Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania - I won a civil suit on 1/6/12. Since then the defendant has not submitted an appeal and his 30 days has expired. I went to the courthouse that I had my case at and was told that he would have to make direct payments to me. He refused to pay me before the civil suit and has made no indication that he has any intention to pay me now. When I went to the courthouse I was told that they really couldn't do anything to make him pay me unless I put out more money on things that most likely wouldn't work. I'm wondering how I can get my money without having to pay more money to get back what he owes me.


Asked on 2/20/12, 4:41 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

You can't. You need to see a lawyer about obtaining a writ of execution. Depending on what the money is owed for, there may be assets to levy against or possible wage garnishment (wage garnishment is very very limited). If the debtor has over $300 in the bank from sources other than Social Security or some other type of exempt income, you can levy on the bank account. If he owns any assets free and clear (no liens) that are just in his name (like land or a car), you can have the sheriff seize and sell that. There are costs to having the sheriff sell assets and this cannot be avoided. All of this takes a lawyer who is familiar with the collection and enforcement of judgments.

Judgments last forever. However, they can only be executed upon land for 5 years unless revived. They can be executed upon on personal property for 20 years.

If the debtor cares about his credit report (judgments are listed on there) and needs to obtain credit for a house, car or personal loan, the debtor will unlikely be able to get a loan without paying the judgment. So if you do not want to spend added sums, you will need to be patient. The judgment earns interest at a rate of 6% per year. While that is not much, it is something to compensate you.

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Answered on 2/20/12, 9:06 pm


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