How does a civil lawsuit for negligence work if the defendant is broke? How will the plaintiff recieve the money for the damages? How does all of this work?
2006-08-28 05:00:30 · 7 answers · asked by David 2 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
There are times when the plaintiff wins his case but the defendant is broke and the plaintiff gets no money. It is possible to put a lien on a losing defendant's assets, he can be required to sell things he owns to raise funds, or his paycheck can be attached. This is done by motion before the court, it needs to be done by a lawyer, and it will probably be fought by the defendant's lawyer.
2006-08-28 05:05:24 · answer #1 · answered by jxt299 7 · 5⤊ 0⤋
Once he or she is found guilty, a letter is mailed to them letting them know they lost and they need to pay you within 30 days. If it has not been paid within 30 days, the court will garnish their wages at work. The person gets a notice from their payroll department that the government is taking 25% of their paycheck to pay you. This is forced upon and is not avoidable. If they don't have a job, it will be harder to collect, but not impossible. They will have a civil judgement on their credit report and will not be able to get credit anywhere or rent an apartment. Civil judgements are worse than credit card charge offs or late payments. Employers who run credit checks will not hire someone with civil judgements.
2006-08-28 05:09:07 · answer #2 · answered by ahmadaziz 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If the defendant has no money, no job and no assets you will not receive anything. However I think a judgment has no time limit so you could possibly get something once the defendant does get a job or ends up owning anything of value. Until then you are screwed.
2006-08-28 05:29:00 · answer #3 · answered by Anna 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Your judgment is only as good as your ability to collect. If the debtor doesn't have any assets for sufficient income, then your judgment is a pretty piece of paper.
If the defendant had insurance to cover the claim, you might be able to collect from the carrier.
2006-08-29 19:28:36 · answer #4 · answered by Carl 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If I were you I would go to my local legal aid department, located in the white pages or online, most legal aides will represent for free, or for a low fee, you can also find lawyers in the yellow pages that work for you for free, and you pay them when you receive and award or damages, if you do not win you do not have to pay. Check with legal aide first they can help you and direct you to free help.
2006-08-28 05:05:42 · answer #5 · answered by AJ R 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm not sure of the exact procedure, but I believe that they garnish all future wages and income that they accussed may acquire until the debt is paid.
2006-08-28 05:07:13 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
If they have real estate or own their vehicle you can put a lien on their property or freeze their bank account.. Usually when you freeze their bank account they pay up!!!
2006-08-28 05:05:27 · answer #7 · answered by AT 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋