How do I collect the judgement?

[Arumot]

This case is in California.

A few months back I was awarded a judgement and never heard from the defendant afterwards. A few days ago I was contacted by a judgement collection agency who somehow knew of my case and offered to attempt collection on my behalf for a fee. This would be paid only upon successful collection.

After doing some research I came to the conclusion that collecting a judgement can be a pretty long and tedious process. I would like to to avoid having to run around taking care of all this on my own and wanted to know if these collection agencies are worth a shot? Or perhaps I would be better off talking to an actual lawyer?

Any advice from people with knowledge in this area would be much appreciated.

Thank you.

 

[Antigone*]

This case is in California.

A few months back I was awarded a judgement and never heard from the defendant afterwards. A few days ago I was contacted by a judgement collection agency who somehow knew of my case and offered to attempt collection on my behalf for a fee. This would be paid only upon successful collection.

After doing some research I came to the conclusion that collecting a judgement can be a pretty long and tedious process. I would like to to avoid having to run around taking care of all this on my own and wanted to know if these collection agencies are worth a shot? Or perhaps I would be better off talking to an actual lawyer?

Any advice from people with knowledge in this area would be much appreciated.

Thank you.

If you are not willing to expend the time and effort enforcing your own judgment, then this sounds like a good option for you.

 

[sandyclaus]

This case is in California.

A few months back I was awarded a judgement and never heard from the defendant afterwards. A few days ago I was contacted by a judgement collection agency who somehow knew of my case and offered to attempt collection on my behalf for a fee. This would be paid only upon successful collection.

After doing some research I came to the conclusion that collecting a judgement can be a pretty long and tedious process. I would like to to avoid having to run around taking care of all this on my own and wanted to know if these collection agencies are worth a shot? Or perhaps I would be better off talking to an actual lawyer?

Any advice from people with knowledge in this area would be much appreciated.

Thank you.

You need to look at the whole picture to decide which is best for you.

• If the person failed to pay what they owed you before the judgment, do you think they are going to be any more willing to pay now?
• Do they have a job? Any real property or assets to seize?
• Have you conducted a Debtor's Exam with them (to inquire about sources of income, assets, money, or property that can be taken to satisfy the debt)?
• How much is the judgment, and is your extra time and effort worth it to do the collecting yourself?

Bottom line here is that anyone can obtain a judgment, but collecting the money is the hardest part of the process. Depending on the amount of the judgment, and ease of locating money and assets you can use to satisfy that judgment, you can do it yourself for a lot less than a collection agency would cost. But if the judgment is significant, and you are having difficulty collecting and don't have time and effort to spend doing it, then a collection agency might be the way to go.

If you do decide to go with an agency, be sure that they are licensed and reputable (check their rating and success rate, and check to see if they have any violations of the Fair Debt Collection act which could affect their ability to service your account). Get any collection agreements IN WRITING.

 

[Arumot]

The person has a well paying job, owns a home and vehicles.
He might still own the rental property that this case was about.
I'm not entirely sure what else could be considered assets that would be possible to seize.
I have not conducted a Debtor's Exam (I will look into that).
The judgement was for $6400+some court fees.

I am kind of on the fence about pursuing this alone. Partially I am interested in the process and learning how it all works. On the other hand, I'm afraid I might make mistakes and that it would take me too much time.

I have found a few collection agencies that claim to specialize in collecting judgements and their fees aren't too unreasonable.

A few questions I still have: How did the first collection agency know about my case? Does the court publish results of cases publicly? What would these collection agencies do to collect the judgement? Will they be employing all the garnishments and seizures that are available to me if I would go it alone? Would an actual lawyer have a higher percentage of collecting that the agencies?

If the debtor has the means to pay the judgement and I or someone on my behalf pursues collecting is it almost guaranteed I will collect? Do awards from cases against government entities and corporations also sometimes go uncollected?

I really appreciate your help. This has been an interesting albeit frustrating learning process. I wonder how many people believe that if you win a lawsuit, the defendant is actually required to pay. I guess common sense can be misleading...

 

[sandyclaus]

The person has a well paying job, owns a home and vehicles.
He might still own the rental property that this case was about.
I'm not entirely sure what else could be considered assets that would be possible to seize.
I have not conducted a Debtor's Exam (I will look into that).
The judgement was for $6400+some court fees.

I am kind of on the fence about pursuing this alone. Partially I am interested in the process and learning how it all works. On the other hand, I'm afraid I might make mistakes and that it would take me too much time.

I have found a few collection agencies that claim to specialize in collecting judgements and their fees aren't too unreasonable.

A few questions I still have: How did the first collection agency know about my case? Does the court publish results of cases publicly? What would these collection agencies do to collect the judgement? Will they be employing all the garnishments and seizures that are available to me if I would go it alone? Would an actual lawyer have a higher percentage of collecting that the agencies?

If the debtor has the means to pay the judgement and I or someone on my behalf pursues collecting is it almost guaranteed I will collect? Do awards from cases against government entities and corporations also sometimes go uncollected?

I really appreciate your help. This has been an interesting albeit frustrating learning process. I wonder how many people believe that if you win a lawsuit, the defendant is actually required to pay. I guess common sense can be misleading...

If you have a judgment debtor who has assets or money to seize, then you should be fairly successful in getting your money back if you are diligent and follow the right collection procedures. Here is a link to the CA Small Claims collections guide from the CA Courts website to help you know what you can and can't do, and the procedures to follow (it also includes info on the Debtor's Exam): California Courts - Collect Your Judgment

At this point, you have to decide if you are willing to undertake the effort or go with the collection agency. Keep in mind that any collection costs you incur to get your money from the debtor will also be reimbursable (paid by the debtor, and added on to their judgment by law).

Also consider that a collection agency will start with calls, letters, etc., to get the debtor to pay voluntarily, and that could waste valuable time. You could save some time by going straight for the collection options yourself by seeking a writ of garnishment for debtor's well-paying job (that would be my first choice).

 

[Arumot]

Thank you very much for your informative help sandyclaus. I will consider all options and try to read a little more about the process before using a service. It seems that it might not be so much work after all. These things appear very daunting to the first-timer, but could end up being easier than they seem.

 

[Willlyjo]

Thank you very much for your informative help sandyclaus. I will consider all options and try to read a little more about the process before using a service. It seems that it might not be so much work after all. These things appear very daunting to the first-timer, but could end up being easier than they seem.

With a little research, you can easily find the means to collect this judgment yourself. If you go with the collection service, plan on giving them half of your judgement if they suceed.

 

[dcatz]

Your state has the most powerful and extensive set of collection option in the country in the Enforcement of Judgments Act (Code of Civil Procedure §§680.010 – 724.260) and you’ve identified (potential non-exempt) assets that would be close to a judgment creditor’s dream. Yet there seems to be an implication that you favor the agency. Are you looking for advice or validation?

You don’t mention the proposed agency fees. Let’s assume it’s 50%. If your time isn’t worth $3,200 now, Antigone* is right; swallow the fee and let them do the work for you, especially if timely recovery is not critical to you (and it should be, because collectability declines over time and assets there today may not be tomorrow).

Some considerations:
1) Does the agency pay the recovery costs or do you? (Yes, they are recoverable, but it’s outgo before income.)
2) Do you assign all legal rights to the agency, including the right to settle or not and for how long?
3) Has the agency indicated any intended course of action? If you’re just giving it a right to file an Abstract and sit back, you’re just giving them the right to let interest accrue for 20 years.
4) I think sandyclaus poses the most relevant issues, but there are two that I would assign less importance: (a) I would reject a judgment debtor exam if at all possible because it’s costly and problematic (use the “search” function on FA) and, if the debtor ignores the court order and doesn’t appear, the punitive results are a nullity. (b) FDCPA and Rosenthal Act violations aren’t really that much of a problem post-judgment (there’s no need to contact the judgment debtor), but she’s right about avoiding an agency that has incurred them anyway.

As to your questions:
1) Court actions become public record and can be searched and filtered manually or by computer.
2) Courts can self-report but most have contracts with “The Big Three” CRA’s to allow access.
3) What the agency will do is anybody’s guess but is one of the big questions. Options range from very proactive to almost nothing: the same options you have. Remember, you’re a small fish in a big pond. You’re not going to be a repeat client and, in the big picture, the fee is not so great as to warrant constant attention. An attorney might be more proactive but is likely to want costs advanced.
4) Nothing is guaranteed, but you seem to have better options than the vast majority.
5) Collecting from businesses (corporations, LLCs, even sole proprietorships) is easier than individuals. Collecting from the government requires more knowledge, experience, time and can still be a nest of snakes.

A couple of options based on what you’ve mentioned:
1) A wage garnishment is obvious, even if he works for the government (an exception to the prior observation).
2) File Abstracts on his real property. They won’t be immediately productive, but people in CA are trying to refinance, and, for an attorney, it would be tantamount to malpractice to not impose the liens.
3) If he still owns the rental property, I’d still use a wage garnishment, but my first choice would be an Assignment Order (an order directing debtors of a debtor (i.e. the renters) to pay the judgment creditor. That would stop the rental income and probably result in faster recovery

The Enforcement of Judgments Act will identify exempt and non-exempt assets and suggest additional options and you can find it starting here: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/calawquery?codesection=ccp&codebody=&hits=20