How do I get paid when I have Judgement?
So you have won your case and the court or tribunal has awarded you some compensation/damages and you do not know what to do.
Trying to get your money, can be as difficult as the case you started in the first place.
Some important tips that may apply to your circumstances:
If the person who owes you money goes bankrupt or the company goes into liquidation, then you will need to prove your debt, but may not get paid or much less than what you are owed. Once this happens, your debt will normally be unenforceable at that point.
The court can order that you receive payment from the person or companies bank account, known as a garnishee order. this can include a third parties account, who holds money on behalf of the person or company who owes you the money.
if you are not sure where to start, you can ask the court to issue an Examination Summons which requires the person/company to provide proof of what assets they have, including bank accounts.
You can reach a deal and ask the court to make an instalment payment agreement. If this is approved by the court, you cannot break this agreement unless payment is not made as agreed.
You can ask the court to make an order that the sheriff take and sell property belonging to the other party. The sheriff can then sell this property to pay the debt. In some cases having the sheriff come to their door will encourage the other party to try to make arrangements to pay you.
You can apply to have a person/company property to be sold. This can be a lengthy and expensive process.
You can apply to make the person/company bankrupt by following the process of serving the relevant documents within a strict timeframe. A trustee/liquidator appointed can then seize any assets, and you may get paid from this process.
if you recieved an order that the other side pay your costs, you cannot immediately add these to your judgement unless the court has specified an amount or you have had those costs assessed as reasonable. Remember you never normally get reimbursed all your costs.
Normally a judgement lasts for a certain period of time, where it can be enforced. In NSW that time period is 12 years.
These tips do not take into account the amount of the judgement and all relevant circumstances.
Contact Culleton Lawyers to discuss your particular circumstances to see what we recommend.