Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

Generally, you pay the judgment to the person who holds the judgment in their favor. I say generally, because there are situations in which a judgment requires deposit with the court, but those are not specified in your post. You should make sure that you pay them in a manner that you can prove later, in the event there is a dispute over whether or not you paid them. If you pay them in full, you are entitled to a satisfaction of judgment.

You don't "have to" pay the money. Nothing bad will happen if you don't pay except they could have the court officer take your wages, money, or other property to satisfy the debt, which will grow larger at the rate of 10% per year. If your debts are sufficiently large you could possibly wipe out this and all your other debts in a bankruptcy.

I generally agree with Mr. Stone. Please note, though, that not all debts can be discharged in bankruptcy. If the judgment against you is for fraud or certain other types of intentional wrongdoing, it may not be dischargeable. Bankruptcy may still be a good idea if you have a lot of other debt; that way you will be able to focus on paying off the judgment. It's also possible that the other side will fail to protect their rights in bankruptcy court, in which case you could get a discharge which they would otherwise have been able to block. You should discuss your situation in detail with a bankruptcy attorney as soon as you can.

Good luck.