Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California
I was awarded a judgment in superior court against a contractor for Breach of contract. He was to pay me within 5 days.Instead he filed ch.7, then ch.13 .there was an automatic stay put on the case. Now I AM HAVING TROUBLE proving that I won a judgment as I never got an official document stating that I was awarded the judgment due to the automatic stay. I was unable to try to collect money or change anything. Opposing counsel says I have no judgment since I did not file certain papers, which I would have done had he paid me. But since I was not paid and there was stay. There was nothing I could do according to my attorney.Now the court is asking that it get dismissed saying that there is not a judgment only a transcript that says there is one. But how could I have received anything if there was a stay? Doesn't the transcript and my award mean anything?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Your question does not make any sense. You either have a judgment, or you don't. It can't be both ways.
This is very similar to a paid question that I have been answering, and may be from the same person. If so, the court records show that a settlement was reached at a judicially supervised settlement conference that provided judgment would be entered if the defendant did not pay. The defendant then filed for bankruptcy. In that situation, you do not have a judgment. In any situation in which there is only a transcript awarding judgment (whether or not at a settlement conference or other proceeding) there is no judgment. A written judgment must be prepared, signed and entered by the court before you have a judgment, and a notice of entry of judgment must then be served before you have an enforceable judgment. And even had all that been done, it would be illegal to enforce the judgment while a bankruptcy is pending, or after the end of the bankruptcy unless discharge was denied or that judgment was found to be non-dischargable, following a Bankruptcy Adversarial Proceeding.