It is generally accepted within legal circles that the vast majority of money judgments won in civil trials are ultimately not collected. In such a case, a plaintiff’s only victory is a moral one. So here is the big question: is suing someone in civil court worthwhile just to win a moral victory?
A study conducted in 2022 demonstrated that 65% of victorious civil court plaintiffs in California collected little or nothing from the defendants in their cases. Nationwide, the numbers are a bit higher. A 2020 American Bar Association post suggested that 80% of civil judgments are never paid in full. That takes us back to the question of the moral victory. Is it worth it?
Collection Is Rarely Straightforward
What so many plaintiffs do not understand when heading to court is that winning a monetary award does not guarantee payment. The assumption is that civil courts operate like criminal courts. Once a verdict is rendered, the court takes the necessary steps to ensure the debt is paid. But what plaintiffs assume is quite different from reality.
Civil courts do not render verdicts. They render judgments. Civil courts also don’t sentence defendants after the fact. Instead, civil courts create paper judgments that are documented and then recorded by the court clerk. It is up to plaintiffs to utilize the authority such documents create to pursue collection efforts.
The Failure Rate: A Wake-Up Call
From my perspective, the unusually high failure rate among judgment creditors (plaintiffs who have won monetary awards) should be a wake-up call. It should be a warning to anyone looking to sue that winning doesn’t guarantee payment. A plaintiff could spend thousands on legal fees and court costs only to win a moral victory by way of a monetary award that never gets collected.
None of this is to say that filing a lawsuit is always a bad idea. That’s certainly not the case. There are good and valid reasons to sue in civil court. But plaintiffs always have to be aware of the fact that collecting a monetary award could prove extremely challenging.
Rising to That Challenge
So, what is a plaintiff to do? How can someone planning to sue increase his chances of actually getting paid? Judgment Collectors, a Utah collection agency that specializes in money judgments in nearly a dozen states, has a few ideas. The first is to bring in a collection agency or attorney from the very first day.
Collection professionals are more likely to succeed when the case is turned over to them on day one. Waiting three or four years to bring in a professional only makes the job more difficult. Remember that time is the plaintiff’s enemy. The more time that passes following a successful lawsuit, the more likely the debtor will never pay.
Judgment Collectors also advise the following:
- Aggressive Asset Discovery – Assets are what give paper judgments teeth. Creditors should aggressively search to discover assets that their debtors either failed to disclose or are actively trying to hide.
- Considering Every Option – Creditors should consider every collection option, including a voluntary payment plan, garnishment, property liens, and writs of execution.
- Assessing Interest – As long as a money judgment remains unpaid, interest should be assessed. Interest continues to accrue until the debt is paid in full.
Winning a monetary award as the result of a civil lawsuit can be exhilarating in the moment. But if the money is never collected, the only thing a plaintiff has won is a moral victory. Is that moral victory worth the amount of time and money spent?
