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Judgement ExecutionHow to Turn Judgments into Cash

December 17, 2021

Consider the following scenario: a business (let’s call it “Debtor X”) has ordered goods from you; you’ve delivered the goods; Debtor X has accepted those goods but has failed or refused to pay. You sue Debtor X and get a judgment against them for $15,000. They then promptly write a check to you for the full amount. Great! But what if they don’t? What if they fail to acknowledge your judgment at all?

You have several options. To utilize two of those options, you’ll need to file a Writ of Execution. With a Writ of Execution you’ll ask the Sheriff to: (1) take an inventory of Debtor X’s personal property to sell at a Sheriff’s Sale; or (2) serve the Writ of Execution upon Debtor X’s bank in the hope of garnishing their bank account; or (3) both.

Another option involves serving written discovery requests upon Debtor X or taking the deposition of a representative of Debtor X during which you can ask for information regarding assets and bank accounts.

Because there are filing and service fees associated with a Writ of Execution as well as fees incurred in a deposition, you’ll want to do your homework on Debtor X’s assets (and additional liabilities) before making any decisions.

The above is a very simplified description of the most common execution options. It is intended to convey that a debtor’s refusal to pay a judgment isn’t necessarily a dead end for the creditor. With a carefully researched plan, it may be possible to recover on the judgment awarded to you by the Court.