Houston Court Issues Default Judgment for $11,399 in Auto Loan Debt
A credit union sued a borrower for defaulting on a car loan. The borrower failed to make payments, and the credit union repossessed and sold the vehicle. A deficiency balance remained, and the borrower did not cure the default. The court granted a default judgment in favor of the credit union for the remaining balance, attorney's fees, and court costs.
Case Information Updated: October 2025
Case Outcome
- Outcome
- Verdict-Defense
- Amount
- $9,827
- County
- Harris County, TX
- Resolved
- 2021
Injury & Accident Details
- Injury Type
- Other
- Accident Type
- Other
- Case Type
- Motor Vehicle Accident
Settlement Context
This verdict-defense of $9,827 is above the median of Undisclosed for other cases resolved by verdict-defense. The typical range is Undisclosed to Undisclosed, based on 144 cases in our database.
Case Overview
A federal credit union based in Houston, Texas, filed a lawsuit against an individual residing in Spring, Texas, over a defaulted auto loan. The defendant had signed a loan agreement in June 2018 for $40,410.26, securing a 2014 Maserati Ghibli S. The plaintiff alleged the defendant failed to make payments, leading to the acceleration of the loan's maturity, repossession, and sale of the vehicle for $600. This resulted in a deficiency balance of $9,827.89. The plaintiff sought a money judgment for this amount, along with pre-judgment and post-judgment interest, attorney's fees, and court costs.
The court issued a Writ of Sequestration for the vehicle in December 2019. The plaintiff subsequently nonsuited claims against the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles and another entity. Following a temporary dismissal for want of prosecution, the case was reinstated. Because the defendant failed to appear or answer the lawsuit, the court granted a default judgment in favor of the plaintiff on October 1, 2020. The judgment awarded the plaintiff the $9,827.89 deficiency balance with interest, attorney's fees of $1,000, and court costs of $571, with applicable interest rates. Conditional attorney's fees for potential appeals were also included in the judgment.
Understanding This Case
- This case went to trial and resulted in a jury verdict. Verdicts can yield higher awards but carry the risk of receiving nothing if the jury rules against the plaintiff.
- This case was resolved in Harris County, Texas. Local jury tendencies, judge assignments, and regional economic conditions all influence case outcomes in this jurisdiction.
- Resolved in 2021, this case reflects the legal and economic conditions of that period, including medical costs, insurance practices, and jury award trends at the time.
VerdictlyTM Score
This outcome is within expected ranges
This score is calculated by analyzing injury type, accident details, geographic location, temporal trends, and comparing against 2,000+ similar cases in our database.
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