John is a landlord thinking about taking a former tenant to court over several thousand dollars in unpaid rent. The tenant moved out more than a year ago but has since failed to pay what he owes. John is convinced that a civil lawsuit resulting in a judgment in his favor would force payment in short order.
Unfortunately, John doesn’t know a whole lot about civil court and judgments. He would do well to educate himself before going to court. The same applies to you. If you are unfamiliar with how judgments work, going into it unprepared could leave you worse off than when you started.
Here are five things to know about judgments before you go to court, compliments of Salt Lake City’s Judgment Collectors:
1. They Are Civil Orders
A lot of people make the mistake of thinking that a judgment is the civil court equivalent of a criminal sentence. It is not. In fact, it’s not even close. Judgments are civil orders governed by an entirely different set of laws as compared to criminal sentences. Furthermore, courts have quite a bit of leeway in terms of what they award.
All of this is to say that a judgment entered in your favor might not award you enough money to make it worth your while. How much are you owed? How much will you spend to get paid? You need to think about that.
2. Courts Don’t Enforce Them
Because people equate judgments with criminal sentences, they make the mistake of assuming that courts enforce the judgments they enter. Wrong again. Enforcement – which is to say actual collection – is the responsibility of the creditor. If you go to court and win a judgment, you are responsible for collecting it. The court will not get involved except under very limited circumstances.
3. They Are No Guarantee of Payment
Next up, a judgment does not constitute a guarantee of payment. You may run up against a debtor who has already determined he will not pay what he owes. He may make every effort to avoid disclosing employment and asset information. He may choose to hide assets. He might even quit his job and skip town.
In a perfect world, creditors and debtors would always work out acceptable payment plans following their respective court cases. But this is not a perfect world. It is a world in which deadbeats try to avoid paying.
4. They Have Statutes of Limitation
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-align: justify;”>Judgments come with statutes of limitation. In most states, it is 7-10 years. Say you live in a state with a 10-year statute of limitations. If you get to the end of the tenth year and still have not managed to collect, you either need to let it expire (and lose all rights to collect thereafter) or go back to court and renew it for another ten years.
5. Most Judgments Are Never Collected
Finally, the vast majority of judgments entered in U.S. courts are never collected. That’s because creditors try to collect on their own, despite not having the time, resources, or experience to do it effectively. They simply cannot keep up with deadbeats who are unwilling to cooperate.
For the record, that’s why specialized judgment collection agencies like Judgment Collectors exist. A specialized collection agency does nothing but track down judgment debtors and get them to pay. They have the tools, knowledge, and experience to get things taken care of on behalf of their clients.
Before you decide to take someone to civil court, educate yourself. Know exactly what you are getting into should you win your case.