Collecting Your Judgment May Require You to Take Legal Action
If you get a favorable verdict in a civil case, you usually get a monetary award from the court that the defendant will pay. This happens in legal disputes over unintentional or intentional torts. However, some defendants may not be willing to pay.
If you recently won a lawsuit, you may need the award to maintain your financial security. Thus, if the defendant delays or refuses to pay the judgment amount, you will have to take legal efforts to get what is owed to you.
Taking Legal Action to Collect Your Judgment
Once a judge or jury issues a judgment in your case, you and the defendant will get an official Notice of Judgment. This document includes the amount to be paid to you and the information on how to collect the award. But, the courts cannot enforce judgments or compel defendants to pay themselves. Thus, it is mainly up to you to contact the defendant to collect the award. If the defendant is not willing to pay, things can get complicated for you.
The best thing you can do to collect on a judgment in New York is to work with a debt collection lawyer. You and your attorney can contact an enforcement officer about your situation. You must give the officer a property or income execution to collect the court-awarded amount because of the debtor’s refusal to pay. With the execution, the office can seize property or attach to the debtor’s wages to have the judgment paid.
Why You Need a Legal Professional?
Keep in mind that requesting an execution and collecting an outstanding judgment can be complicated. Before you should approach an officer, you must prepare information about whether the debtor has assets that can be used to pay your judgment and where they can be found. Getting this information requires legal actions like subpoenas and court orders. In addition, you need to go to the Small Claims Court clerk for some documents. As with any legal matter, you need to approach the situation with an attorney’s counsel and legal representation to avoid making things even more complicated.
If the defendant in your case is not willing to pay you the judgment, you become a creditor in this case. An experienced collection attorney in New York represents creditors when collecting what is owed to them. They stand to provide keen insight and aggressive representation to make sure the debtor pays you the amount you deserve.
