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1. Once a judgment is obtained (through either a default judgment, court order, or jury verdict), then what? In your ungraded activity this week, you prepared a motion for garnishment. Mr. Dewey Cheatham, Esq., would like a memorandum explaining all the options to enforce the judgment in this case, as well as ways in which the Defendant might try to evade the enforcement of the judgment. At a minimum you should be discussing three (3) ways in which Mr. Cheatham can seek to enforce the judgment, and three (3) ways in which the Defendant might attempt to evade enforcement.As a reminder, the following are the facts of the case:Silence DoGood, who has filed a complaint for negligence stemming from an auto accident, against Nick Slick. The complaint was filed around September 1, 2015. In the complaint, Ms. DoGood requested $50,000 in damages for emotional distress, anxiety, and compensation, after Nick Slick negligently damaged a box of letters Ms. DoGood had been keeping. He was supposed to restore the letters, which were family heirlooms, but ended up burning the letters beyond repair.The case has been pending in Greenacre district court. The Greenacre court issued a summons on September 3, 2015, by certified mail. It was returned having been claimed on October 1, 2015. No answer or other document has been filed by Nick Slick. Mr. Cheatham filed a Motion for Default Judgment, which was granted by the court. After a damages hearing occurred, the court issued judgment in favor of Ms. DoGood in the amount of $35,673.Your assignment should be formatted as a memorandum from your supervising attorney to the client. Your memorandum should be 2-3 pages in length, with proper formatting, spelling and grammar. You should use at least three (3) primary legal sources formatted according to Bluebook Standards. For writing assistance, consider using Grammarly or submitting your written assignment to the Writing Lab prior to submitting your assignment.
   • Your memo should contain the following sections:
   • Heading or Caption
   • Facts
   • Issue(s) Presented
   • Answer to Issue
   • Reasoning or Discussion
   • Conclusion

Evading Judgment

• When a judgment is entered against a party, the party who “won” the judgment is the “judgment creditor.” The party who lost and has to pay a judgment against them is the “judgment debtor.” There are a few ways a debtor might attempt to evade the enforcement of a judgment against them.

ExemptionAny time your property, bank accounts or wages are to be levied or garnished, you will be notified. The debtor is entitled to an exemption hearing, to argue that it will be a financial hardship on them if the property is taken, or that the property is exempt under state law. The debtor can request a claim of exemption hearing if the debt (now part of the judgment) was for a basic necessity. They also can claim an exemption under state law (typically up to a certain value) for property including:

• home
• car
• household furnishings
• clothingExemptions can be claimed for cash and bank accounts as well. Federal law protects certain types of benefits against attachment by creditors. Those benefits include:
• Social Security and Supplement Security Income (SSI)
• federal, civil service, and railroad retirement benefits
• veterans’ benefits
• student loan disbursements and aid, and
• FEMA aid.These benefits do not lose their exempt status, even when you cash the checks.

BankruptcyFiling for bankruptcy will wipe out a creditor’s ability to collect. If a debtor files for bankruptcy and the debt is listed on their schedule of creditors in the bankruptcy filing, the debt may be wiped away. In a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, a debtor’s assets are liquidated (with certain exceptions for exempt property) and the liquidated assets are distributed to the creditors, but there is a certain order creditors are paid, and judgment creditors are not among the first creditors to be paid. The only way to try and prevent the debt from being wiped out through bankruptcy is for the judgment creditor to file an adversary proceeding in bankruptcy court. The following types of debts often trigger an adversary proceeding filing:

• injury caused by a willful or malicious act, such as assault
• fraud used to obtain money, goods or services, such as lying on a credit application, or
• fraud committed while in a position of trust, such as embezzlement while acting as a trustee or guardian.

Other Methods of Evading Judgment

• Move money and property out of their name—some judgment debtors will move the money or property out of their name into the name of a family member, close friend, trust or spouse. In these cases, the property or money may be shielded from the creditor
• File a motion with the court to vacate the judgment—The debtor can try to have the judgment vacated. In federal court, Rule 60 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure governs this action. A party can ask the court to relieve it of the judgment due to:
• mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect
• newly discovered evidence that, with reasonable diligence, could not have been discovered in time to move for a new trial under Rule 59(b);
• fraud (whether previously called intrinsic or extrinsic), misrepresentation, or misconduct by an opposing party;
• the judgment is void;
• the judgment has been satisfied, released, or discharged; it is based on an earlier judgment that has been reversed or vacated; or applying it prospectively is no longer equitable; or
• any other reason that justifies relief.

Enforcing Judgment

• Your job as a paralegal may include writing the letters to the judgment debtor to try to collect the amount that was given in the judgment. You will keep track of all correspondence and whether the defendant follows through with the payment. If the defendant does not pay, then the law firm will start further proceedings.

Learning about a Debtor’s PropertyCollecting on a Judgment requires knowledge of the debtor’s finances and property. The following are ways in which you can learn about the debtor’s property.

• Dobtor’s Examinations: Most states allow the creditor to question the debtor, under oath, about their money and property.
• Written Questions: Some states allow a creditor to send written questions, which must be answered under oath, about the debtor’s employment, finances, property, etc.
• Court Appearance: In some states, the debtor can be ordered to show up in court and bring certain financial documents, such as bank statements or pay stubs.What Property Can Be “Taken”? What property the creditor can take varies from state to state. Usually, wages from employment, bank and other deposit accounts, and personal property (like an automobile) can be taken. Not all property can be taken, however. Every state has certain property it declares “exempt.” This means it is off limits to creditors, many times including pension and retirement funds.

Ways to Collect a Judgment

• Property Levies: Some states permit property to be levied. This is legal seizure of property in order to satisfy a debt.
• Assignment Orders: This is court order in which the debtor must assign certain rights to the creditor. Rights could be acquired to commissioned, wages, payments made from ownership in a company, or rental income.
• Contempt Proceedings: If a debtor fails to comply with an enforcement order, the court can hold a contempt proceeding, with fines or incarceration being ordered.
• Judgment Debtor Letter: This is a letter that will acknowledge that the defendant in the case has not paid the judgment that was ordered by the court.
• Follow-up Letter to Judgment Debtor: After sending the first letter to judgment debtor, you create another document called a follow-up letter to the judgment debtor. This letter informs the judgment debtor that legal action will be taken if the judgment debtor does not pay or make arrangements to pay the debt.
• Application and Affidavit for Writ of Garnishment: An Affidavit is a sworn document and explains why we want the court to do what we are asking for in the writ of garnishment after judgment.
• Writ of Garnishment: The writ is an order that allows the plaintiff to be able to obtain property. Typically, the property that is collected is money in a bank account or wages that are earned by the debtor. The writ is served with a summons to the garnishee.
• Wage Attachments: This is a type of garnishment in which the court orders a certain amount of wages be deducted from the employee’s wages. The order is sent to employee’s employer, who is responsible for remitting the funds to the judgment creditor each pay period until the debt has been satisfied.
• Property Liens: This is a notice that is attached to your property. Typically this is filed with the county records office handling real estate. This lien is a public record. In order for the property to be sold or refinanced, clear title must be obtained, which would require the lien to be paid off.