A creditor got a judgment without serving me although papers say I was served. Is it valid?

If you weren’t legally served then you could move to have the judgment set aside as invalid. But you may have been served without realizing it. If a creditor can't find you to serve you he can file a declaration with the court setting forth his efforts. If the judge agrees that the creditor was sufficiently diligent in searching for you then the judge will issue an order allowing the creditor to serve you by publishing an ad in the newspaper Of course, you have no idea that the ad was published. Once you have been served in this manner and 30 days elapses the creditor can ask the court to declare you in default. Once you are in default you do not have the right to receive any further notices. You can go to the court house and check out your file and read it. You will then see how the creditor supposedly served you. If you file a petition for bankruptcy all creditor action must stop, including wage garnishments or other executions on your property. Then when the bankruptcy action is completed all of your unsecured debts will be discharged (unless they are of the type that can not be discharged such as student loans, certain taxes, fines, etc.) If you have additional property that is subject to being seized by this or other creditors and you are considering bankruptcy you should consider retaining an attorney that can do an emergency filing for you. All attorneys that are certified to file electronically can do this in the office while you wait.

It would be wise to contact an attorney immediately to review the court documents and particular facts and circumstances, because there are statutory timelines (and exceptions to them) that can affect whether it is possible to appeal or to file a motion in the trial court to vacate the default and set aside the resulting default judgment. Assuming the facts and timing allow for the judgment to be reversed or set aside, as general propositions in California - When a judgment is set aside, however, the creditor’s lawsuit against the debtor doesn’t disappear. The debtor just gets the chance to defend against the creditor’s claims, or perhaps, negotiate a resolution without the creditor already having obtained a judgment. What good is that, the debtor might ask, if the creditor already cleaned out the bank accounts? Once a judgment is either reversed (if done on appeal) or set aside (done by the trial court), courts can order that the creditor repay all monies collected or paid pursuant to the judgment. Levy v. Drew (1935) 4 Cal.2d 456, 459. Such repayment (known as restitution) of the amounts taken by the creditor may be sought by filing a motion in the trial court once the judgment has been set aside. Levy v. Drew, supra, 4 Cal.2d at pg. 459; Stockton Theatres, Inc. v. Palermo (1953) 121 Cal.App.2d 616. In other words, the debtor does not have to wait until the creditor’s lawsuit ends for the court to order the creditor to repay the amounts taken under the judgment that was set aside. Rogers v. Bill & Vince's, Inc. (1963) 219 Cal.App.2d 322, 326-327 Additionally, courts have discretion to order the payment of interest on the amounts taken. Textron v. National Union Fire Ins. Co. (2004) 118 Cal.App.4th 1061, 1085-1086.

You need to speak with an attorney. Your fact pattern raises several issues, including the time the judgment was entered, the manner in which service was effectuated, etc. As a general rule, in California, proof of service by mail creates a rebuttable presumption that you received the paperwork; if, however, the proof of service reflects personal service, then the rule is different. There is no way of predicting for you whether the judgment will be reversed without knowing more information.