I won a judgement of about 3000 $ nine years ago here in New York city and was told by the court it is good for fifteen years... If need be, can I renew the judgement?. How I can collect from this deadbeat?. I have tried to locate him through peoplesearch but to no avail... Appreciate all suggestions... Thanks

Even if it is good for 15 yrs the longer you wait the harder it is to collect.
You can go back to small claims and try to get them to enforce it BUT if he has gotten away with his deadbeat ways for 9 yrs he will just continue being a deadbeat for the other 6.

Zero? You asked if you could renew the judgment I told you you can by going back & getting it enforced.

Then how do you suppose you are going to collect for someone that has evaded paying you in 9 yrs? If they have evaded paying you this long what do you think the next 6 years are going to change?

I won a judgement of about 3000 $ nine years ago here in new york city and was told by the court it is good for fifteen years........If need be, can I renew the judgement ?.......How I can collect from this deadbeat?......I have tried to locate him through peoplesearch but to no avail.......Appreciate all suggestions.......Thanks



I'm surprised the Court gave you a Judgment that is good for 15 years -

Anyway, you can't renew it until it's closer to its expiration.

And if you can't find him you'll have to go to one of the Attorneys or collection companies that specializes in collecting on Judgments. Even if you do find him you would have to move against his assets - just having his address is not enough to get your money.

Or you could just ask your brother, the Attorney.

First, may I call your attention to the guidelines for using the comments feature found here:

https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/feedback/using-comments-feature-24951.html

Second, in NYS I believe judgements are good for 10 years and can be renewed for another 10. So I think you need to recheck this 15 yr thing.

Third, as far as collecting, this is the catch-22 of judgements. Generally getting the judgement is the easy part, collecting is the problem. YOU are responsible for finding any income or assets the debtor has. You can hire a PI to do this for you. But other than doing Internet searches there is little more you can do on your own.

I just took a look at the judgement again and it indicates that is indeed good for twenty years!. I almost see that I obtained the debtor's date of birth and last four digits of his ss# via an informational subpoena to his cell phone provider... I will say that two law firms contacted me over the years concerning this unpaid judgment and I engaged them but never heard from them so I guess they were not able to do anything to collect the debt... Is there any way that I can find out his bank account information from his landlord if I find out where he lives?. or a utility company ? Or someone he pays by check or debit card to including the tax authorities here in New York?. Thanks!

I'm surprised the Court gave you a Judgment that is good for 15 years -

Anyway, you can't renew it until it's closer to its expiration.

And if you can't find him you'll have to go to one of the Attorneys or collection companies that specializes in collecting on Judgments. Even if you do find him you would have to move against his assets - just having his address is not enough to get your money.

Or you could just ask your brother, the Attorney.


I checked the judgement again and it says it is good for 20 years!. I have this guy's DOB and last 4 #'s of his SS# via an info subpoena to his cell phone provider.. . Can I find out where he banks from his landlord, utility company or even the tax authorities here in New York?. Thanks!

That makes more sense. His landlord might give you the info just for the asking. But you will need a subpeona from the court to get info from utilities or taxing authorities.

Thanks!. I just wanted to bounce it off you guys as you know the ropes , both the law and more importantly, the pratical application!

But I will be honest the largest majority of judgments esp in small claims court are never collected, First some states have limits on garnishmets, then the cost of finding them if you don't have a trace depatment working for you like large credit card companies, and to be honest the pure cost of the collection, For example if they earn min wage in many states you are only going to get 30 dollars a week if you do get a garnishment in some states nothing. Some states allow more, then if they work for cash, or change jobs all the time, it is just impossible.

You may look at selling it to a collection firm, it may only be pennies on the dollar but something is beter than nothing.

Thanks!......I just wanted to bounce it off you guys as you know the ropes , both the law and more importantly, the pratical application!


Again, your brother is an Attorney with access to investigators and collection firms. Why isn't he working on this? Or did he come up with dead ends?

But I will be honest the largest majority of judgments esp in small claims court are never collected, First some states have limits on garnishmets, then the cost of finding them if you don't have a trace depatment working for you like large credit card companies, and to be honest the pure cost of the collection, For example if they earn min wage in many states you are only going to get 30 dollars a week if you do get a garnishment in some states nothing. Some states allow more, then if they work for cash, or change jobs all the time, it is just impossible.

You may look at selling it to a collection firm, it may only be pennies on the dollar but something is beter than nothing.


Appreciate the extra info... This is what I need to know in order to decide what to do!. Thanks

But I will be honest the largest majority of judgments esp in small claims court are never collected, First some states have limits on garnishmets, then the cost of finding them if you don't have a trace depatment working for you like large credit card companies, and to be honest the pure cost of the collection, For example if they earn min wage in many states you are only going to get 30 dollars a week if you do get a garnishment in some states nothing. Some states allow more, then if they work for cash, or change jobs all the time, it is just impossible.

You may look at selling it to a collection firm, it may only be pennies on the dollar but something is beter than nothing.

All this info here is a real eye opener and you guys really do a great service to inform people of the real world out there!. By the by, am I permitted to run a credit report on such a person as I am an interested party and be able to learn useful info from the report, such as, last reported job, address, credit situation etc?. Thanks again!