Collecting a Money Judgement -- Special Civil Part
OVERVIEWIf money is owed you because you have been awarded a judgement in the Special Civil Part, you are a judgement creditor. You should contact the person who owes you the money (the judgement debtor) to discuss payment. Payments sometimes are made on the day of the court hearing or over time. If you do not receive money that is owed you, there are several ways the court can help you collect it. Although the court will try to help you collect the money owed you, it cannot guarantee your debt will be paid. The forms for the different methods of collection outlined below are available from the Office of the Special Civil Clerk. EXECUTION ON GOODS AND CHATTELS (PERSONAL PROPERTY)An execution on goods and chattels lets the court try to collect the money owed on a judgement from the debtors bank account or personal property. (Real estate cannot be used to collect money owed in the Special Civil Part.) You must locate and identify the debtor's personal property that can be used to satisfy your judgement. You may, for example, ask that a Court Officer try to sell personal items such as office equipment, etc., at a public sale. The debtor may keep $1,000.00 worth of personal property. If the debtor does not have $1,000.00 in personal property, this method cannot be used to satisfy your judgement and to collect the money owed you. If you ask that the Court Officer seize the debtor's motor vehicle, you must be able to show that the vehicle is registered in the name of the debtor. This is done by getting a certified copy of the title and a certified lien search from the New Jersey Division of Motor Vehicles. The fee for this procedure is $5.00 plus an applicable mileage charge. The Clerk or Court Officer will inform you of additional fees to advertise and sell the property when and if these events occur. A writ of execution is good for one year from the date it is issued, and can be renewed. BANK LEVYIf you know or can find out where the debtor has a savings or checking account in New Jersey, you may ask that a Court Officer collect your debit from the money in the account. You must provide the number of the bank, the address and the account number, if possible. Court Officers cannot search for bank accounts. After the money has been levied upon by the Court Officer, it is considered frozen. You must then file a Motion to Turn Over Funds with the court and serve a copy upon the debtor and the bank. If the court grants the motion, the judge will sign the Order to Turn Over Funds that you submitted with your motion. This order will be delivered to the bank by the Court Officer. The fee for this procedure is $5.00 plus mileage for each trip to the bank by the Court Officer. EXECUTION AGAINST WAGESAn execution against a person's wages can be requested if the debtor works in New Jersey and earns more than $127.50 per week. To request a wage execution, you must send a Notice of Application for Wage Execution to the debtor by regular and certified mail. A copy of the application and a statement of how you mailed the application to the debtor must be filed with the Office of the Clerk of the Special Civil Part. If the debtor objects to the wage execution, a hearing will be scheduled by the court. If the debtor does not object or the court does not allow the objection, an order for a wage execution will be issued and the wage execution will be delivered to the debtor's employer by the Court Officer. The employer will hold back a portion of the debtor's pay, in accordance with the Order for Wage Execution and will send this money to the Court Officer who will then send it to you. The fee for this procedure is $5.00 plus mileage for the trip to the debtor's employer. WRITS OF EXECUTIONThe court cannot levy on welfare benefits, Social Security benefits, SSI, veterans' benefits or unemployment benefits. Once you apply and the court issues a writ of execution on goods and chattels (personal property) or wages, it is assigned to a Special Civil Part Court Officer for collection. By law there is a 10% fee added to the amount of the judgement as the Court Officer's commission. This fee is listed on the writ and is payable to the Court Officer as the judgement is collected. The 10% is taken from the money collected by the Court Officer. Once a writ of execution is issued, the payments should be made directly to the Court Officer and not directly to you as the creditor. The Court Officer handles the bookkeeping, deducts the appropriate commission, and sends the balances to you. After a writ is returned by the Court Officer marked fully satisfied, the Clerk of the Special Civil Part will enter the satisfaction in the record. In some instances, after a levy has been made by the Court Officer or contact has been made with the debtor, settlement discussions may occur between you and the debtor. In making a settlement with the debtor, remember that the Officer who has made a valid levy or has in some way helped produce payment by law receives the 10% commission on any amount paid. Any partial or full payment made directly to you is subject to the commission that must be paid to the Court Officer. DOCKETED JUDGEMENTIf you or a Court Officer cannot collect the money due you on the judgement, you may have the judgement from the Special Civil Part recorded in the Superior Court Clerk's Office in Trenton. Once your judgement is recorded in the Superior Court, the debtor cannot sell with clear title any real estate owned in New Jersey until your debt is paid. To record a judgement, you should request a Statement for Docketing from the Clerk of the Special Civil Part. The Statement for Docketing must be filed with the Clerk of the Superior Court, Hughes Justice Complex, P.O. Box 971, Trenton, NJ, 08625. The fee for filing a Statement for Docketing is $10.00 payable to the Treasurer, State of New Jersey. There is no fee in the Special Civil Part. Once docketed, future efforts to collect a judgement originally awarded in the Special Civil Part must be made through the Sheriff's Office in the county where the debtor's assets are located. INFORMATION SUBPOENAIf you do not know where the judgement debtor has a savings or checking account, what personal property the debtor owns, or where the debtor works, you may obtain an information subpoena from the Office of the Special Civil Part Clerk. An information subpoena is a court paper containing questions about the debtor's assets. You may serve an original and one copy of an information subpoena upon the debtor either personally or by registered and certified mail, return receipt requested, and simultaneously by regular mail. You also must provide a postage paid, addressed envelope with the information subpoena. The debtor must answer and return the information subpoena within 14 days from the date on which it was served. An information subpoena cannot be served more than once in a six month period without approval of the court. If the debtor does not answer the information subpoena, he or she is subject to contempt sanctions enforceable by the court. COURT ORDER FOR DISCOVERYAnother approach for seeking information about a debtor's assets is to file with the court a petition stating the amount due on the judgement. The court issues an order requiring the debtor or any person who has information about the debtor's assets to answer questions concerning these assets at a place and time specified in the court order. A person may be required to appear only once without another court order. You may serve a copy of the order for discovery upon the debtor or other person either personally or by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested and simultaneously by regular mail at least 10 days before the appearance date. If the debtor or person named in the court order does not comply with the court order and fails to appear at the specified time and place to provide information about the debtor's assets, he or she is subject to contempt sanctions enforceable by the court. COLLECTING AN OUT-OF-STATE JUDGEMENTArticle 4 of the United States Constitution provides that a judgement awarded in a court of one state is entitled to full faith and credit in the courts of another state. To give a judgement awarded in another state validity to be collected in New Jersey, another lawsuit must be started in the appropriate court in New Jersey. To attempt collection or enforcement of an out-of-state judgement where the amount due is within the monetary limits of the Special Civil Part, you must file a complaint with an exemplified copy of the out-of-state judgement attached with the Office of the Clerk of the Special Civil Part in the county where the defendant lives or is located. The staff of that office will inform you of the applicable fees. SETTLEMENTIf a case is settled before trial, the plaintiff is responsible for filing a stipulation of dismissal with the Special Civil Part. If a judgement is paid, with or without the aid of a Court Officer, the plaintiff is responsible for filing a warrant of satisfaction with the Special Civil Part |
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