Collecting Judgement Question (California)

[Ranscapture]

Hi, I had my small claims case on June 24th, and I had a trip out of country on June 25th- August 7th. The decision was decided in my favor after court was over for the day so I didn't get to find out until I got home from my trip on August 7th. The letter I received telling me of my positive judgement was on the 27th, and when I checked, they hadn't filed an appeal. So it has been over 30 days since they were notified of the judgement against them.

What is my first course of action to get my money from them? Do I still need to send them a letter asking them to voluntarily pay the $310 they owe me or continue on to a next step since its been longer than 30 days?

This is what the California document says:

If the court ordered the other side to pay you...
You are the judgment creditor. You must collect your judgment. The court will not collect it for you. Some steps you can take to collect your money are summarized below. For more information, go to www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp /smallclaims/collectintro.htm

Important!The judgment debtor has 30 days after the Notice of Entry of Judgment was handed or mailed to him or her to appeal or pay or ask the court to cancel or correct the judgment. You cannot take legal steps to collect the judgment during this time.

Ask the judgment debtor to pay you the money. If the judgment debtor cannot afford to pay the judgment all at once, consider offering to take payments. If your claim was for possession of property, ask the judgment debtor to return the property to you.

If the judgment debtor does not pay, you can find out about the debtor's income or property that the sheriff can take to satisfy the judgment.
•If the debtor does not pay within 30 days after the court clerk delivered or mailed the Notice of Entry of Judgment, the debtor must send you Form SC-133, Judgment Debtor's Statement of Assets. This form will tell you what property the debtor has that may be used to pay the judgment.
•If the debtor does not send you the completed Form SC-133, you can file Form SC-134, Application and Order to Produce Statement of Assets and to Appear for Examination. In this form, you can also ask the court to award you your attorney fees, expenses, and other appropriate relief.
•If the debtor does send you Form SC-133, you can still have the debtor come to court to answer questions about income and property. To do this, file Form EJ-125, Application and Order for Appearance and Examination.

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

Asking for the judgment to be paid would be the first step. Don't count on them paying.

 

[adjusterjack]

Agree.

If the debtor doesn't pay on demand, an easy way to collect is wage garnishment if you know where he works.

 

[Litigator22]

Hi, I had my small claims case on June 24th, and I had a trip out of country on June 25th- August 7th. The decision was decided in my favor after court was over for the day so I didn't get to find out until I got home from my trip on August 7th. The letter I received telling me of my positive judgment was on the 27th, and when I checked, they hadn't filed an appeal. So it has been over 30 days since they were notified of the judgment against them. What is my first course of action to get my money from them. Do I still need to send them a letter asking them to voluntarily pay the $310 they owe me or continue on to a next step since its been longer than 30 days?

You can afford to be abroad for 6 weeks and yet took the time and trouble to secure a small claims judgment for $310? (Is that a rounded-off figure or are there some odd cents? )

Curiously though, just how many "theys" and "thems" are on the other end of that judgment? Are you thinking of a form letter of demand or a more individual and personal approach?

Anyway I sure hope one or more of them/theys comes through for you. So please keep us informed. Affairs of such magnitude left hanging can be worrisome.

 

[not2cleverRed]

You can afford to be abroad for 6 weeks and yet took the time and trouble to secure a small claims judgment for $310? (Is that a rounded-off figure or are there some odd cents? )

Curiously though, just how many "theys" and "thems" are on the other end of that judgment? Are you thinking of a form letter of demand or a more individual and personal approach?

Anyway I sure hope one or more of them/theys comes through for you. So please keep us informed. Affairs of such magnitude left hanging can be worrisome.

Jealous, are you?

It's really irrelevant, legally, whether OP can afford to travel. (And for all we know, the trip could have been paid for by another party. Or been a relatively inexpensive drive across the border.)

Nor are the pronouns relevant. While traditionally "they" is plural, and OP may be referring to a business or a married couple, in this day and age, "they" can also be singular.

What is relevant is that there is a judgement in OP's favor, and OP wants to know how to collect it.

Thankfully, PRG and Jack had relevant, useful answers.

 

[Ranscapture]

Thank you guys for the quick answers. I'll give you some more information. The trip was to visit family in the hospital and help take care of them and living there was paid for but the tickets were not. The case is against the owner of 3 laundromats and this is about the principle of the matter, even though they did cost us more than the judgment in the item they damaged, on purpose by the way. The leather specialist they sent it out to told them cleaning it would ruin the item and they authorized it anyway without asking me.