COLLECTING A JUDGMENT

How soon after winning a judgment can I start collecting against the other party?
What if the debtor or her assets are in another state?
How do I enforce a judgment from another state against a debtor who lives here?
What options do I have after losing a judgment?
Can I get back the money I spent trying to collect the judgment from the debtor?
Does my judgment collect interest?
How long is a judgment good for?
How do I make a judgment debtor pay if she will not pay voluntarily?
How can I prevent my bank account from being levied or my wages from being garnished?
How can I respond to the judgment debtor's claim of exemption?
Do I have to do anything else after the debtor pays the judgment in full?
What should I do if I satisfied the judgment in full but the judgment creditor refuses to file an acknowledgment of satisfaction of judgment?

How soon after winning a judgment can I start collecting against the other party?

You have to wait 30 days after the small claims court mailed the Notice of Entry of Judgment before you can start collecting the judgment from the losing party (judgment debtor). If you won an appeal, then you may begin collecting immediately.

What if the debtor or her assets are in another state?

You must first file an Exemplification (Form SC-55) and file the exemplified copy of the judgment with the appropriate court in the other state to get its judgment. Please contact that court for instructions as this clinic cannot offer legal advise on the laws and procedures of another state.

How do I enforce a judgment from another state against a debtor who lives here?

You must first get a sister state judgment from the court here that reflects the judgment from the other state's court. However, you can only get that from the civil division of the superior court located at 720 9^th Street, Sacramento, California 95814. Please contact the clerk of that court.

What options do I have after losing a judgment?

You can pay the judgment to the court by submitting a Request to Pay Judgment to the Court (Form SC-145) along with an administration fee of $25.

If you cannot pay the entire judgment in one lump sum, then you can file a Request to Pay Judgment in Installments (Form SC-106) and a Financial Statement (Form SC-116b) indicating how much you can realistically pay per week or per month. The court will forward your request to the winning party (judgment creditor) for his acceptance. If the judgment creditor accepts the offer or does not reply, then the court grants the request. If the creditor rejects outright or makes a counter-offer for a higher amount, then the court will schedule a hearing, at which time a judicial officer will decide whether or not to grant the petition and the amount.

Can I get back the money I spent trying to collect the judgment from the debtor?

You can recover some of the expenses you incur in trying to collect as long as they are reasonable (see California Code of Civil Procedure sections 685.010 through 685.100).  You should periodically, or after each expenditure, file a Memorandum of Credits, Accrued Interest and Costs After Judgment (Form SC-20) to let the court know how much partial payment you received, how much money you spent to try collecting, and how much interest has accrued. A copy of the Memorandum must be mailed or delivered to each judgment debtor.

Does my judgment collect interest?

A court judgment automatically accrues a simple interest at the rate of 10% per year.

How long is a judgment good for?

A judgment is good for 10 years. Before the time runs out, you can renew the judgment for another 10 years, again and again, by filing an Application for and Renewal of Judgment (Form SC-26).

How do I make a judgment debtor pay if she will not pay voluntarily?

Bank levy
You can levy execution on the judgment debtor's bank accounts. You file a Writ of Execution (Form SC-10) with and pay the $7.00 fee to the court clerk who issues it. You then give the issued writ and an instruction along with $30.00 fee to the sheriff in whose county the bank is located. On the instruction sheet, you must give the street address of the bank branch where the debtor's account is kept. Some banks accept service of the writ at any of its branches so call the bank and find out.

Wage garnishment
You can also attach the judgment debtor's wages by following the same procedure as with bank levy. However, you must provide the sheriff with the issued writ, an Application for Earnings Withholding Order (Form SC-118), and $25.00 service fee. You must give the name and address of the debtor's employer. Up to 25% of the debtor's take-home pay may be garnished.

If the employer is a federal government agency, then you must first file a Motion for an Order Assigning Right of Payment and get a judge's approval. A copy of the motion is available at our clinic.

Real property lien
You can put a lien on any real property the judgment debtor owns, or may acquire in the future, in a county by submitting an Abstract of Judgment (Form SC-13) and $7.00 filing fee to the court. You then record the issued (stamped) abstract with the County Recorder, whose office for Sacramento county is located at 600 8^th Street, Sacramento, California. You should file and record a separate abstract for each county you wish to place a lien against the judgment debtor's properties.

Till tap / Keeper
If the judgment debtor's business does has lots of cash on the premises, you may send a sheriff out for a till tap or a keeper. A till tap is where a deputy sheriff goes out to the business and collects all cash and cash equivalent in the cash registers or containers on the premises. The fee for this service is $85.00. A keeper is where a deputy sheriff is sent out for a set number of hours to stay at the debtor's business and collect money that comes in. The cost is substantially more and depends on the number of hours the deputy sheriff is directed to stay at the debtor's business premises.

Driver's license suspension
If your case involved a car accident and you got a judgment for $500.00 or less that has not been satisfied in 90 days, then you may file a form DL17, available at any Department of Motor Vehicles office, to suspend the judgment debtor's driver's license for 90 days. If your judgment is for more than $500.00, the suspension may last indefinitely until the defendant pays you. Contact the Department of Motor Vehicles Civil Judgment Unit at (916) 657-7573.

Order of Examination
If the judgment debtor has not provided you with his Debtor's Statement of Assets, and you do not have any information about his finances you could use to collect from him, then you should file an Order to Produce Statement of Assets and to Appear for Examination (Form SC-134) and pay the $25.30 fee to the court clerk. You should then have the debtor personally served by a sheriff or a licensed process server so that you will be allowed to request a civil bench warrant against the debtor if he fails to show up for the examination. At the examination, you or your representative may inquire about the debtor's finances and any other information that would help you collect the judgment. Once a debtor has been examined, he cannot be examined for another 120 days.

Any subsequent examination of the judgment debtor, or of a third party that has control over or information about the debtor's assets may be accomplished by filing an Application and Order for Appearance and Examination (Form EJ-125).

There are a few other methods available, such as garnishing the wage of the judgment debtor's spouse or getting a court order directing a third party who owes money to the debtor to pay you instead. For details on these and other collection methods, contact our clinic.

How can I prevent my bank account from being levied or my wages from being garnished?

You owe the money to the judgment creditor. However, if the money or the asset being levied is exempt or you need the money to provide basic necessities of life (such as food, shelter and clothing) for yourself and your dependents, then you may file a Claim of Exemption (Form SC-116a for bank levy or Form SC-116 for wage garnishment) and a Financial Statement (Form SC-116b) with the sheriff.

How can I respond to the judgment debtor's claim of exemption?

You must obtain a Notice of Opposition to the Claim of Exemption (Form SC-31c for bank levy or Form SC-31 for wage garnishment) and a Notice of Hearing on the Claim of Exemption (Form SC-31a). Directions on how to oppose the debtor's claim of exemption is printed on the copy of the claim of exemption sent to you by the sheriff's department. If you have further questions, contact the sheriff's department or our clinic.

Do I have to do anything else after the debtor pays the judgment in full?

You must file a short Acknowledgement of Satisfaction of Judgment portion of the Notice of Entry of Judgment. However, if you recorded an Abstract of Judgment with the County Recorder, you must file the full page Acknowledgement of Satisfaction of Judgment (Form SC-12a) after signing it in front of a notary public and recording it in every county where you filed the abstract.

What should I do if I satisfied the judgment in full but the judgment creditor refuses to file an acknowledgment of satisfaction of judgment?

You can file an Ex Parte Application for Satisfaction of Judgment along with proof of payment, such as a copy of the cancelled payment check. You can also write a letter to the creditor demanding that he file the acknowledgment. If he does not file the acknowledgment within 14 days of receiving the demand, then you may sue him for actual damages you suffer as a result of his refusal plus $50.00 penalty.