judgement/property

[girlinsd]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? CA
I won a small claims judgement in CA. It was for the purchase of a car. The judge gave me the full amount I paid for it, but said nothing as to what to do with it (the car). My question is who gets the car?
Also the defendant didn't show up to the hearing, has basically told me "I WILL GET NOTHING FROM HIM" in an e-mail since the hearing (he knows I won).

 

[sandyclaus]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? CA
I won a small claims judgement in CA. It was for the purchase of a car. The judge gave me the full amount I paid for it, but said nothing as to what to do with it (the car). My question is who gets the car?
Also the defendant didn't show up to the hearing, has basically told me "I WILL GET NOTHING FROM HIM" in an e-mail since the hearing (he knows I won).

Small Claims Courts generally do not have the right to order the return of property, they can only grant a judgment for the VALUE of the property.

Since you received a judgment for the full amount you paid for the car, then that is what you get - the VALUE of it, but not the car itself (why would you get both anyway?).

Now that you have the judgment, it will be up to you to collect that money from the defendant. The court will NOT collect for you, but they do have tools and orders that you can get that will help you to collect on your own.

Here is a link to the Self-Help section of the California Courts official website that will guide you through the steps on how to do that: California Courts: Self-Help Center: Small Claims: Collect Your Judgment.