QUESTION
Won a small claims judgement for property damage, it was not paid in time, now what should I do?
Asked on Jul 29th, 2014 on Civil Litigation - Washington
More details to this question:
I won a small claims judgement for property damage (my neighbors dog came onto my property and killed my dog). The judgment was not paid in the 30 days allowed so I had it transcribed onto the civil court docket. I received a copy of the civil court case information and now I am not sure what to do to try and collect. I looked into filing a writ of garnishment but I do not know where this person works. We live in Washington State. The defendant is a registered sex offender so I am sure that D.O.C. knows where he works but I am not sure if I can get that information. What should I do?
1 ANSWER
If Washington law is similar to the law in the states in which I practice, it should provide a mechanism for you to get discovery from the judgment debtor about his finances, under penalties of perjury and pain of being held in contempt of court. In New York I would either serve an information subpoena or a notice of deposition. Also, I might serve restraining orders on all local banks, looking to locate and freeze the debtor's bank accounts.
Answered on Jul 30th, 2014 at 9:47 AM