2007-09-25 16:32:17 · 7 answers · asked by nessuh 1 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Insurance & Registration
you won a judgement. good luck collecting. just because you won, doesn;t mean you will collect.
2007-09-25 16:37:07 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Congratulations, you won a judgment! If you're really expecting to see the money, your court adventure is just starting... If the party who hit you is concerned about their credit rating and has the means to pay you, payment can be made at any time in part or in full, either to you or into a special account at the court that would forward the money to you - it depends on the terms of the judgment and the state in which you live. If they are insured, you should receive payment from their insurance company within a short while; if not, you may want to contact the insuror and enquire about your money (you did get the name of their insurance at the time of the accident, didn't you?).
If the other party is not forthcoming with your money, you have a couple options. If the judgment was several hundred dollars or more, you could assign it to a collection agency; expect them to keep half or more of the total. You could also have the court elevate the judgment to a higher level of the court system (this varies from state to state), for example to a district court civil case or to a superior court case. You could then petition the court for a garnishment, which will help only if the other party is employed or has assets (bank account) and can be located (hasn't skipped out). There is normally a formula to determine how much of a person's wages can go towards a garnishment, so it could take a while to collect what you are owed. Again, garnishment monies are usually paid into a special court registry which would then pay you. Good luck to you in collecting.
2007-09-25 20:16:39 · answer #2 · answered by Heather D 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You have just learned a valuable lesson about the secrets of small claims court. Nobody tells you that if you win it is not a guarantee of payment. Some people believe that if the debtor doesn't pay the judgment that the debtor goes to jail, that is not true.
The court will not help you collect the money unless you go back and file for a wage garnishment. Good Luck with that. Less than 20% are successful.
In many states having a judgment against you can mean you can lose your drivers license. so contact the DMV in your state and see if you can use the judgment to get their drivers license revoked. That MIGHT get them to pay you.
2007-09-26 02:07:42 · answer #3 · answered by fighting saints 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
So you took them to small claims court, i am assuming, because they did not have insurance? If they do not have money for insurance what makes you think they have the money to pay the judgement? Good luck with that!
2007-09-26 07:37:57 · answer #4 · answered by ♥ Uwish ♥ 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ask the clerk of the court for information on collection procedures.
2007-09-25 22:22:07 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
It probably just say you won. If, you want paid you have to take them back to court again. There a name for it, but, I not remember.
2007-09-25 16:41:16 · answer #6 · answered by Snaglefritz 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Call the courthouse and ask the court clerk what the terms of settlement are.
2007-09-25 16:39:33 · answer #7 · answered by badbill1941 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋