If you go into Massachusetts District courts on any given day you are likely to see several unfortunate debtors who are being sued by their credit card companies. If you think they will not come after you for a few thousand dollars you would likely be wrong. First they will file a complaint against you and have it served on you. Usually the debtor will have no real idea what to do and not answer the complaint. This usually leads to the lawyer for the credit card company  gaining an immediate unfair advantage.

Although most judges will be lenient against a pro se debtor (pro se means without a lawyer) their lenience only goes so far and they must comport to the rules of civil procedure. Being greatly outmatched the debtor usually will get a judgment against them. Usually the amount of judgment far exceeds the few thousand dollars of original debt, because buried in your credit card contracts you agree to all sorts of late fees and collection fees in exchange for the credit card. Plus now you are paying the juice on the the judgment at 12 % apr (and you thought the credit card companies were tough).

So if you try to defend yourself you will usually lose because you really have no defenses unless you feel you paid the debt and the lawsuit is a mistake. Most of the time the lawyer will get a judgment against you and an assessment.  Invariable they then can take that judgment and try to garnish your wages. Garnishing your wages means they take out a huge chunk out of your pay check every week.  Sounds horrible doesn’t it?

A lawsuit can bring with it great traumatic stress both financially and economically. If you have been sued by a credit card company and you feel you could never repay the debt owed, bankruptcy may be the answer.

How it works:

Once you file bankruptcy you we will list the creditors and the lawsuit in your bankruptcy petition. And once you file you get the benefit of the automatic stay. Once the automatic stay is in place the lawyer for the credit card company cannot do anything further against you in court until the stay is lifted. They may try to lift the stay but most likely this attempt will be futal. After you complete your requirements for your bankruptcy the creditor and judgment will be discharged and you will never have to pay.

You can start your financial life over. This why bankruptcy lawyers always talk about a fresh start.

Bankruptcy trustee Howard Ehrenberg is suing Tobey Maguire, star of “Spiderman,” in a claw back effort to reclaim more than $300,000. Ehrenberg is the trustee in thebankruptcy case of Bradley Ruderman. Ruderman is currently in prison for stealing $25 million from investors in his Ponzi scheme, fronted by a hedge fund that he managed.

Ruderman played high stakes games of Texas Hold ‘Em poker with Maguire and lost big. The games were played in Southern California hotels between 2006 and 2009.

Checks written to Maguire for covering poker losses total $311,200.

Funds invested in Ruderman’s Capital were transferred to Maguire for payment. Maguire was unaware that investors victimized by Ruderman funded his winnings. The trustee said that the money still needs to be repaid.

“It is a technical legal argument – if you are involved in an illegal activity, you don’t get that defense of ignorance,” Ehrenberg said. “The game he played in itself was illegal. That’s the linkage, the money was paid directly from Ruderman Capital.”

Games played in private homes for stakes are not illegal in California. However, the suit alleges that the games that Ruderman and Maguire played were against the law because a paid event planner organized everything.