In July I took a party to small claims court, in California, on a matter arising from an auto accident-- on the advice of my insurance company’s adjuster. The judge ruled in my favor. But the notice I received from the court, informing me of the judge’s decision, said the other party had 30 days to appeal-- I didn’t even know a small - claims decision could be appealed. The 30 days since the decision have passed, with nothing in today’s mail. How much longer should I expect to wait before the other party has to pay me?
You don’t mention where you are, but it’s my understanding that small claims courts do not have a mechanism to “automatically” collect the judgment for you. That means, if the other party doesn’t pay up, you’ll need to go the sheriff and get a lien on his property or bank account. Consult the small claims court rules in your own state, and they should tell you what steps you need to take.
Legal questions are best suited to IMHO.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
FWIW, I did say I am in California…
Long ago in Texas, my college housemate and I filed a Small Claims Court suit against a third housemate who skipped out and left us in a lurch. The court found in our favor, but the third housemate never paid. We were told we’d have to escalate the case (with a filing fee) and jump through a lot of hoops to stand a chance of getting any money. It wasn’t worth it.
Since then I’ve considered Small Claims Court to be a joke. The Better Business Bureau is also a joke, but that’s another story.
Here are some online sources of information provided by the California court system as to what to do after small-claims court has awarded judgment to you.
Disclaimer: Not legal advice. No attorney-client relationship.
The court doesn’t act as your collection agency. However a court order is a powerful thing which you can use to do all sorts of things to collect your money. However you are often forbidden from directly trying to collect and must go through a third party.
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I read up on Small Claims Court (in California specifically) in a self-help book by Nolo Press, some years ago. Disclaimer: These books emphatically state that it’s important to read the latest edition, as laws and case-law are continually evolving.
They recommend that you should wait the 30 days, until the defendant can no longer appeal, to make any attempt to collect. Explanation: They speculate that there’s some chance that the defendant will just ignore or forget the judgment, but if you try to collect while he can still appeal, it will just remind and motivate him to appeal.
Since OP has already waited over 30 days, this point is already a settled issue for him.
Appealing a Small Claims Court judgment (in California):
According to that same Nolo Press book, appeals work like this:
If the Court finds in favor of the Plaintiff, the Defendant has 30 days to appeal. If he does so, then the entire case is vacated and that’s the end of it. BUT, Plaintiff now has the option to bring the case de novo in Municipal or Superior (i.e., non-Small-Claims) Court, with all the rules and hassle and expenses that entails (for both parties). So the Defendant has to make a judgment call (or gamble) as to how likely it is that Plaintiff will do that and whether he wants to take that chance.
If the Small Claims Court finds in favor of the Defendant, then that’s the end of the case. Plaintiff has no right to appeal nor any other further recourse.
I had a successful small claims case in Kentucky. The losing party (I could just say “dirtbag”, but that would be judgmental) first tried to delay the case by not showing up for court with a last-minute excuse (the judge wasn’t buying it). Then they ignored the judgment.
It was only a minor hassle to send a form to banks in the area to place liens on any potential accounts. After a few months I’d pretty much given up hope of ever seeing the money, then a bank check arrived in the mail. 
I have found that the defendant has not appealed, but actually paid the amount of the judgment to the *court! * To make a long story short I will have to wait until the 30th of the month and call the court again to pursue the matter further… :rolleyes:
So now you’ll have to take the Small Claims Court to Small Claims Court to get your money. Good luck with that.
When I had my small claims suit decided in my favor all money paid by the loser was required to go through the court, which then issued me a check.
I suggest consulting a lawyer with experience in small collections as to what your options are. The downside is that you might have to pay for that lawyer’s time and, depending on the size of the judgement, that may or may not be worth it to you.
I collected about 1/3 of what the judge awarded before the loser skipped town. It would have been nice to get it all, but it got more than I was originally owed so I count it as a win.
Same thing for my son, I am afraid - he sued a guy, won for the whole amount, the guy never paid a dime and has still not done so. I got the same advice from an attorney in my state when I consulted him about a small claims case - I would probably win, but the defendant can just ignore me and it is up to me to collect.
Regards,
Shodan
If you do not think the defendant is going to pay, some satisfaction may be had by involving a collection agency.
I send a few accounts to collection each year from my business. Sometimes I get a percentage of what’s owed me, more frequently I get zip. But occasionally I get the satisfaction of having a debtor who is unable to get a mortgage because of my outstanding debt.
This is fantastic news! He paid the judgment and you don’t have to pursue his assets through contested proceedings. You are light-years ahead of a lot of judgment creditors.
Here is a page from the LA Superior Court website describing the option to pay a judgment into the court, and the forms he had to file in order to do so. It’s not clear what you now do to obtain the release of the funds, but my guess is that there is some form that you will now have to submit.
Disclaimer: Not legal advice. It’s still up to you to figure this out.
My insurance company called me a little while ago and asked me to send them a copy of the Notice of Judgment. For some reason the other insurance company is just now getting around to trying to collect for damages to the other party’s car. My agent says that with this information they can deny the claim. This guy is going to be uptight indeed!
If it’s a question about forms, sometimes the court clerks can help. Forms are their thing.
Earlier today I called the court, as directed two weeks ago, to inquire about the status of my claim. From what I was told I decided it would be wise to go to the courthouse with my papers, so I did. The clerk had me sign another form and add my mailing address; she said the court will mail me a check within two weeks (pretty much what I had expected weeks ago).
I got a check in the mail today, from the county: almost $1500. The judge’s ruling in my favor. I had been told I would get the payment about this time, and now it has come… 