Lost at court - how do they collect if you move

[catwhisperer]

Hi,
We lost a small claims court case to a sleazy car repair shop and we are going to contest it but, bottom line, we are going to be moving out of state. I know that once they get a judgement that the winning party then has to collect on the bill. We are moving within the next 6-9 months - over 300 miles away. What would the winning party have to do to collect in another state? We're hoping (a) we win our appeal (2) he'll realize it isn't worth it. It is all principle - we are vehement against paying for bad car repairs. Next step is also the state attorney general too. We have a neighbor who had a bad repair with the same place and reported them to the attorney general.

[GoingDown]

Hi,
We lost a small claims court case to a sleazy car repair shop and we are going to contest it but, bottom line, we are going to be moving out of state. I know that once they get a judgement that the winning party then has to collect on the bill. We are moving within the next 6-9 months - over 300 miles away. What would the winning party have to do to collect in another state? We're hoping (a) we win our appeal (2) he'll realize it isn't worth it. It is all principle - we are vehement against paying for bad car repairs. Next step is also the state attorney general too. We have a neighbor who had a bad repair with the same place and reported them to the attorney general.

You're moving to a new state? If so, he would have to "domesticate" the judgment in your new state which would cost him a few hundred dollars, but he could simply add that back in to the judgment and try to collect that amount as well.

Once he domesticates the judgment in your new state, it would be just as if he won the lawsuit over there, and he could garnish wages (if your new state allows wage garnishment), seize checking accounts, and put a lien on any real estate you purchase there.