How to File for the Void of a Judgment
- 1). Petition the court to set aside a judgment if you were improperly served or if someone erroneously accepted service on your behalf. Often courts allow service by certified mail, restricted delivery. Restricted delivery means that the item is supposed to be delivered to the named addressee personally by the post office. The mail carrier may have failed to check identification and erroneously allowed someone else to sign your name and receive the complaint. For example, an ex-spouse could have signed your name and received the complaint at a former residence. A default judgment may have been rendered against you for failure to appear even though you were never served.
- 2). File a motion to set aside the judgment. File a motion if you have proof that the judgment was entered against you unfairly due to fraud or was contrary to the facts of the case in light of new evidence. The judge may set a hearing on your motion and your attorney will be able to introduce new evidence proving fraud or disproving the original testimony. Most jurisdictions have a time limit for filing a motion to reconsider or set aside a judgment.
- 3). File an appeal with a higher court. You must file an appeal within the statutory time allowed by law. If a higher court determines that the judgment was unfairly rendered, it may reverse the judgment and remand or send the case back to the original court for a different ruling.
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