Litigation

Collecting On Your Judgement

Post judgment collections how you get paid once a judge rules in a plaintiffs favour. A plaintiff is the person who sued someone else for damages. Damages are what you sue for. For example, this area of law includes: breaches of contract, someone caused you harm, or even theft. At Kahane Law Office, we offer full litigation services. We are able to act for you from sending the first demand letter, through court and post judgment collections. With offices in both Calgary and Edmonton, we help clients across the province. Connect with our litigation lawyer today for the help you need to collect.

What Is A Judgment In Alberta?

A judgment is a court decision in the form of an order or ruling that requires a person to pay you money (or to do a certain thing). It can take some time to go through the court process, but sometimes the process is relatively quick. Normally, the judge hears all the evidence that both sides present and will then issue a ruling.

Post Judgment Collections

The judgment you received from the court is simply a ruling from the Court that the person against whom the judgment is issued (the “judgment debtor”) owes a certain sum of money to the person in whose favour the judgment has been granted (the “judgment creditor”). The Courts do not, however, independently take steps to compel payments by the

judgment debtor, so, as a judgment creditor, you must collect the money owed to you. This process is the post judgment collection process. There is no guarantee of being paid once you have a judgment, so it is important to assess your likelihood of post judgment collections before you start an action. Post judgment collections are legislated by Acts such as the Civil Enforcement Act. Learn more on how we assist collect through civil enforcement.

Ways Of Collecting Post Judgment Amounts Owed

Success in court is the start of receiving the money owed to you. Not all debtors pay what they owe when asked. Fortunately, a number of ways to proceed with post judgement collections exist under Alberta law. You can try them in any combination that makes sense to you. You may try one at a time or simultaneously attempt post judgment collections in a variety of way. They include:

Post Judgement Negotiations

This is a process of post judgment collections where the judgment debtor and judgment creditor negotiate terms of payment. Courts order the payment of money, however, not all debtor have funds available to pay all at once. Other debtors still refuse to pay. Negotiations may be an orderly payment of the debt or a lump sum payment (either in full or reduced to encourage immediate payment). Learn more about post judgment negotiations here.

Post Judgement Seizure

This involves situations where you won at court. You now need to collect on that court judgement. Sometime the debtor refuses to pay. Where a person or company refuses to pay their debt, the post judgement seizure process allows for the assets of the judgment debtor to be seized and sold for payment of the debt. This includes physical assets and bank accounts. Learn more about seizure here.

Post Judgment Garnishments

Next, this takes place after being successful in court. Post judgment garnishments are mechanisms for forcing payment of the judgment debt by companies or banks that owe the judgment debtor money. For example, people often garnish the wages of a judgment debtor. Alternatively, they garnish any funds they have in their bank account. Learn more about garnishment here.

Other Post Judgment Collections Mechanisms

Your judgment allows you to obtain a writ. This post judgment collections mechanism lets you the register your writ on both real property (land or homes) and at the personal property registry. You then allow other judgment holders take enforcement steps (such as seizure or garnishment) and receive your proportionate share of the proceeds of those steps, or just wait until the judgment debtor has to sell or refinance the specified property. If your registered interest is first in line, then your writ is paid out first. Learn more about other post judgment collection mechanisms here.

How Long Do You Have To Collect?

Running out of time to collect is a key concern for many people successful in court. Often a debtor lacks the immediate assets to pay you what your judgment allows for. In Alberta you can proceed with post judgment collections for up to ten years. This means that as a person or company’s financial position changes, you can continue to collect on the judgment awarded to you. In certain circumstances, opportunities exist to extend that ten year period. Fortunately, as time passes, most people start to make more money and acquire more assets. This allows you to progressively collect your judgment.

Types Of Post Judgment Collections Our Lawyer Act For

Finally, our Alberta lawyers are able to pursue post judgment collections of the following types of actions. This list is not exhaustive so call today for more details. Remember, if you have an action secured by your self or another firm, we can act with respect to collecting for you. For example, we help with these types of situations:

• credit card debts;
• breach of contract;
• personal injury matters (motor vehicle & slip and fall);
• theft;
• fraud;
• mortgage default;
• other secured debts; and lastly
• other unsecured debts

Call Now for Exceptional Service on Your Post Judgment Collection

If you won in court but lack the ability to get the funds from the person you own against, we help. Our team takes steps to attach to any asset owed by the debtor in order to pay your judgement. Call today so that we can help you with your post judgment collections legal needs. Please reach out to us anytime for the help you need! Call us in Calgary or surrounding area at 403-225-8810 or if you live in the Edmonton area please call (780) 571-8463. Alternatively, email often allows us to connect you to a lawyer quicker. Please email our collections team directly here.