Legal Question in Civil Litigation in New York

Re: small claims jusgement

Congratulations on your judgment. But seizing a vehicle on a $703 judgment seems a little overboard for such a small judgment. That could be a lengthy and involved process, especially if the car was financed and a bank or finance company has filed a UCC-1 and has a lien on the vehicle to begin with. Then when the vehicle is auctioned off, the bank gets paid first, sheriff gets his fees, and you get your judgment if there is any money left. If the car is leased, you may be completely out of luck there.

The easiest route is to find out where the judgment debtor does his or her banking, and freeze the account by serving a "Restraining Notice to Garnishee with Information Subpoena". The bank will have to answer questions indicating if they have a bank account of the judgment debtor, how much is in there, and will have to freeze double the amount of the judgment. Then you send the sheriff over with an execution to collect your money. You can send these forms to all the banks near the judgment debtor's home and business until you find a bank account. Hint - if you have ever been paid by this person with a check you may have this information, or if you paid them, you can look on the back of your check to see where they deposited it.

If that doesn't pan out, then find out where the judgment debtor works and serve their employer with an Income Execution.

These forms commonly used for judgment collections. The sheriff or small claims court may have them available for your use or can point you in the right direction. You may need the court to issue the information subpoena because you are not a lawyer and have no authority to issue subpoenas on your own.

Also note - did you serve a certified copy of the judgment on the judgment debtor and demand payment first? Usually that is the first step.