QUESTION
We settled our case but now the defendant isn't paying. How can we proceed to collect payment?
Asked on May 06th, 2015 on Business Law - Ohio
More details to this question:
-Defendant bought material from us-Never paid his invoice. -Filed paperwork with court-had court date -Defendant wanted to settle-we accepted -Our lawyer backed out of our case -We had to send a motion to dismiss due to settlement. -Case was dismissed w/ predjudice -Defendant is not paying -1st time I called Court said judgment is final & defendant is not upholding judgment. He will need to appear before court. -Called court again to see how to file for him to appear. This time Court said judgment is final & nothing they can do -What is the best thing to do in this situation? Court was in OH, we are located in NC
1 ANSWER
Bankruptcy Attorney serving Bratenahl, OH
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O’Rourke & Associates Co., LPA
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While you haven't given us all of the details and haven't shared the settlement agreement (I assume that it was in writing), the Court should still have jurisdiction over your case.
You say that the defendant bought material from you, I am not sure whether you are a company or an individual. If you are a company, according to the Ohio Supreme Court, you must have a lawyer represent you, otherwise you are practiceing law without a license and the Court should not hear you. If you are an individual, you can represent yourself. So, either you or your attorney should, depending on your settlement agreement, file a Motion to Enforce the Settlement in the same court with the same case number. There may or may not be a filing fee, depending on the court, but there will likely not be a full, new case filing fee.
Answered on May 14th, 2015 at 2:24 PM