Collecting a Judgement from a Debtor who Won't Pay

[megamooo]

Hello,

We are looking for advice as to how to collect a judgement from a judgement debtor. This guy owes us $2500 for failure to complete a construction job; although he requested a trial, he never showed up, and we were issued a default judgemant. Unfortunately, he and/or his company have little to no assets. He does own a vehicle, which is probably woth less than our judgement, but doeshave a bank account. We did read somewhere recently that in Delaware, a bank account cannot be garnished. If this is true, and there may be several other liens already on his vehicle, how should we proceed to collect?

Further, can items that this judgement debtor is currently selling on the internet be attached? If so, how would we proceed?

And just one other thought...what about his wife's wages? The judgement we received was against John Smith, Doing Business As Best Home Remodeling LLC. If his wife were a principal in the LLC, and we can identify her wage income, could anything there be attached?

All and any ideas would be greatly appreciated! Thanks so much!

 

[Michael Wechsler]

Unfortunately now the fun really begins -- execution. The state really doesn't do enough for small claims litigants. They award you the money but do not aid the plaintiff in righting the wrongful actions of a deadbeat and scofflaw.

(1) Make demand for payment in writing, sending a letter certified return receipt. If you don't receive payment promptly, e.g. within 14 days, then begin other remedies.

(2) Use information subpoenas (with restraining orders) to help find and freeze money that a debtor may have. The small claims court clerk will help you out. There is usually a nominal charge for this. Unfortunately the state doesn't help you in locating the debtor's assets and using asset locators could be challenging because some of their work has been deemed "illegal" despite what should be a right you have for this information.

(3) You could not seize the assets of the debtor's wife. Your judgment is only against the debtor. However, you might want to go after the husband's interest in any company he may own with his wife.

(4) File a lien against the debtor in the county you won your judgment (which should be in the county within which he lives.) The court clerks can give you some advice on doing this. Regarding the items on the Internet... difficult to comment without more information but if it's merchandise you may be able to place a lien on inventory.

Best of luck with this and let us know how things turn out. It has been a few years since I did battle in small claims court!