AboutPaul D. Friedman, M.A., Ph.D., J.D. Expertise I am a licensed attorney and Judge Pro Tempore who has conducted and been involved in hundreds of mediations and thousands of arbitrations. I can answer questions regarding settlement conferences, mediations or arbitrations. I do not give legal advice over the internet and it would be helpful to list your location such as country or state.
Experience I am a licensed attorney, Judge Pro Tempore and adjunct professor.
Experience in the area I have been a licensed attorney since 1989 and a Judge Pro Tempore since 2005. Additionally, I have a masters degree in bioethics and a doctorate of philosophy regarding comparative ethics
Organizations State Bar of Arizona
State Bar of Colorado (inactive)
District of Columbia Bar (inactive)
Federal Bar
Licensed in Arizona District Court
Licensed in Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
Licensed in the United States Supreme Court American Bar Association National Board of Trial Advocacy
American Association for Justice Arizona Trial Lawyers Association
American Society for Bioethics and Humanities Kennedy Institute of Ethics National Association of Realtors
Education/Credentials Bachelor of Arts 1985
Juris Doctorate 1989
Master of Arts in Bioethics 2004 Doctorate of Philosphy 2006
Awards and Honors Phi Beta Kappa
Multiple Who's Who
Publications A list of my copyrighted publications and presentations is contained at WWW.EXPERTETHICS.COM
Question Thank you for your response on what will happen in arbitraton. Now I'm panicked and we know that we owe the credit card companies, we do not have the money, or the means to get it, so, then what happens?
Answer Jolene,
They will convert the arbitration award to a judgment and may try to collect the judgment through garnishment or a sale. They will request a judgment/debtor examination to find out if you have any assets they can attach or what your wages are to determine if they can garnish a percentage of your salary. If you don't have anything that they can collect, they will record the judgment to affect your credit and you may not hear from them again.
You can also file for bankruptcy after they receive their judgment and the Court would then determine whether your liabilities outweigh your assets and it may extinguish their debt.
The attorney collecting the judgment is just like a bill collector that will get a percentage of what he/she can collect. I suggest you try and negotiate the judgment by paying what you can or tell them that you are going to have to declare bankruptcy and they will receive nothing. They just wish to get as much as they can get and understand that not everyone can pay the full amount.
You are not the first party in this situation. The credit card companies are well versed in these procedures and needs to know you are doing the best you can to pay something back to them.
