More details to this question:
I won a small claim judgement in 2014. I filed a garnishment of state refund in 2015 and 2016. The defendant filed for bankruptcy on 3/20/2017. The state sent the court a check for me on 4/17/2017. When I went to my court date on 6/14/2017, the magistrate said he didn't know if he could give me the check. Now what...am I S.O.L ? Thanks, Tina
1 ANSWER
If the debtor filed bankruptcy, all actions to collect debts from him/her/it are automatically stayed until the bankruptcy court says otherwisde, and you can get in a lot of trouble for making any collection efforts while the bankruptcy is ongoing. You have to seek your money in the context of the bankruptcy action. Without knowing under what bankruptcy chapter the debtor filed, what type of debt was owed (most debts are dischargeable in bankruptcy, but not all), or what if any assets the debtor has, there is no way to tell whether you will be able to recover all or any part of the judgment you are owed.
Answered on Jun 15th, 2017 at 11:24 AM