Hello - I have a large $100K+ judgment against a corporation. The corporation does about $4M in revenue a year, with about 10 employees and the rest as partners/contractors.

They are not being cooperative and we don't know their bank account info or if they've hidden funds. Otherwise it seems a logical step would be to levy those accounts.

The only sure thing we know of is their steady accounts receivables from customers. I know who their key customers are.

My question - is it possible to garnish/levy accounts receivables from the customer's end? The only garnish/levy methods I have read about are "till tap" and "keeper" - but this corporation doesn't have a cash register - customers mail in checks that are then deposited into the company's bank account.

If it is possible, how do you do it? I have done a lot of research and can't find the answer. I'm not sure my attorney knows the answer either.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

Hello k:

Nope, you can't collect from their vendors...

But, there IS a procedure where the judgment debtor must supply his financial data so that you can collect. Surely, you have a lawyer. Surely, he knows of this procedure.

excon

PS> I see that you have an attorney who doesn't have the answers you need. I'd fire him, and hire one who DOES.

Hello again,

I note that you KNOW who his customers are. Do you have good relations with any of them?? Because on the backs of the checks they've written to the debtor, is the NAME OF THEIR BANK.

excon

Thanks for the quick reply! I suspected as much re: levying on the vendor/customer side.

RE: their customers - they are other companies or offices - I don't know the individuals, just the institutions which buy service from the company I sued.

I'm guessing you are talking about a debtor's examination - I think we will have to go this route. I left out some details and am not quite there yet - but there is also a fraudulent conveyance / successor liability issue here too. Company A sold assets to Company B but no liabilities. But shareholders, officers, addresses, and business purpose are identical.

With unlimited time and money I will eventually attach this to the "new"' company, but it seems they are able to provide misleading or contradicting information and then simply shrug their shoulders and say "sorry it was a mistake" when it is proven, or roll over companies like this to buy time.

I'm looking for ways to apply pressure or cause enough discomfort for them to deter this behavior. Hence my question about getting their customers involved.

Hello again, k:

I'm all for it. Here's what I would do:

Being careful NOT to distort the case in ANY way, you could prepare a letter that divulges all the nefarious things they did that lead to the judgment you received. You could mention that you ARE going to collect on that judgment, and you would hope that the reader wouldn't have orders pending when THAT happens.

You could send a copy to the offending company and suggest that they pay the judgment instead of letting you send the letters.

The TRUTH is an absolute defense against libel or slander.

excon

Rereading your post - it sounds like if I know the name of the bank and not necessarily the account number(s) that would suffice.

I know the name of the bank they have used for most of their existence as long as they have not shifted accounts since the suit began.

I seized their account a year ago based on information from a past pay stub and information I had - they quashed it by arguing the account belonged to Company B and not Company A. This is why I suspect they may have shifted accounts.

Hello again, k:

It WOULD!

excon

This is very helpful, thanks! Can my suggestion that they pay the judgment be interpreted as some type of coercion or blackmail? My thought is to send the letter to the defendant saying only that I intend to send this letter by a certain date and this is an FYI. If I can be stronger than that I would have course love to be, but that may suffice.

Really appreciate your help!

Also one final question and I'm done :)

In any letter I craft that could be sent to potential customers of this company, can I quote facts from documents I collected during the discovery process, or are those off limits and "private"? Some of the most damaging evidence about the company's wrongdoings came out of discovery.

Hello again, k:

Yes, it's coercion - but it's LEGAL coercion to enforce a legally obtained judgment. It's NOT blackmail or extortion. Yes, you CAN include stuff from the discovery... The only criteria you have to concern yourself with is TRUTH. That includes what they've admitted to and what's been proven in court. If they've damaged themselves during discovery, then that's their BAD.

If I didn't make myself clear before, I agree with you about your letter to the judgment debtor being an FYI with a drop dead date.

excon

Excellent, thanks for your help!

It would be "vendees", but sure you can. It's called a garnishment (not to be confused with paycheck garnishment) proceeding.

if C= judgment creditor;
D = judgment debtor; and
G = Garnishee = debtor of judgment debtor

C brings what is in effect a new lawsuit against G. C simply asserts that G owes money to D. G answers that, yes, it owes the money, here it is. Simple as that.