# Collecting a legal debt **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 30, 2009, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/collecting-a-legal-debt/494810 "2009-04-30T03:14:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2009, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/collecting-a-legal-debt/494810/41 "2009-05-02T22:24:21Z")
I did wonder about that. Doesn’t seem like the kind of thing a Judge would let just go by. ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2009, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/collecting-a-legal-debt/494810/42 "2009-05-03T00:31:10Z")
You guys took the words right outta my mouth. Plus you could easily make him pay the attorney fees in that situation. ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2009, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/collecting-a-legal-debt/494810/43 "2009-05-03T00:50:44Z")
> [@ivn1188](#): > > Color me skeptical - a faked court order like that shouldn’t take 20K to defend, and that’s disbarment-level contempt of court and could be fraud or perjury. There’s gotta be more to this story, or maybe the facts were a bit different. I was thinking that too. Just pull the court file and see no order. If it’s a fake file number, that should be easy enough. Of course, I don’t know the whole story. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2009, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/collecting-a-legal-debt/494810/44 "2009-05-03T08:41:31Z")
> [@ivn1188](#): > > Color me skeptical - a faked court order like that shouldn’t take 20K to defend, and that’s disbarment-level contempt of court and could be fraud or perjury. There’s gotta be more to this story, or maybe the facts were a bit different. It was heard up in Palmdale for some bizarre reason. Mrs Cad’s attorney was from the South Bay and Palmdale/Lancaster is an ol’ boys network. It wasn’t until the trial (after numerous hearings) that the Judge even heard arguements that it was not a real order. ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2009, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/collecting-a-legal-debt/494810/45 "2009-05-03T19:33:46Z")
I see. So, he makes a fake order, claims it was served, then files an application of some sort for a contempt hearing? At the time, you defend against the contempt on the merits not realizing the underlying order was fake. At what point in the mess did your side realize the underlying order was a fake? I assume you didn’t discover the falsity of the underlying order until well into defending it on the merits. Did you report the offending attorney to the State Bar? Did you consider suing him for abuse of process, malicious prosecution, or similar theory? Even if you did and won a suit like that, how would you get any money out of him if he’s not even paying child support, right? So, what’s the use? Is this about right? I’m just trying to understand what happened here. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/collecting-a-legal-debt/494810.md?page=2)