Judgments I collect
- Massachusetts judgments from the Superior, District, Housing or Land Court
- Judgments that another lawyer obtained and didn't pursue
- Arbitration awards that need to be confirmed and turned into a judgment
- Judgments from other states against people or companies with assets in Massachusetts
Older judgments are often still collectible, and interest has usually been building on them the whole time. If you have one sitting in a drawer, it's worth a look.
The tools
Execution
After judgment, the court issues an execution: the document that lets a sheriff or constable seize and sell the debtor's property to satisfy what's owed. Executions can be renewed, so a judgment doesn't die when the first one runs out.
Levy on real estate
If the debtor owns property with equity, the execution can be recorded against it and the property's sale forced. In practice the recording alone often produces payment, because the debtor can't sell or refinance with it in place. Homestead protections limit what can be reached in a primary residence, and I'll look at that before we spend money on a levy.
Trustee process
Trustee process reaches money that someone else holds for the debtor: bank accounts, receivables owed by the debtor's customers, rents owed by its tenants. The bank or customer is served and has to hold the funds.
Supplementary process
Under G.L. c. 224, the debtor can be summoned to court and examined under oath about income and assets. The court can then order payments, in installments if needed. A debtor who ignores the summons or the order risks being held in contempt, which tends to focus attention.
Post-judgment discovery
The rules of civil procedure let a judgment creditor take discovery in aid of the judgment: document requests, depositions and subpoenas to banks and business partners. This is how hidden accounts and transferred assets turn up.
Fraudulent transfer claims
If the debtor moved assets to a spouse, a relative or a new company to keep them out of reach, Massachusetts' version of the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act (G.L. c. 109A) lets you go after the transfer itself.
Out-of-state judgments
Since April 2019, Massachusetts has had its own version of the Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act (G.L. c. 218, § 4A). A judgment from another state can be registered in Massachusetts and, after a short waiting period, enforced like a judgment entered here. Filing a new action on the judgment is still available and is sometimes the better route. How out-of-state judgments are enforced here.
Fees
Judgment collection is well suited to contingency fees because the liability question is already decided. What I need to see is whether there are assets to reach. I'll review the judgment and do an initial asset search before we agree on terms. How fees work.
Send me
- A copy of the judgment and the docket number
- Any execution already issued
- What you know about the debtor's property, bank, employer or business
- Any payments received since judgment
Request a case review or call (617) 230-2779.