While the process of obtaining a judgement through business litigation can be a daunting and futile ordeal without legal representation, most business owners are probably well aware that the hard part is enforcing a judgment. Once a settlement or trial results in a judgment, the court essentially has no further role in the process. Commercial creditors must take the initiative to pursue the collection of moneys owed pursuant to the judgment. This blog post provides an overview of basic information about enforcing judgments.
Although the law varies depending on the jurisdiction, business creditors have a limited period of time to enforce a judgment. Under Texas law, a judgment is valid for ten years if procedures are not followed to renew the judgment for consecutive 10 year periods. The importance of keeping the judgment valid cannot be overstated because the judgment becomes time barred if it is not renewed. Nearly three in four judgments expire without being enforced because many businesses proceed without a business lawyer who has expertise in judgment enforcement.
There are several debt enforcement tools that our law firm might use to collect the money owed to your business:
Writ of Execution: Whether we use skip trace services, judgment debtor examinations, or asset search software, our law firm works to uncover bank accounts and other sources of cash that the debtor might be diverting or hiding. While the legal process can be complicated, our law firm might file a Writ of Execution which can be served on the debtor’s bank to retrieve money deposited into the financial institution. In some cases, we might even be able to obtain a Writ or Execution that permits a law enforcement official to seize cash at the business establishment of the debtor.
Filing Liens on Real Property: A lien essentially places a legal claim on property that constitutes a cloud on title in the debtor’s county. Our law firm will perfect the lien with the county recorder, which generally will have to be resolved before the property can be sold. If a judgment lien is in place, you will receive the amount owed to you from the proceeds of the sale.
Wage Garnishment: Depending on the circumstances, an officer or owner of the business that owes a debt can be held personally liable for the financial obligation. This can be a powerful tool that results in funds being deducted from paychecks by the payroll department of the business before the individual subject to the garnishment receives his or her net pay. Most states impose a maximum amount that can be deducted from each pay period.
Andrew Weisblatt of the Weisblatt Law Firm in Houston has been advising all types of businesses from large corporations to one-owner operations for many years. He understands the unique approach needed for each type of B2B debtor that you have to ensure the most successful collection results possible. Please do not hesitate to call a B2B collections attorney at 713-666-1981 today.
Attorney Andrew Weisblatt
Mr. Weisblatt has practiced continuously since becoming licensed in 1992 and has represented businesses ranging in size from one person start-up ventures to multi-national corporations employing hundreds of people in multiple countries. From 2005 through 2009 Mr. Weisblatt was in-house counsel and chief operating officer of a multi-national corporation in the steel products industry. That in-house position provided valuable insight into how businesses work and what they actually need from their lawyers – both in-house and outside counsel. Attorney Bio
