guess you'll be okay.

Perhaps one of the more knowledgeable vets can chime in. I just want to assure you that as long as it is taken care of you should be alright. Even if you do have to disclose (which I doubt) I don't think this is anything that would get you rejected from a school you would have been accepted to without this..

HTH

Statute of Frauds?

HonestAdvice wrote:Statute of Frauds?

I just looked it up. What happened was I did sign a contract to repay money he wrote after he forced me to quit a job. There were verbal agreements (dumb, but I was 19 and had zero real world skills) that I'd pay for things on my credit card (so dumb, so so so dumb) as a way to make a dent on repayment. This is where small claims had to be involved. In the end I had to pay the judgement since it was ruled in his favor plus a massive credit card debt. Sucked so hard but financial and romantic lessons were learned.

momoyome wrote:

HonestAdvice wrote:Statute of Frauds?

I just looked it up. What happened was I did sign a contract to repay money he wrote after he forced me to quit a job. There were verbal agreements (dumb, but I was 19 and had zero real world skills) that I'd pay for things on my credit card (so dumb, so so so dumb) as a way to make a dent on repayment. This is where small claims had to be involved. In the end I had to pay the judgement since it was ruled in his favor plus a massive credit card debt. Sucked so hard but financial and romantic lessons were learned.

I don't know if The People's Court counts as a real judgment.

HonestAdvice wrote:

momoyome wrote:

HonestAdvice wrote:Statute of Frauds?

I just looked it up. What happened was I did sign a contract to repay money he wrote after he forced me to quit a job. There were verbal agreements (dumb, but I was 19 and had zero real world skills) that I'd pay for things on my credit card (so dumb, so so so dumb) as a way to make a dent on repayment. This is where small claims had to be involved. In the end I had to pay the judgement since it was ruled in his favor plus a massive credit card debt. Sucked so hard but financial and romantic lessons were learned.

I don't know if The People's Court counts as a real judgment.

It wasn't though I was contact by Judge Joe Brown's show! Haha, decided to not air my dirty laundry for all to potentially see. Was just a regular small claims at the courthouse.

HonestAdvice wrote:

momoyome wrote:

HonestAdvice wrote:Statute of Frauds?

I just looked it up. What happened was I did sign a contract to repay money he wrote after he forced me to quit a job. There were verbal agreements (dumb, but I was 19 and had zero real world skills) that I'd pay for things on my credit card (so dumb, so so so dumb) as a way to make a dent on repayment. This is where small claims had to be involved. In the end I had to pay the judgement since it was ruled in his favor plus a massive credit card debt. Sucked so hard but financial and romantic lessons were learned.

I don't know if The People's Court counts as a real judgment.

Haha!

momoyome wrote:

HonestAdvice wrote:

momoyome wrote:

HonestAdvice wrote:Statute of Frauds?

I just looked it up. What happened was I did sign a contract to repay money he wrote after he forced me to quit a job. There were verbal agreements (dumb, but I was 19 and had zero real world skills) that I'd pay for things on my credit card (so dumb, so so so dumb) as a way to make a dent on repayment. This is where small claims had to be involved. In the end I had to pay the judgement since it was ruled in his favor plus a massive credit card debt. Sucked so hard but financial and romantic lessons were learned.

I don't know if The People's Court counts as a real judgment.

It wasn't though I was contact by Judge Joe Brown's show! Haha, decided to not air my dirty laundry for all to potentially see. Was just a regular small claims at the courthouse.

OMG! They did!? That is so funny because I literally just read HonestAdvice's post lol I think you made a good call not going on. In modern times once you end up on TV it is on the internet FOREVERRRRRRRRRR

I think you'll be perfectly fine though. It's taken care of so if it ever is an issue with C&F (which I doubt, but if they bust your balls) you should be just fine. I would recommend getting proof you paid what you were ordered to.

Barack O'Drama wrote:

momoyome wrote:

HonestAdvice wrote:

momoyome wrote:

HonestAdvice wrote:Statute of Frauds?

I just looked it up. What happened was I did sign a contract to repay money he wrote after he forced me to quit a job. There were verbal agreements (dumb, but I was 19 and had zero real world skills) that I'd pay for things on my credit card (so dumb, so so so dumb) as a way to make a dent on repayment. This is where small claims had to be involved. In the end I had to pay the judgement since it was ruled in his favor plus a massive credit card debt. Sucked so hard but financial and romantic lessons were learned.

I don't know if The People's Court counts as a real judgment.

It wasn't though I was contact by Judge Joe Brown's show! Haha, decided to not air my dirty laundry for all to potentially see. Was just a regular small claims at the courthouse.

OMG! They did!? That is so funny because I literally just read HonestAdvice's post lol I think you made a good call not going on. In modern times once you end up on TV it is on the internet FOREVERRRRRRRRRR

I think you'll be perfectly fine though. It's taken care of so if it ever is an issue with C&F (which I doubt, but if they bust your balls) you should be just fine. I would recommend getting proof you paid what you were ordered to.

It was so interesting! I think because I live in Los Angeles they comb through cases and pull what's interesting. What would have happened was he would have dropped the claim and we would have gone in front of the judge and done our thing and he would have a judgement. The show would actually pay the judgement though and it wouldn't be in public record or anything. But yeah I weighed the thought of it being out there forever versus the $2,000 I'd be out and though it'll be better to just go to small claims and deal with it like a big girl.

And yeah thankfully it's all cleared up and recipts were kept and it doesn't show against my credit report anymore.

momoyome wrote:

Barack O'Drama wrote:

momoyome wrote:

HonestAdvice wrote:

momoyome wrote:

HonestAdvice wrote:Statute of Frauds?

I just looked it up. What happened was I did sign a contract to repay money he wrote after he forced me to quit a job. There were verbal agreements (dumb, but I was 19 and had zero real world skills) that I'd pay for things on my credit card (so dumb, so so so dumb) as a way to make a dent on repayment. This is where small claims had to be involved. In the end I had to pay the judgement since it was ruled in his favor plus a massive credit card debt. Sucked so hard but financial and romantic lessons were learned.

I don't know if The People's Court counts as a real judgment.

It wasn't though I was contact by Judge Joe Brown's show! Haha, decided to not air my dirty laundry for all to potentially see. Was just a regular small claims at the courthouse.

OMG! They did!? That is so funny because I literally just read HonestAdvice's post lol I think you made a good call not going on. In modern times once you end up on TV it is on the internet FOREVERRRRRRRRRR

I think you'll be perfectly fine though. It's taken care of so if it ever is an issue with C&F (which I doubt, but if they bust your balls) you should be just fine. I would recommend getting proof you paid what you were ordered to.

It was so interesting! I think because I live in Los Angeles they comb through cases and pull what's interesting. What would have happened was he would have dropped the claim and we would have gone in front of the judge and done our thing and he would have a judgement. The show would actually pay the judgement though and it wouldn't be in public record or anything. But yeah I weighed the thought of it being out there forever versus the $2,000 I'd be out and though it'll be better to just go to small claims and deal with it like a big girl.

And yeah thankfully it's all cleared up and recipts were kept and it doesn't show against my credit report anymore.

That is so interesting! I didn't know that's how it works, pretty cool in an interesting way. But, you definitely made the prudent choice. And if its not showing on your credit and you have receipts, you should be a-ok! no worries

I don't remember law school applications ever asking something along those lines. As a general advice, Bar associations seem to care less about the infraction/event and more about you disclosing it. Meaning that it is better to disclose a C&F issue than hiding it and having them find out (which would play against your odds of getting accepted).

I never filled out a law school application that asked about civil issues. It was criminal, traffic over $200 and any disciplinary issues at school. If you have a judgment you haven't paid it may become an issue when you take the Bar. They consider debts you aren't current with as a knock against your character and fitness.