CanIi go to jail on a civil matter?

Get Legal Help Today

Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption

CanIi go to jail on a civil matter?

About a year ago a woman sued me for $25,000. I went to court and agreed to pay $50 a month. After court I lost my job and have just now started working again. I just got served papers from her lawyer stating that they are going to try and hold me in contempt. Can I go to jail over all of this?

Asked on July 21, 2010 under Bankruptcy Law, Maine

Answers:

M.T.G., Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 13 years ago | Contributor

Contempt is a willful disregard or disobedience of a court order.  Yes, you can be thrown in to jail for contempt.  But the attorney for the woman who sued you knows that if he has you thrown in to jail then you have no way to pay the debt back.  Start making payments again right away. Then appear on the date of the motion (try and get an attorney from say legal aid to be with you) and explain to the court what happened.  Explain that you have resumed payments. Explain that you want to pay the debt rather than discharge it in say a bankruptcy but that these are hard times. What you should have done when you lost your job is return to court to ask that the payments be suspended or the order modified until you could get on your feet again. You may want to ask for a reduction now too. Good luck.


IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.

Get Legal Help Today

Find the right lawyer for your legal issue.

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption