QUESTION
If I take someone to court and win how will I get paid since she claims to have no money?
Asked on Aug 12th, 2014 on Civil Litigation - New Jersey
More details to this question:
I am planning on suing the mother of a boy that ran into my truck with his bicycle. I gave her 30 days to make good on the damages. She admited in front of a police officer that her son did the damage and she would pay for it. My original estimate was for 3800 and she couldn't afford that so i worked it down to 2600. She claims to have no home owners insurance because her home is in foreclosure. She still hasn't made any payments. I am planning on suing for the original amount that I had told her.
1 ANSWER
If she actually has no assets, income, or insurance, you will not collect. However, you can collect on judgments for many years (20 years in NY, not sure about NJ), and there are various collection procedures (including taking discovery to determine the debtor's assets and income, attaching the defendant's assets, and/or garnishing the debtor's income) which can help you collect if the debtor is lying. Have you made a claim under your insurance policy?
Answered on Aug 12th, 2014 at 11:16 AM