Hi all, Ive been trying to collect on a small claims case I won about a year ago, and I have had no success in doing so. I'll start by giving some background to my situation. I live in Houston, TX and my nightmare started with a car accident that was not my fault and was obviously hers. She did not have any insurance info on her. She made claims that she did just did not have her card with her. Here is the stupid decision that I made so please don't remind me that it is cause I already know. I did not call the sheriffs out. I know I know stupid, I don't know what I was thinking, I guess I was just trying to be nice. She kept saying she had to go pick up her kids from school and what not. I got what information she had name, address etc... I filled out a blue form and everything as per the officer that I decided to contact after the fact and sent that in. Any ways after attempt and attempt to call and work something out and trying to get her insurance info, and all this time I am talking with her husband cause he has decided to speak with me instead of her. I got no where with him even had an attorney contact him a few times and he basically blew him off like he did me. Finally decided to file a lawsuit which these people ignored as well so it turned into a default case which I won. Well I have done all I can think of to collect like a writ. From what the officer is telling me all the property owned by her is exempt because it is jointly owned my her and her husband. Officer tells me if they had extra land, motorcycle or boat something extra he could take it but they do not. They only have the 2 cars and house which according to him are exempt. The officer also says the lady claims to not have a bank account either. So there is no point in trying to put a lean on anything because there is nothing to put a lean on. Okay now after that long story. Here is m deal. I have come to the realization that I am probably not going get my money from them unless someone can think of something else that I can do. I know in the state of Texas you must have at least liability insurance to be on the road. So how do I peruse the fact that she did not and possibly get her drivers license suspended? And if by chance that she does have insurance and was current at the time of the accident is it to late to file a claim with her insurance company since I filed and won the small claims case? Thanks in advance for any advice that anyone gives.

-Tim

Check with an attorney first since Texas has very different laws concerning debt collection than other states. I would investigate returning to the court which issued the judgement and ask for a garnishment of her wages once you find out where she works.

You have made several mistakes in how to handle this, the least of which was not calling the police immediately. Where has your insurance been all this time? What you should have done is simply file a claim with your insurance company and let THEM try to collect. They have access to the info to determine who they are insured by. They would have them filed a cross claim.

Who was the car involved registered to? If it was registered to the husband, then he should have been named in your suit and then you would have been able to attach his bank accounts.

Yeah can not garnish wages in TX and I do not remember who the car was registered to. I believe it was jointly registered. Also I can not use my insurance company. I have liability only because as a college student that pretty much all I can afford and I barely do that. I have been considering hiring a PI maybe to just find out if she has a bank account and if they had valid insurance at the time of the accident.

Well there is another mistake. You need some comprehensive as well You can still contact your insurance company, they may at least be able to help you find who their insurer was or is.

How much are we talking about as far as damages? A PI is going to eat into that. You also didn't answer whether you sued just her or both. What you can try is going back to the court and have them issue an order to fill out a statement of assets. If they don't the court can impose penalities.

The car was totaled and the amount was $3960.00 that I was awarded. I sued just the lady did not know if I could also add her husband to the lawsuit. Also I can not afford full coverage cause well as a college student I can only work part time so the money is just not there and I do not have parents that can pay for anything either so I have really no choice. My insurance agent told me that my insurance will not be able to help me at all because I do not have full coverage or uninsured motorist. I will try and contact them directly instead of my agent to just see. I was considering the order to fill out a statement of assests even knowing that they don't have nothing because I heard if they do not fill it out and send it in they will issue a warrant for contempt.

-Tim

To be honest you will never most likely collect the money. A lot of people who "win" claims in court never get any of the money.

Next there is little you can do about them not having insurnce, that would be what the officer would have done if you called them to the scene.
And now after a time frame most likely the statue of limitation to change them is over also.

In some states, if there is a outstanding judgemnet for an accident, they will suspend their drivers license.

You made a lot of mistakes here and its probably going to cost you. I can't believe that a married couple with a home and 2 cars has no other assets you can attach.

But unless you can go back and sue the husband as well, you will probably not collect a penny. As Chuck mentioned, getting the judgement is the easy part. Collecting on it is much harder and a large percentage of judgements are never collected for that reason.

Try the motion to get a statement of assets, but if that doesn't pan out, I would give it up and chalk it up to experience.

Yeah I have kind of given up on getting money from these people. I will try the statement of assets. My deal is even they do not be responsible adults and pay up. I don't want them going around life thinking they got off Scott free. Within legal boundaries I want to inconvenience these people as much as possible. Because the car was totaled basically I was forced to purchase another car with a CC. So now on top of not having any spare money to begin with to being in debt at least before I didn't owe anybody money. I don't know I just can't seem to understand how irresponsible and low life people can be.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by tcrow31

i just can't seem to understand how irresponsible and low life people can be.

---

Hello tc:

People will be as irresponsible as you let them. Knowing the law and what to DO about it in any given situation is a VERY POWERFUL tool.

excon

Your type of insurance should have no bearing as you didn't cause the accident. It was her fault; therefore, her insurance is supposed to pay you, not vice versa.
As for the property being jointly owned, I don't see how this would prevent you from confiscating it. If a husband and wife have a credit card together and get divorced, they are both liable to pay the debt, not just whatever each one charged. I don't see how this could be different just because it's a vehicle. I don't think you're going to be able to, but I would look into what it would require to add the husband's name to the judgment. As far as I know, once the judgment is entered, it's entered and there is no altering it.
If you were awarded a judgment, then the other party should have been ordered to provide you with a financial disclosure, in which they are required to list any real estate or vehicles that they own. If they lie on the form(ie.: claim they do not own a home/state that they do not have a bank account/claim they do not own a vehicle when they actually do), then you have to prove it to the court and they will be held in contempt.