Even with the best credit and collection practices, some of your cases may still end up in court. It is a tedious and time-consuming process, but it is sometimes your best course of action both as a deterrent to other customers and in the hopes of getting some of your money back.

Summons and Complaint

Once you decide to file a suit, you will then provide your attorney with all the required advancements and documentation needed. This will mainly include the amount due, as well as lay out the basis of your case. After this, a process server or local sheriff will serve your customer with the official Summons and Complaint. Once your customer has been served, they will have anywhere from 20-45 days to file a response depending on the state.

Three Possible Outcomes

Once the summons has been served, three possible scenarios could happen. In the first, your customer fails to respond within the time frame that they are allowed. In this case, your attorney will attempt to file a motion for a default judgement. Given that your customer did not provide any evidence to the contrary or bother to respond, the court will rule in your favor and give your customer 2-3 weeks to dispute the judgement. If not response is received by that point then they will have to abide by whatever verdict the judge decided.

The second type of scenario would be if your customer responds with a general denial of the claim but without disputing any of the facts. In this case, your attorney will most likely enter a motion for a summary judgment. This means that the court will decide the case based on the evidence presented in the documents submitted to the court. Assuming the documents you submitted showed a good amount of evidence in your favor, the court will likely rule in your favor given that your customer failed to dispute your claim or show any evidence to the contrary.

The most complicated scenario would be if your customer disputes your claims and provides evidence to support their case. In this case, the case would most likely move to a trail. 

Going To Trial

We will not go too in-depth into how a trial works, as this will be handled largely by your attorney, but if a trial is necessary you should know a few things. For starters, it is possible that a judgment could be rendered that not only dismisses your claim but also holds you responsible for legal cost or other damages. In the case that your claim is found to be valid and a judgment is rendered in your favor, you should not expect to be paid that very second. Getting your customer to pay, even with a legal ruling, can take time and does not always guarantee payment. If your customer doesn’t pay within a specified time (usually 20-30 days), you may proceed with a Writ of Execution. This allows a local sheriff to arrange payment of the judgment by assessing the debtor’s assets and determine if it would be possible to collect the money owed. Once the sheriff has finished their assessment (usually up to 90 days), you then have the right to subpoena the principal owner of your customer’s company in order to question him a supplementary proceeding called a judgment debtor exam. This will allow you to attempt to find any assets that the sheriff was unable to uncover. Once this occurs, you will be able to attempt to use these assets to pay the amount owed to you as deemed by the judge. 

It is important to note that these timelines can vary by states but the overall structure should remain the same. As always, this post is not intended to serve as legal advice and if you have any specific questions we would suggest you seek the advice of an attorney.