# Credit Ratings: Is a Civil Judgment inherently derogatory? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 1, 2011, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credit-ratings-is-a-civil-judgment-inherently-derogatory/591097 "2011-08-01T21:23:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credit-ratings-is-a-civil-judgment-inherently-derogatory/591097/1 "2011-08-01T21:23:18Z")
Inspired by > **[my credit repair plan just went bust](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=617799)** > > As I emerge from my misspent youth, I am waking up to the fact that you “are” your credit score! I am a slow learner, it has taken me a little bit of time to catch on, and what a revelation! I’m not liking it down here in the 500’s, either. I... and cf. [http://707creditscore.com/civil\_judgement\_affects\_credit\_score](http://707creditscore.com/civil_judgement_affects_credit_score) Is a civil monetary judgment handed down by a court of competent jurisdiction always considered a black mark on your credit report, even if you pay it immediately? I know that a lot of judgments come from lawsuits for debt - you don’t pay, and they sue you. But if you get a civil judgment against you, say, for a tort (e.g. you hurt them in a car accident, they slipped and fell on your property, you violated copyright, you intentionally inflected emotional distress, you invaded someone’s privacy, you committed an act in restraint of trade, etc.), and you pay promptly according to the terms of the judgement (e.g. pay within 60 days), does that factor into your credit score? Or is it only unpaid and defaulted judgments and/or judgements for debt that “count”?