Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in California
small claims, superior court, divorce settlement
A tenant was evicted for non-payment of rent. The amount due is substantial (over $16,000). I have the Writ of Possession. Can I sue the tenant in small claims as well as superior court at the same time? I would go to superior court for wage garnishment of the amount over the small claims limit. If I lose in small claims (!) can I go to superior court and have the entire amount due garnished on her wages? Can I attach money awarded by a divorce settlement - but not yet received? Ex-husband refused to give it to her and has been cited numerous times for contempt of court for his refusal. Can I use other methods in addition to attaching the settlement to get the back rent? What is the wording to put in a POA when going to court on someone's behalf to recover this money owed to them? The person to whom it is owed is elderly, disabled, lives out of state and cannot travel for a court hearing in the state where the property is located (California).
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: small claims, superior court, divorce settlement
Why would you file any more lawsuits? You should have, or should be able to obtain a monetary judgment in the Unlawful Detainer lawsuit for unpaid rent. From that judgment, you can garnish wages, you can record an abstract of judgment which attaches a lien to all property owned or acquired by the judgment debtor until it expires, you can conduct post-judgment discovery including judgment debtor exams. My suggestion to you is that you hire a law firm who works with judgment creditors to collect judgments, or you can sell the judgment at a discount to companies who buy them.
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