Collecting Your Judgment
Payment Is Not Guaranteed
Winning a civil judgment for money damages is no guarantee you'll
be paid. Although most people pay
voluntarily, some do not. Some defendants
simply neglect to pay, some do not have the means to pay, and some simply
refuse to pay. There are court
procedures for collecting a judgment when a defendant fails to pay.
Negotiate Payment
If the
defendant is willing to pay, but cannot pay the entire amount all at once, you
might consider allowing the person to satisfy the debt by installment payments
or at a fixed date in the future. Or,
you might negotiate the transfer of property from the defendant to you in lieu
of money. Be sure to put down the terms
of your settlement agreement in writing, and have it dated and signed by both parties.
Execution of a Judgment
If a defendant refuses to cooperate, there are court
procedures you can follow to enforce your judgment. The most commonly used procedure is called execution of a
judgment. Before you initiate court
action, you should try to identify any assets or property belonging to the
defendant and determine the location of this property and/or identify the
defendant's place of employment. Once
you have this information, you may proceed.
- You must
prepare and file a document called a praecipe that contains the case
heading (i.e., case name and number, and the district court in which the
judgment is filed) and that directs the clerk of court to issue an execution
directed to the sheriff of the county where the asset or property is
located. You must pay the court
fee when you file the praecipe.
- The
clerk will prepare and issue a document that indicates the entry and
amount of judgment and directs the county sheriff to seize specific
property or assets of defendant's or garnish defendant's wages (general
execution). If an execution
involves real estate, you need to provide the clerk with a legal
description of the property.
- The
sheriff will serve execution papers on any asset custodian such as a bank,
credit union, or other financial institution, or the defendant's
employer. The sheriff will collect
payment or seize personal property, or if real estate is involved the sheriff
will initiate a sale of the property.
- The
sheriff will turn over payments to clerk.
- You
must file a written request for an order condemning the funds held by
clerk.
- The
court will order the clerk to pay amounts collected by sheriff to you. You must pay the sheriff's fee.
- The
sheriff will continue collection efforts until judgment is satisfied or for
a 120-day period. If judgment is not
fully satisfied within 120 days, you may repeat the process.
Debtor's Exam
This is a process available to someone who has obtained a
judgment against another party and has attempted an execution on the
judgment, but the judgment debtor still has not paid the debt. In this situation, you can file a request
for a debtor's exam. Both parties will
have to appear in court where the judgment creditor may question the judgment
debtor under oath regarding the amount and location of the judgment debtor's
assets (e.g., bank accounts, real property).
See Iowa Code chapter 630.
