After the Judgment...Collecting or Satisfying the Judgment
You'll have to collect the judgment yourself if you win in small claims court. The court will not collect it for you. If you're the judgment creditor and haven't received the money the judge awarded, make sure that the other party - the judgment debtor - is aware of the judgment and its amount and also knows where to mail payment. Often, a simple personal note to the judgment debtor asking that the judgment be paid is all that is needed to end the dispute.
The small claims court judgment becomes final and enforceable 30 days after the small claims clerk has delivered or mailed the Notice of Entry of Judgment, if the defendant hasn't filed a timely appeal or Notice of Motion to Vacate Judgment and Declaration. If the defendant files an appeal and loses, the judgment becomes enforceable after transfer of the case from superior court back to the small claims court. This transfer must occur within 10 days.
If a judgment is rendered
against you and you don't intend to appeal, you should pay the
judgment as soon as possible.
If a judgment is rendered
against you and becomes final, and you haven't paid it within 30 days,
you must complete and return a
Judgment Debtor's Statement of Assets form to the judgment
creditor. The form that accompanies the Notice of Entry of Judgment gives
the judgment creditor information concerning your property and sources of
income. The judgment creditor can use this information to assist in the
collection of the amount owed. If you don't complete the Judgment
Debtor's Statement of Assets, the judgment creditor may bring you into
court to complete this form through an Order to Produce Statement of
Assets and to Appear for Examination.
Options for Judgment Debtors
Pay the judgment to the court
The judgment debtor may pay the judgment directly to the court for a fee of $25. The judgment debtor pays the judgment by completing a form Request to Pay Judgment to the Court and submitting the amount of the total judgment, including costs. There are several reasons why you might make payment directly to the court: (1) You may wish to avoid contact with the plaintiff, (2) You can't find the plaintiff, or (3) You may wish to resolve this immediately. The court (and not the judgment creditor) is then responsible for filing the form Acknowledgment of Satisfaction of Judgment , which states that you have paid the judgment in full.
If the judgment debtor is willing to pay the judgment but can't pay the whole judgment at one time, then the judgment debtor may pay the amount of the judgment in installments. The judgment debtor should first ask the judgment creditor if the judgment creditor is willing to accept installment payments. (See the information on installment payments in "Have You Tried to Settle the Dispute Yourself?" by clicking here). If the judgment creditor insists on receiving the full amount, or if both parties can't agree on an installment payment plan, the judgment debtor can file a Request to Pay Judgment in Installments form. This form must be filed with a Financial Statement, a financial declaration form. Both the Request to Pay Judgment in Installments and the Financial Statement will be mailed to the judgment creditor by the court. The judgment creditor can either oppose your request or agree to it. A hearing may or may not be held.
Protecting property or income from
collection
A judgment debtor may be able to legally protect some or all of his or her assets (property) and income from being taken to pay the judgment. It may be possible to protect necessities of life such as one's house, furniture, clothes, car (within certain price limitations), certain other personal property, and all or a portion of one's earnings. In addition, workers' compensation, unemployment, pension, social security, welfare, or insurance payments are protected and can't be taken to satisfy a judgment. At your request, the small claims court clerk or a small claims advisor can give you a list of assets that are protected ( exempt assets ) in California.
CAUTION: Some assets of a judgment debtor are automatically protected, but, in the case of others, you must ask the court to determine that the assets are exempt from enforcement action. To protect these assets, you must file a Claim of Exemption form within 10 days after you receive the notice that the judgment creditor is taking enforcement action. You can obtain the form from the small claims clerk or the sheriff's or marshal's office. List the property you believe is exempt. If enforcement action is taken against your earnings, list all of your income and expenses. The court will decide which assets and how much of your earnings are protected from collection.
Ways for Judgment Creditors to Collect the
Judgment
This section highlights
ways for you to collect your judgment. Several books give a far more
thorough treatment of this area than is possible here. One is How to
Collect When You Win a Lawsuit, a comprehensive and well-written book
available from bookstores and Nolo Press at (800) 992-6656 or order online
at www.nolo.com. A good legal text on judgment enforcement procedures
should be consulted prior to using any of the steps set forth
below.
The following are some things
you can do to try to collect a judgment if the judgment debtor refuses to
pay:
Levy execution on the debtor's
wages
A wage garnishment orders the debtor's employer to give the sheriff, who then sends you, part of the debtor's wages until the debt is paid. To garnish wages, you need to complete a Writ of Execution form, which directs the sheriff to enforce your judgment. It is issued by the small claims clerk. You'll also need to complete and pay a fee for an Application for Earnings Withholding Order.
Levy execution on the debtor's
checking or other bank account (bank levy)
A bank levy means that money will be taken from the debtor's bank account to pay the judgment. You'll need the name and branch address of the bank. Get a Writ of Execution from the small claims clerk. There is a fee to issue a Writ of Execution.
Record an Abstract of Judgment
An Abstract of Judgment puts a lien on any land, house, or other building the debtor owns in the county where the Abstract of Judgment is recorded. Record the abstract in all counties where the debtor may own property. If the property is sold with title insurance, the debt will be paid out of the proceeds of the sale.
Typically, you do not receive interest on the judgment, but only the principal that was stated in the Abstract of Judgment. To record an Abstract of Judgment, take your judgment to the small claims clerk, ask for an Abstract of Judgment, have it issued by the court, and take it to the county recorder to record. The total fees are approximately $300.
Have the sheriff do a "till
tap"
If the debtor is a business with a cash register, the sheriff can go to the business and take enough money out of the register to pay the judgment and the sheriff's fee. First complete a Writ of Execution, have the clerk issue it, and take it to the sheriff. Instruct the sheriff to do a till tap. You must know the name and address of the business. If there isn't enough money in the register to pay the judgment, you'll have to pay another fee each time the sheriff goes back.
Put a "keeper" in the
debtor's business
If the debtor is a business, the sheriff will, for a fee, remain in the debtor's business establishment and take all the funds that come in until the judgment is paid. The keeper can collect cash, checks, and bank credit card drafts. You'll need the name and address of the business. Get a Writ of Execution, have the clerk issue it, and take it to the sheriff. Tell the sheriff you want to put a keeper in the business. If the debtor closes the business while the sheriff is there, you'll have to pay another fee each time the sheriff goes back.
Conduct a "judgment debtor's
examination"
In a judgment debtor's examination, the debtor is ordered to appear in court to answer your questions about the existence and location of his or her salary, bank accounts, property, and anything else that could be used to pay the judgment. If you wish, you can subpoena the debtor's bank books, property deeds, paycheck stubs, and similar documents and require the debtor to bring them to the hearing. At the judgment debtor's examination, you may have the judge order the defendant to turn over any assets in his or her possession. You'll need to complete and pay a fee for a Civil Subpoena Duces Tecum and an Application and Order to Appear for Examination form. The Application and Order to Appear for Examination must be served on the debtor by the sheriff or a registered process server. The debtor must be within 150 miles of the court.
Suspend debtor's driver's
license
If you obtained a judgment for $500 or less in an auto accident case and the judgment isn't paid within 90 days after the judgment becomes final, you may want to consider having the debtor's driver's license suspended for 90 days. You must complete form DL17, available from local offices of the Department of Motor Vehicles. If your judgment is for more than $500, you may have the license suspended indefinitely until the defendant pays the judgment. For further information, call the Department of Motor Vehicles Civil Judgment Unit at (916) 657-7573.
Prohibited Debt Collection Practices
Debtors are protected from certain abusive or unfair debt collection tactics. Creditors, including judgment creditors, can't do or say certain things. For example, commercial debt collection agencies and persons who regularly collect their own debts are generally prohibited from making false or misleading statements to collect a consumer debt. It's also unlawful to harass the debtor, to request more than basic location information about the debtor from another person, to tell the debtor's employer or others that the debtor owes a debt (except in the course of wage garnishment proceedings), or to contact the debtor before 8:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m., or at any inconvenient time or place.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding permissible debt collection activities, call your small claims advisor, consult an attorney, or call the Federal Trade Commission's San Francisco office at (415) 356-5270 or the Los Angeles Regional Office at (310) 824-4300. You may file a complaint at the Federal Trade Commission web site at www.ftc.gov.
Once the Judgment Is Paid
After the judgment debtor pays the judgment (in full or for a lesser amount if the parties agree), the judgment creditor is required to immediately sign the short Acknowledgment of Satisfaction of Judgment portion of the Notice of Entry of Judgment form and file it with the small claims court. This form is like a receipt; it's needed to end the case.
If the judgment creditor has recorded an Abstract of Judgment in any county where the judgment debtor owns real property, a different acknowledgment form must be used. Also, the judgment creditor must sign the form in front of a notary public and record it with the county recorder in any county where he or she has filed an Abstract of Judgment.
If the judgment creditor doesn't file the Acknowledgment of Satisfaction of Judgment with the court, the judgment debtor may ask the small claims court for help. If proper proof of payment is provided (for example, a cash receipt signed by the judgment creditor or a canceled check or money order made out to and endorsed by the judgment creditor), the small claims court can enter a Satisfaction of Judgment at the request of the judgment debtor.
