#CollectingDebt #LegalAdvice #SmallBusinessProblems
Congratulations on winning your lawsuit! 🎉 It’s a big victory, but I understand your frustration in trying to collect the money owed to you. It’s a common problem among small businesses, but there are steps you can take to pursue the payment you rightfully deserve.
Here’s some advice on how to navigate the process of collecting your debt and ensuring that the judgment in your favor is enforced:
Understanding Your Options
Before taking any action, it’s important to understand your options for collecting the debt. Some possible avenues to consider include:
Enlisting the help of a collections attorney
Pursuing wage garnishment
Seeking a bank levy
Filing a lien against the company’s assets
It’s important to weigh the pros and cons of each option and consider the potential costs involved in pursuing each route.
Hiring a Collections Attorney
While hiring a collections attorney may seem like an expensive option, it can be an effective way to pressure the company into paying the debt. A collections attorney can handle the entire process for you, saving you time and effort, and increasing your chances of getting paid. They will take a percentage of the amount collected, typically around 40%, but it may be worth it for the peace of mind and the assurance that the debt will be pursued aggressively.
DIY Debt Collection
If hiring an attorney is not an option for you, you can pursue the debt collection on your own. This may involve sending demand letters, making phone calls, and possibly pursuing legal action through small claims court. While this approach can be time-consuming and frustrating, it may be necessary if you want to avoid paying the high fees associated with hiring an attorney.
Making the CEO’s Life Difficult
If all else fails, you may consider taking steps to make life difficult for the CEO and the company until they fulfill their obligation to pay you. This can include:
Publicly shaming the company on social media or review platforms
Reaching out to their business partners and stakeholders to inform them of the unpaid debt
Pursuing any other legal means to put pressure on the company
Remember to always stay within the bounds of the law when taking these measures, and consult with a legal professional if you are unsure of the best course of action.
Enforcing the Judgment
Once you have chosen the appropriate method for collecting the debt, you will need to take steps to enforce the judgment. This may involve working with the court system to garnish wages or place a lien on the company’s assets. It’s important to follow the proper legal procedures to ensure that the judgment is enforced effectively.
Final Thoughts
It’s unfortunate that some companies choose to ignore their legal obligations and put small businesses in difficult positions. However, by understanding your options and taking decisive action, you can increase your chances of successfully collecting the debt owed to you. Remember to seek the advice of a legal professional if you are unsure of the best approach for your specific situation.
I hope this advice helps you in your pursuit of collecting the debt owed to you. Stay strong and don’t give up until you receive the payment you rightfully deserve. Good luck! 🍀
Sorry for your conundrum. What does your lawyer say?
There are ways to collect, but will require effort and time on your behalf. It also depends on how mean you want to get.
https://ww2.nycourts.gov/courts/6jd/tompkins/ithaca/webpageJudgement.shtml
Can you file a lien on the business or it’s assets?
Check with the Court Clerk on the process for getting the Sheriff to seize the debtor’s property in satisfaction of the judgment. Give the Sheriff the address of the local office of the debtor company.
It’s surprising how quickly they can come up with the funds when the Deputies come in and start confiscating everything in sight, right in front of clients.
If they fail to pay then you file a complaint of contempt against them and the judge will tell them pay in 30 days or … fines increase or… they could even go to jail etc
I have quite a bit of experience with NY collections although I’m not a lawyer. You want to go to the sheriff of any county where the company has assets, and ask them their procedure for a levy or execution against those assets. Not sure what kind of company but you can seize bank accounts (did they ever pay an invoice? Get a copy of the check and you know where they bank), maybe vehicles, equipment, inventory, the law is really quite powerful. Before doing any of that they will probably make you domesticate the judgment in NY and file it with the county clerk. The domestication, I think, requires an attorney to file a motion in a NY court.
You could even draft a formal “notice” of your intention to file a complaint of contempt against them unless you receive payment by xyz date. That may motivate them without further involvement of the courts
Lien immediately. They may be unable to interface with financial institutions prior to satisfying the lien. If they attempted to settle, somebody is certainly cognizant.
Did they pay you previously? Was it by check?
You could likely get a court order to garnish their bank account if you know where they bank.
Go back to court for a garnishment or a lien.
IANAL.
Did you sue in NY or PA? How did you serve the NY defendant? If you sued in PA, have you gotten a transcript of judgement from the prothonotary?
I wouldn’t underestimate the financial trouble that they might be in. With 50+ employees, things can get messy if there’s been major shirts in their clients, industry, etc. Cash flow, new clients, and lines of credit can hide issues for a long time, but that doesn’t last forever. Very likely that if they’re not paying you, they have other issues too – some of which you might be able to use to your advantage. This could be issues with other vendors, clients, employees, etc. Information and leverage can be a powerful tool.
Looks like no one has mentioned that: although there are good lawyers who even do their A-game for their public defending duties, your lack of knowledge makes for his better gain. Ask them why something wasn’t suggested as an option next time you meet in person. I guarantee they won’t see you ask such a push over after that.
If you have copies of checks written to you or know their bank account number(s) have the Sheriff put a garnishment on all of the accounts.
It takes a while to collect, but the debtor’s bank has to honor the court order. I’m not a lawyer but sued and won a judgement in Small Claims court and the deadbeat would not pay. So we went this route.
Just curious: what was their settlement offer? Also did you have an attorney representing you?
As others have said you need to go and request a garnishment or a lien. Good luck.
File the judgement with the corresponding court in New York and then Contact the Sherrifs Office. Once that’s done you just sit back and watch the show. You may get calls wanting to set up payments, negotiate etc. just ignore them. You’ll have your money in months once the Sheriffs office confiscates and then liquidates enough assets.
I have a friend who has had her comany sued and who has also sued other companies during the course of her business.. she told me the only people that won out in the end were the lawyers. When dealing with a business it can be very difficult to actually get a settlement paid.
You can also start charging interest against the balance of the judgment depending on the state. That can offset the debt collectors fees.
There really isn’t anything you can do except mail them a bill every single day. Put it in different colored envelopes so it looks different every time even put different return addresses on it so they don’t become hip to it and have to open it and look at it. Eventually they’ll be sick of the letters and hopefully phone calls but they will pay you. It just means something you have to do almost every day to make it happen. Hiring a collection agency is also a waste of time because once it’s gotten to that point they know they have you.