collecting a judgement

[DaveHunter]

I have a judgement against a guy in Converse Indiana(Miami County). He has eluded me but is in jail and we have a court date on 9/21/2001. He is self employed and has nothing in his name. He is probably going to receive a large settlement in November from an auto accident he was involved in(this was the reason he never paid me the rent which started this whole thing). I have talked to his lawyer but he couldn't give me much information other than yes he was going to settle soon. His auto accident was in Howard County Indiana.
When we are in court next Friday, is there anything I can ask for to ensure I am paid when he receives his settlement, if not before? I probably should hire a lawyer but the amount owed is $2,600.00. If there is no chance of "garnishing" the money from his settlement then there is nothing to get. I've heard he will receive well over $50,000.00 Since my judgement is in Miami Co. and his accident case is in another county can I still collect? and if so how? I have informed his accident attorney (Jeffrey Meunier with Keifer & McGoff Assosiates) about my judgement and how he has been eluding me and not showing up for court even when he was served.

 

[JETX]

After you win your judgment in court (assuming you will), you might advise the judge in open court that you believe the judgment debtor will be receiving an insurance settlement and that you would like to obtain an order of garnishment against that settlement. The judge may grant your request (depends on how he/she feels about the fact that you judgment is still subject to appeal, etc.). If they do grant your request, draw up an order for the court (the judge will grant you a few days to submit) and get it signed.

You have to realize though that the 'gavel fall' is not a final judgment since the debtor could appeal the ruling.

And if the judge refuses to grant the request, wait for the allowed 'appeal clock' to toll and then file a garnishment (or levy) as fast as possible. Also, put the attorney on notice IN WRITING of your judgment when it is final.

 

[DaveHunter]

judgement

I was awarded the judgement against this guy on 9/29/2000. I have spent all of this time trying to get him in court. He is very elusive but is in custody now so I'm pretty sure he'll show up. The bond was set at $2,500.00 and I doubt he can come up with that.
I had previously asked the judge about putting a "lien on" or garnishing the judgement amount of his settlement but the judge led me to believe that I couldn't until after he was awarded a judgement in his case. The problem as I see it is that as soon as he's awarded a judgement he'll collect immediately without me being aware or able to act quickly enough and he'll leave the state.
Also the judge told me that since his case was in a different county there was nothing he could do because he had no jurisdiction outside of Miami county.
By writing his lawyer does that put any responsibility on him to oversee how his money will be distributed? I'm just curious why I should write him instead of informing him on the phone.

 

[JETX]

Based on your post, the judge was not correct. The judgment and any enforcement is valid in the entire state.

Since you already have the judgment, get a garnishment or turnover proceeding going and have it served on the attorney AND on the party paying the settlement. Details of procedure can be found by going to your local library or bookstore and getting "How to win in Small Claims court" or similar. The last pages will show how to collect.

Here is an excerpt from an Indiana court site:
"The Court, after entering a money judgment, may order the judgment to be paid in full or in specified installments. If the Debtor (the party owing the money) does not comply with the Court's order, the Court may modify the order and make other orders the Court deems necessary.
There are legal remedies available to help the Creditor (the party to whom the money is owed) enforce the judgment. Pursuing these remedies and the Debtor, however, is your responsibility. The length of time it will take depends upon both your diligence and the debtor's ability to pay.

"If the Creditor has been unable to collect a judgment, he may file proceedings supplemental against the Debtor. Proceedings supplemental forms are available at the Court offices. After the proceedings supplemental is filed, the Court will order the Debtor to personally appear in Court. If the Sheriff can serve the Debtor at the address you provide with the order to appear, and the Debtor appears for the hearing, then either the Creditor or the Court will examine the Debtor under oath concerning his or her assets and income. After the examination has been concluded, the Court may order various types of relief, including garnishment of the Debtor's wages. If the Debtor is served with an order to appear and does not appear, the Creditor may request the Court to issue a body attachment to have the Debtor arrested (but the Sheriff will not serve a body attachment unless the attachment has the Debtor's identifying information such as date of birth, social security number, and physical description).
If the Debtor cannot be found to be served with the order to appear, the creditor may request that the hearing be continued for a period of time to enable the Creditor to find the Debtor and to serve him or her.
There are other means of collection available, such as forcing the sale of the Debtor's personal property, but an attorney is recommended for this procedure. If the Debtor testifies that he or she has no assets or income, the Plaintiff may re-file the proceedings supplemental and request the Court to order the Debtor to appear at a later date."

So, it looks like your next step is to file a Supplemental Proceedings motion with the court.

 

[DaveHunter]

pro sup

I have filed many pro sups. That's how I was finally able to get the body attachment and now he's in jail.
I realize now that I need to find out who he's suing and subpeona them and his lawyer. Am I right? I'm sure the judge won't give me an order of garnishment against his settlement because I've already asked for that and he denied my request for reasons I stated previously. The last time (and only time) he actually showed up for court he lied to me and the judge! I showed the judge evidence of the lies the last time I was in court but he didn't care and actually laughed. In fact he laughs as soon as he reads his agenda and sees who it is. I don't know why. He thinks it's funny that I'm not just fogetting about the money I guess.
I'm not sure that Bill's lawyer will give me the name of the party he's suing. Maybe he'll tell me the case number though and I can look it up.