Murphy Campbell, So you won your case, now what Murphy, Campbell, Alliston & Quinn

So You Won Your Case…Now What?

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We tend to think of winning a case and securing a judgment as the end of the legal process. Until faced with attempting to collect on a judgment, we rarely consider the process of how one actually collects such money. Imagine you fought a long, hard battle to secure a civil money judgment. The time for appeal has passed and your judgment is final. How do you get your money? It can often be difficult to get the losing party to part with their money, even in the face of a final judgment ordering them to pay. The battle to recover money that is rightfully yours can be an even longer and more arduous process than winning the judgment itself and, at the end of the day, a judgment is nothing without the ability to enforce it. Luckily, collecting a judgment can be made less daunting by understanding the processes by which it is done. The following is a brief description of how to determine what property a judgment debtor has and how different types of property can be reached to satisfy a money judgment. This article does not discuss the exemptions to property that can be reached to satisfy a judgment.  Suffice it to say for these purposes that there are certain types of…

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Post-Judgment Interest Following Appeal: When a “Reversal” is Really a Modification

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Most practitioners are generally aware that interest on a judgment runs from the date of entry, and continues to accrue even pending an appeal. The accrual of interest at the standard rate of 10% per annum (7% for public entities) can be a significant consideration in evaluating the potential costs and benefits of an appeal. If you are successful in obtaining an outright reversal of the judgment, all is good: post-judgment interest goes the way of the judgment. However, if the matter is reversed and remanded for further proceedings, or reversed with directions, what happens to post-judgment interest is entirely dependent upon the “substance and effect” of the appellate court’s disposition. A disposition which effects a true reversal of the judgment will result in interest running from the date of entry of any new judgment following remand, whereas a disposition which effects only a “modification” of the original judgment leaves interest accruing from the date of the original judgment. Knowing which is which is critical, and educating the trial court prior to entry of any new judgment can save the parties the expense and delay that would be occasioned by a second appeal on this issue. A true reversal is one which requires the trial court to conduct further fact-finding to resolve the matter at…