I dug a pond for a person and he did not pay. I took him to small claims and was given a judgment against him. He has not paid or responded to the court papers so I have filed for a supplemental hearing. What questions am I allowed to ask him? How much detail can I get and can I get a lien against his properties? He has a lot of assets.
-- rkd
A.
Many people do not realize that having a judgment is no guarantee of getting paid.
There is a whole body of law dealing with enforcement of judgments, and it can be very complicated. It is not clear what hearing you are talking about, but if you are examining the judgment debtor in court, you might want to ask him every thing you can. If he refuses, ask the judge to order to him to answer. Ask him how much money he has in his wallet and then ask the court to order him to give it to you to partially satisfy the judgment. Ask him for his car keys, credit cards, bank accounts, anything to do with his financial assets. What may make more sense, though, is to go talk to a collection agency. Maybe they'll help you collect. You'll have to pay a percentage of the recovery to them, but they will know what they are doing and cut to the chase. Chances are that you'll get paid a lot sooner. Or, go see a lawyer. He would be able to get you a judgment lien that may be another route to getting paid. Otherwise, you are likely to flounder along and never recover anything on your judgment.
