§69.8 Strategic and Practical Considerations

• Jurisdiction: Washington

§69.8 STRATEGIC AND PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS

To discover assets available to ajudgment debtor to satisfy a judgment, the practitioner can use three alternative procedures: (1) depositions under CR 69(b), (2) supplemental proceedings under Chapter 6.32 RC W, and (3) interrogatories. Each has different requirements and varying levels of court involvement. Geographic location of the person from whom discovery is being sought may also play a role, as will the status of the person as a party or nonparty. These are alternative procedures that can be used alone or in tandem, as the circumstances warrant. Each procedure is particularly suited to resolution of different problems in the collection process.

(1) When to use interrogatories

For a small judgment, it is likely most effective to serve interrogatories on the judgment debtor to discover more information about available assets. To be on the safe side, counsel should obtain permission from the court pursuant to RCW 6.32.015 before serving interrogatories, although a credible argument exists that CR 69(b) allows discovery other than depositions. The drawback is that judgment debtors who are already stalling on paying their judgment may simply ignore the interrogatories.

Practice Tip: Many Washington jurisdictions will allow counsel to present a request to serve interrogatories on a judgment debtor ex parte (which can be done via mail in some jurisdictions).

(2) When to use depositions

The postjudgment use of the civil rules to take depositions provides a flexible and efficient process for discovery of the judgment debtor's financial position, and in most cases at less cost to the client than a supplemental proceeding. For the fundamentals of deposition practice, see Chapters 30 (Rule 30. Depositions Upon Oral Examination) and 31 (Rule 31. Depositions Upon Written Questions) of this deskbook. The biggest advantage of a CR 69 deposition is that it allows the judgment creditor relatively easy access to individuals who may have relevant information about the judgment debtor's assets other than the already recalcitrant judgment debtor. In contrast, to compel attendance at a supplemental hearing, a third party must first be made a party.

Practice Tip: To depose a person who was not a party to the action, a deposition notice is insufficient; a subpoena is required. CR 45; see, e.g., El Salto, S. A. v. PSG Co.,444 F.2d 477, 483-84 (9th Cir. 1971). However, you can compel a nonparty who is the...