my son was in a car accident back in 2016 when he was just 17. the police said he was at fault, but we had just gotten a new policy through geico. they denied the claim, saying it wasn’t in effect, and then things spiraled from there. they filed a lawsuit for $12k, which got dismissed in 2017, but then they filed another one in 2018 under the wrong middle initial. we didn’t know about the second lawsuit because they didn’t send it to our address—they went through military service records and even published it in the paper. long story short, a default judgment was granted in 2020, and his license got suspended. now he’s 26, and feb 2025 will mark 5 years since the judgment, which is supposed to be the statute of limitations in oklahoma. will he be able to reinstate his license then? this whole situation has affected his career and mental health so badly. any advice?
wow, that sounds like such a mess. i’m so sorry your son is dealing with this. as far as i know, in oklahoma, judgments have a 5-year limit unless they’re renewed. so if geico doesn’t act before feb 2025, he should be able to move forward. maybe double-check with the DMV?
@Shan
thanks for that. yeah, i’m worried about geico renewing it last minute. should we wait till after feb to even contact the DMV?
@Shan
i’d wait too, just to avoid flagging the case. you never know if contacting them early could stir up issues.
wait, they filed another lawsuit while the first one was still pending? isn’t that, like, not allowed?
Zen said:
wait, they filed another lawsuit while the first one was still pending? isn’t that, like, not allowed?
exactly! i was wondering the same. the first case was dismissed in june 2018, but they filed the second one in jan 2018, so there was overlap. not sure how they got away with it.
Zen said:
wait, they filed another lawsuit while the first one was still pending? isn’t that, like, not allowed?
sounds like a procedural error. have you asked a lawyer about that part?
Zen said:
wait, they filed another lawsuit while the first one was still pending? isn’t that, like, not allowed?
yeah, i spoke to one last year. he said since my son was a minor at the time, we should wait for the statute of limitations to run out before taking any action.
what does it mean when you say ‘default judgment’? i’m not super familiar with legal stuff.
Keir said:
what does it mean when you say ‘default judgment’? i’m not super familiar with legal stuff.
it’s basically when the court rules in favor of the other side because we didn’t respond. but we didn’t respond because we never got the summons—it was sent to the wrong places!
Keir said:
what does it mean when you say ‘default judgment’? i’m not super familiar with legal stuff.
ugh, that’s so unfair. they knew your address and still sent it elsewhere? smh.
have you thought about filing a lawsuit against geico for how this has affected your son’s life? sounds like there might be a case for damages.
Zhen said:
have you thought about filing a lawsuit against geico for how this has affected your son’s life? sounds like there might be a case for damages.
i’ve thought about it, especially since this messed up his career path. he couldn’t even do his fbi internship because of this.
Zhen said:
have you thought about filing a lawsuit against geico for how this has affected your son’s life? sounds like there might be a case for damages.
you totally should. insurance companies like geico shouldn’t get away with stuff like this.
Zhen said:
have you thought about filing a lawsuit against geico for how this has affected your son’s life? sounds like there might be a case for damages.
yeah, it’s been such a nightmare. i might wait till after feb 2025, though, just to avoid any complications before the judgment expires.