Judgment

[Texassioux]

I live in Texas and I was awarded a judgment against an auto repair shop. A few weeks after the award was awarded the man that owns the shop was killed in an auto accident. The contents of the business and the business was sold at auction by the estate. I have sent a copy of the award to the estate and was sent back an offer of 1/5 of the judgment. They say if I do not accept the proposal they will file bankruptcy. An Authenticated Unsecured Claim was presented to the Administratrix to be disallowed. This proposal does not cover the cost of rebuilding my car from their destruction nor does it pay for my attorney. My question is: Do they have to show that they cannot pay the amount of the judgment? Am I not entitled to the award since it was awarded prior to the death? Can the estate not have to pay at least a more reasonable amount? Are they allowed to file bankruptcy in order to not have to pay the award? What keeps the estate from putting the monies from the sale of the shop and its contents into the personal estate or into the heirs names?

 

[advisor10]

3-23-2002

DEAR TEXASSIOUX:

I'm not familiar with Texas law but I wanted to just give some general comments about your situation.

(1) How much was the judgement you were awarded?

(2) What is the estimated value of this man's estate? Or, do you have any idea of how much the business at auction was sold for?

(3) Is the money to pay your judgement coming from the estate or from the deceased man's insurance company?

You may eventually have to hire an attorney to negotiate with either the estate or with the insurance company for a larger amount.

Seems like the complicating factor here is that you have no way of knowing whether the man's estate can afford to pay the judgement or not. What was the name and address of this business, so I can do some checking for you.

If the deceased man was the owner of the business, then the money from the sale should be reported as part of his estate. It looks like you are in a fairly strong position to be able to have a high priority claim to be paid, but hopefully the other side will not come up with a trick or strategy that keeps you from getting paid.

You might also need to consult with a bankruptcy attorney to find out how strong your claim is if they file bankruptcy, or have your attorney make inquiries with the bankruptcy attorney to get this question answered. I feel, as you do, that if the estate can afford to pay a higher amount, then they should do so. If you can afford to, have your attorney or private investigator run a financial background check on the decedent (for about $100-$200) to find out what his level of income is or approximately how much he is worth, if you haven't done this already.

SINCERELY,

advisor ([email protected])

 

[Texassioux]

Thank you for your response. My Judgment was a Default Judgment with a sum that totalled $25,460.00 signed on September 20, 2001 and they offered $4,695.00. I took my car there originally because my engine light was coming on. He put a head on it and a timing chain that cost me $1340.33. Then I had to turn around and take it back because it wasn’t fixed. This time it took my about 6 weeks to find out where my car was because everytime I called he told me the car was somewhere else having work done and when I would go to the shop it wasn’t there. Finally, after threatening him with an attorney he got my car to the shop and I had to have it towed to my home because now it would not even run. I have just been able to drive my car again within the past two weeks. I have had to totally rebuild my car and continuing making my car payments when I could not even drive it. The name of his shop was Calvin Williamson dba Calvin’s Auto Repair at 1000 Loop 287, North Decatur, Texas. I am not sure of the dollar amount the shop sold for but there had to be a $10,000 escrow/deposit set to even bid on it. The contents of the shop and all cars (approx. 31) were auctioned separately. The letter from the estate’s attorney said that the estate consists only of assets that would be exempt from claims of judgment creditors but Ms. Williamson has a limited amount of funds to settle this matter.

 

[advisor10]

3-26-2002

DEAR TEXASSIOUX:

When you say the claim was disallowed, do you mean the administratix refused to pay it or was it officially declared in court by a probate judge that it couldn't be paid in full?

You will need to consult with a top-notch probate attorney in your area to see if it is possible to figure out a strategy to get more money.

Since they are bringing up the possibility of bankruptcy, I feel that there is not much of a chance that this estate could afford to pay more, and you are better off getting the 1/5th amount as opposed to nothing. The threat of filing bankruptcy might be simply a threat or a trick, but in this case it seems likely that they are going to file.

However, businesses usually sell for 3 to 5 times what they are worth, so if there is any way you can get a probate attorney to get the judge to force the other side to produce information about the business sale or what other assets might be available, then go for it.

It is not likely that they would put the money in other heirs names, since those heirs would be responsible for taxes.

Even though this probate case is still open, apparently, you should visit the county courthouse to look at the probate file to see what, if any, financial documentation may have already been placed in it, to see if any clues might be available, but please don't mention to anyone at the courthouse the reason you want to see the file.

SINCERELY,

advisor