Supreme Court Delivers Unanimous Warning: Ignore Legal Notices At Your Own Risk
A bankruptcy trustee mailed a lawsuit to Coney Island Auto Parts but failed to address the documents to an officer or authorized agent, as required by federal rules. The company never responded, and a $50,000 default judgment was entered.But how long can you wait before telling the court it messed up?On Monday, in Coney Island Auto Parts Unlimited, Inc. v. Burton, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that you can’t wait forever. Even if a court’s decision was technically invalid from the start, a challenge must still be filed within a “reasonable time.”The case began in 2014, when a company called Vista-Pro went bankrupt and claimed that Coney Island Auto Parts owed it money. They sent a legal notice by mail, but the address did not comply with the required rules.When Coney Island Auto Parts failed to respond (they claimed they weren’t properly notified), a court entered a “default judgment” against the company in 2015.For the next six years, the bankruptcy trustee attempted to collect the money. In 2016, letters were sent to Coney Island Auto Parts’ CEO informing the company...
By: dailywire.com
