Run a basic internet search on judgment collection and you will find scores of articles discussing how judgment creditors collect money from judgment debtors. It is so common that people mistakenly believe that all judgments involve money. They do not.
Judgment collection focuses on money judgments for obvious reasons. When a civil judgment includes a monetary award, that award needs to be collected. But not every civil judgment involves the transfer of money. Some types of judgments have nothing to do with money at all.
The Basics of Money Judgments
One could insist that any civil judgment can be turned into a money judgment by forcing the losing party to pay the winning party’s legal fees. But that’s a stretch. By legal industry standards, a money judgment is a judgement that involves a monetary award distinct and separate from court costs and legal fees. Money judgments can be the result of:
- Debt Collection – Debt collection cases make up a significant volume of all money judgments. Creditors sue debtors for unpaid bills in order to give them access to collection tools that are otherwise off limits.
- Personal Injury – Monetary awards are part and parcel with personal injury cases. The whole point of suing in a personal injury case is to secure payment for injuries, property damage, lost income, pain and suffering, etc.
- Product Liability – Consumers can bring product liability cases to civil court. Such cases often involve monetary awards as a remedy for any harm a defective product caused.
- Medical Malpractice – Monetary awards are also power for the course in medical malpractice suits. Plaintiffs sue clinicians or institutions after medical treatments end up harming. The awards can be quite substantial.
Judgment Collectors, a Utah collection agency specializing in collecting money judgments in ten states, says there are a lot more possibilities than the four discussed here. From landlords suing delinquent tenants to auto finance companies seeking to recover unpaid balances, civil suits requesting monetary remedies are pretty common.
Other Types of Judgments
It seems obvious that a firm like Judgment Collectors could be brought in to help a company collect on a money judgment. As previously stated, there are other types of judgments that don’t involve monetary awards.
A good example is a civil suit involving two companies engaged in some sort of business relationship. The point of the suit is to clarify each one’s rights and responsibilities under their shared contract. No money will change hands as a result.
Another good example is a lawsuit filed against an entity as a means of stopping targeted actions or behaviors. Think of a local town board that sues a developer in hopes of stopping a new project that seems to be in violation of local ordinances. Again, no money will change hands. The town board simply seeks to halt construction until the project is brought back into compliance.
Money Judgments Get a Lot of Attention
We do not hear a lot about the other types of lawsuits because they are fewer in number and don’t directly impact us. On the other hand, we hear more about money judgments because they make better news stories.
In the case of something like a personal injury lawsuit, we are interested in knowing the outcome because we might find ourselves in a similar position later on. Ditto for medical malpractice, product liability lawsuits, and so forth.
When monetary awards are ordered by a civil court, collection is the next step for the creditor. Judgment collection professionals, like Judgment Collectors, are the most qualified to handle collection efforts. It is what they specialize in.