Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

Re: Last Question for case of Breach of Contract and Common Courts

How you will end up paying depends upon the plaintiff and his lawyers. Some are more reasonable than others, and there are those who will be as aggressive as possible -- especially when there are hard feelings between the two sides.

Can you negotiate after the judgment is entered? Sure. It often makes sense for the creditor to accept a lesser amount and/or periodic payments since trying to extract more will often be expensive and time-consuming. There is no reason why a judgment creditor should be barred from making a deal which he finds advantageous.

You ask whether it is "more likely" that you will "have to make periodic payments". That is not for the court to decide. If you and the plaintiff agree to a payment schedule and want the court to make an order confirming that schedule it will do so, but it will *not* tell the plaintiff he has to accept periodic payments.

The court won't let the plaintiff garner your wages unless and until you fail to make payments to his satisfaction. If you and he can't agree on terms, he can immediately seek to garnish your pay. If you do agree but then fail to make a payment six months from now, he can seek garnishment then. It is up to him how to enforce his judgment.

Can you file for bankruptcy after a judgment has been entered against you? Yes. In fact, many bankruptcies are filed for the specific purpose of avoiding all or part of an adverse judgment. Judgments for fraud and various other types of claims can't be discharged in bankruptcy, but the judgment creditor has to fight you in the bankruptcy court in order to protect his rights. If he doesn't do this the debt will be discharged. Judgments related to breach of contract or common counts -- the type you have -- usually can be discharged.

Your ability to avoid the debt through bankruptcy is probably the best leverage you have when negotiating for a payment schedule. A sensible creditor will see that delayed and/or partial payments are better than no payments at all.

Can you both file for bankruptcy? Sure, but I believe you will each have to do it individually. Married couples can file jointly, but my understanding is that unmarried couples cannot, even if they mingle their funds and other assets. If I'm wrong about this, hopefully another attorney will correct me.