LAWRENCE — City Councilor Grisel Silva has learned the hard way what happens when you ignore court summonses.

A soured business deal with a Rowley woman left Silva with a default judgment totaling $711.56 when she failed to appear in Newburyport District Court on Sept. 3 on a civil small claims complaint brought by the woman.

A capias warrant was issued for Silva's arrest and when she learned of the warrant, she went to the court on Oct. 23 and filed a motion to remove the default and reopen the case. A hearing on that motion is scheduled for Nov. 5 at 9 a.m. in Newburyport District Court.

Silva refused comment on the matter when reached yesterday afternoon.

"Everything is taken care of so there is nothing to be said," Silva said.

Susan St. Marie, who filed the complaint, did not return a message left at her home seeking comment for this story.

The complaint filed by St. Marie stated that in March of this year she began speaking to Silva about starting a business. On April 25, Silva decided to register her business under the agreement that St. Marie would put the costs on her credit card. The complaint states that Silva would book make-up parties and they would make the money back.

According to St. Marie's complaint, they agreed on a date for a party, but then Silva canceled it.

"Since then she hasn't responded to any phone calls or e-mails and I am left with a debt of $662.41, plus interest on my card," St. Marie's complaint states.

Court records indicate Silva first failed to appear in court on the matter on Sept. 3, after she had been mailed a small claims notice of trial on July 28.

With her failure to appear, the court found her in default and awarded the claim to St. Marie.

Silva was ordered to pay the claim by Oct. 5, but did not do so and the warrant was issued on Oct. 13. Also, a payment review was held on Oct. 13 and Silva failed to attend that court proceeding as well.

In her motion to have the default judgment vacated, Silva alleged she was harassed constantly by St. Marie to become a representative for Market America, and she refused many times. Silva said St. Marie offered to start the program herself and with any new enrollments or sales it would pay off, but Silva said she insisted she did not have the time to commit to the program.

Silva alleged that St. Marie made an initial order of cosmetic products that she, Silva, never owned. Silva said when the shipment arrived at her home, where St. Marie had it sent, St. Marie came and picked it up.

Silva said her bank account had been charged $100.82-a-month for four months that she had never authorized and that caused an overdraft on her account.

"I strongly feel that this type of business conducted by plaintiff is a harassment to benefit her interest and interest of other people for Market America," Silva's court filing shows.

According to its Internet Web site, Market America was founded in 1992 and is a product brokerage and Internet marketing company.

According to the Web site, the company has 3 million preferred customers and 180,000 distributors and unfranchised business owners worldwide.