Failed attempt to serve Order of Examination

[BSJM]

What is the name of your state?Ca

My wife sued one of her daycare clients for failure to provide proper written notice of cancellation. She won the case over a year ago. She was served shortly after that time with an Order of Examination. She came to court and claimed to have no residence, job, car, or assets. We were told we have 10 years to try and collect from her. We waited 1 year to allow her to forget about us and hopefully gain employment. She still lives in the same place, but she is refusing to be served again. The courts told us that she had to be served by process server for another Order of Examination. Her car is at this house every day so we know she is there. We've seen her working in the garden when we drive by. The process server was unable to serve her before the court date. We were told that there was either no answer at the door(whether her car was out front or not) or a man would answer and say she does not live there. This same guy chased away the 1st process server last year with a weed whacker after yelling to her to stay in the house and not come out. These people we are dealing with are scum-of-the-earth dead beats. Picture ZZ top and a worn-out 40 year old crack-whore groupie. We extended the court date once and had to pay more fees. The P.S. still could not deliver before the 2nd court date. What can we do? The P.S. told us to follow her to find out if she has a job then serve a writ to her employer. This is very hard for us to do since my wife and I both work. Any suggestions on how to make this dead-beat pay up? I refuse to let her walk away from this matter after her letters to us saying "I will never pay you despite what the courts says".

 

[dcatz]

You don't say whether your wife sued in Small Claims or a higher court, so we can't even guess what the judgment might be. Therefore, we don't know if it's cost-efficient for you to hire a private asset investigator. Asset exams, also known as debtor hearings, are not the best way to develop information. As you've discovered, in your state debtors must be personally served and, if they appear at all, they can lie.

The Sheriff can also serve the Order for Appearance, and that may be what it takes for your debtor's "friend" to refrain from weed wackers. The Order can also be served by a friend of yours (read item #3 on the form), but not by you. The real problem comes when she doesn't appear or doesn't even get served. It just continues to cost you money. But, incidentally, you can have the costs of the ORAP and even the costs of service, together with post-judgement interest at 10% per year added to your judgment. The next time that you get or renew a writ, file a Memorandum of Post-Judgment Costs and Accrued Interest along with your application. You can get the form from the court or download it here:
http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/forms.

And your judgment is good for 10 years, but it can be renewed for another 10 for a total of 20. Start at about 9 1/2 years, so you ensure the renewal is done correctly. After 10, it's too late.

Record an Abstract of Judgment in the county in which you live. That prevents her from buying or selling property in that county, without paying you. If you're truly determined, hire someone to follow her to work, and start a wage garnishment. If she rents, rather than owns the house that she lives in, get an assignment order from the court and serve it on the landlord. An assignment order requires the judgment debtor to pay you what she would have paid the landlord. When the landlord doesn't get paid and threatens eviction, your debtor may become more cooperative. But, if the house is in her friend's name and he's paying rent, you'll have to look for another way.

Is ZZ Top her husband? If so, you can reach 50% of his earnings for a garnishment. An assignment order and a request for a right to garnish spousal earnings are probably going to require the assistance of an attorney.

 

[BSJM]

She was taken to small claims court where my wife received a judgement for somewhere around $600.00. BTW, she never showed up to the trial because she felt she knew the law better than me and claimed that she was not legally served since I personally served her at her work. I am not a party to the case and therefore it was considered legal. She was served by the sheriff on the first order of examination. The courts say that we cannot have her served by a friend or the sheriff, and that she must be served by a process server only. Once she is served and she doesn't show up for court, the sheriff can get involved. This is very frustrating and probably not worth my time, but this is one fight I refuse to loose. I'll spend way more than $600 to make her pay one way or another. I'm hoping I don't have to put out too much more money though, that's why I'm looking for suggestions here.

 

[dcatz]

Originally Posted by BSJM
The courts say that we cannot have her served by a friend or the sheriff, and that she must be served by a process server only.

Oh, I hope not, but I'm not going to argue. Read Item 3 of the Order to Appear. Right above the judge's signature line? Something like "This Order may be served by a sheriff, marshal, registered process server or the following specially appointed person (name):". Yes? I'm not going to argue.
(pssst. Put "Mickey Mouse" in the next space. Bet it still gets signed.)

Once she is served and she doesn't show up for court, the sheriff can get involved.

Not exactly true either. If she doesn't show AND you pay $50 for a civil contempt warrant, only the sheriff/marshal can get involved because they are the only ones authorized to serve that. The problem is that they don't have the manpower or the facilities to effect a body attachment on every debtor who skips an asset exam.
(The possibility of giving out wrong information is one of the reasons that court personnel are prohibited from giving out any "legal advice".)

I'll spend way more than $600 to make her pay one way or another. I'm hoping I don't have to put out too much more money though

That's often the point that's reached, and then she walks away. If you had said at the outset that you conclusively determined that she is presently judgment proof, we wouldn't have this dialogue. You have to decide if she is. If she isn't, your state offers an unparalleled menu of enforcement options, but, when you determine that the easy ones aren't available, you either have to use a pro or learn those options and incur the time and expense to enforce by yourself. It's at that point that conviction and commitment often wanes.