Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Pennsylvania

Re: How to collect after winning in small claims court

First congratulations and happy hunting because what you have is a hunting license to collect.

Its not up to the judge to help you he did his part.

You have several choices on how to collect. The first is to just send a letter demanding payment with a COPY of the order. Its cheap but generally they don't pay but do it anyway. They just might.

You also can have the sheriff collect the amount owed or seize the companies assets and have them sold to pay the judgment. There's a cost to that but it gets added to the judgment and so sheriff collects that at the same time he collects the judgment.

However, what I would expect is that the company will appeal to Common Pleas Court. That does a number of things.

It stays your judgment. So until the appeal is heard, which is a new trial the defendant owes you nothing and what ever happened at the DJ is not in play.

The good news is that's going to cost him. He has to pay money to appeal. The bad news is you're going to have to file a new complaint and serve it on the defendant. Further bad news is that it will have to be much more formal than what you filed at the DJ. So plan on getting an attorney. The good news here is you can ask for higher damages. Even better this sounds like a consumer complaint. The reason that is a good thing is that the consumer protection statutes allow you ask for triple damages and attorney fees.

The downside is the defendant might prevail. Hopefully, they will settle and you won't have to go to extreme means to collect.

If you have any questions feel free to contact me. The initial consultation is free.

{John}

Re: How to collect after winning in small claims court

1. Do nothing until 30 days from the date of the award. This is the appeal period. Let sleeping dogs lie.

2. If after 30 days no appeal has been filed (you'll receive a copy in the mail if it was filed), the best way to collect is to "attach" the defendant's bank account. If you previously paid by check, look at the back side of the check returned by your bank & determine where the defendant has its bank account (your bank can help you with this). Then go back to the DJ office. The clerk can give you the proper forms to attach the bank account. Make sure the clerk gives you a Writ of Execution, & Interrogatories in Attachment. Also, make sure all the court fees are added into the amount owed.

3. Feel free to contact me if you need help. Good luck!!