How Do I Collect A Small Claims Court Judgment?

Question

I won the judgment because the person didn't show up for court.
They now live in North Carolina.
The court judgment took place in California.

What course of action can I take to get my money?

Answer 1

Your question raises a number of different issues, so I'm afraid this answer is going to be a bit long. Sorry about that -- I'll try and be as brief as possible.
First of all, you cannot begin collecting on a California Small Claims Judgment until 30 days after the judgment is filed. Since, as you say, you got the judgment because the defendant did not appear in court (this is called a "default judgment,") the defendant can ask the court for relief from the judgment under Code of Civil Procedure § 473(b) up to six months after the judgment is filed. Thus, unless there is some particular reason not to wait, I usually suggust waiting at least six months before attempting to collect a default judgment in California.
Second thing: Right now, you have a California judgment. What that judgment does, in effect, is allow you to take whatever property the defendant might have that is located in California (eg, if the defendant has land in california, or a bank account in California), using certain procedures specified by law. The first link below is probably the best source of information about how you can use the court's processes to take any property the debtor might have in California.
If the debtor does not have any property in California, then you will need to register the judgment in the North Carolina court for whatever county the debtor lives in or owns property. Click on the second link below, and scroll down to "Article 17 Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act" Then, get a CERTIFIED copy of the judgment from the California court that entered it, and attach an "affidavit which states that the foreign judgment is final and that it is unsatisfied in whole or in part, and which sets forth the amount remaining unpaid on the judgment." Take that "affidavit" to a notory public, have the notory notorize it with a "jurat", and attach it to the certified copy of the judgment. It would be a REALLY good idea to contact the clerk of whatever county you want to file the judgment in, and ask about the procedure / mandatory forms for registering a foreign (out of state) judgment. Use the third link below to get the contact information for the North Carolina courts.
Once your judgment is registered in North Carolina, you will be able to execute it against the debtor's North Carolina property. I'm afraid I do not know exactly how to go about doing that, except to tell you that you will need to register the judgment in North Carolina.
To find out how to collect a North Carolina judgment, or to get any other information about how to enforce your judgment in North Carolina, I would suggust you contact a North Carolina attorney. Call 800-662-7660 (the NC Bar Association), and you will be refered to one who is appropriate for your particular case.
Good luck.

Answer 2

If you already won the case, you're lawyer should file a petition in North California (lower court) for a court order in order to satisfy your claims.

Answer 3

If he owns a house or property you may place a lien on it and whilst it is offered you would be paid from the courtroom situations. We waited approximately 8 years on a small claims settlement, yet beneficial adequate at some point they did sell their abode and we did get a verify.

Answer 4

You can go back to court and petition the court to order them to pay the judgement. If necessary, you can attach their wages. But then again you would have to know where they were working. Ideally, if you had their checking account number, you could zap their bank.
good luck

Answer 5

You can hire an attorney if you like, but the chances of getting your money from someone out of state is pretty slim.

Answer 6

hire a lawyer