Collateral Attack

An attempt to impeach or overturn a judgment rendered in a judicial proceeding, made in a proceeding other than within the original action or an appeal from it.

A defendant may make a collateral attack on a judgment entered against him or her in some instances. If a default judgment is entered against the person, he or she may collaterally attack the authority of the issuing court to render it, claiming that there was a lack of PERSONAL JURISDICTION.

Similarly, if a man leaves his wife and moves to another state where he obtains a DIVORCE that contains no support provisions for the woman, she may directly attack the judgment by appealing it in the state where it was entered or initiate a collateral attack by bringing her own divorce action in her state of residence.

A collateral attack may also be made upon a judicial proceeding in a single state.