Enforcement of Judgments

 

Enforcement of a judgment means collecting on the judgment that you obtained in small claims court.

Why do you need to know about judgment enforcement?

Because even if a judge rules in your favour it doesn’t guarantee you will get paid. The court gives a ruling but does not collect the money for you.

How can I collect my money?

There are different steps or proceedings that you may take to obtain the money that is owing to you after you obtain a judgment.  It is not possible to provide a full list here, but some of them are:

Judgment Debtor Examination

This is a method by which if you do not know enough information about the debtor to take the necessary enforcement proceedings to collect the money owing to you on a judgment, you can bring that person into court to answer questions about that person’s or corporation’s finances.  This can be a very useful way of determining the information that you will need to know to obtain payment.

Garnishment

Garnishment is a process by which you can seize a portion of the debtor’s wages, or a portion or all of the bank accounts, or other monies owing to the judgment debtor from various sources.  (Some monies, such as welfare payments, child support payments, and registered RRSPs, to name three, are exempt from garnishment and can not be garnisheed.)

Seizure of Personal Property

A process by which the Sheriff takes possession of a debtor’s personal property and then sells the personal property at auction to obtain the amount owing from a court judgment.

Issuing and filing a Writ of Seizure and Sale of Lands

This is a method whereby you can to the extent possible secure the debt owing to you by tying up a judgment debtor’s real property (land) until you are paid.  You may even be able to sell the real property to realize on the money owing to you.

To talk to someone about enforcing your judgement and collecting your money, call us today at (416) 399-4826.