Post-Judgment Proceedings: Collecting Monetary Judgment

• Date: 01 October 2021
• Author: Karen L. Stevenson

Published in Litigation News Volume 47, Number 1, Fall 2021. © 2021 by the Ameri can Bar Association. Re produced with per mission. All rights re served. This info rmation or any porti on thereof may not be c opied or disseminated in any f orm or

by any means or stored in an el ectronic database or r etrieval system w ithout the expre ss written cons ent of the American Bar A ssociation.

Published in Litigation News Volume 47, Number 1, Fall 2021. © 2021 by the Ameri can Bar Association. Re produced with per mission. All rights re served. This info rmation or any porti on thereof may not be c opied or disseminated in any f orm or

by any means or stored in an el ectronic database or r etrieval system w ithout the expre ss written cons ent of the American Bar A ssociation.

ou won the case, and your cl ient was awarded

monetary da mages! Now you need to execute

on the judgment. Some times the losin g party wi ll

pay up right away and be done with it. Of ten they

don’t. To collect the monetary award, you mus t

use the specia l rules and proce dures for post-judgment col-

lection proceeding s.

Commence afte r Final Judgme nt

Generally, a federal cour t cannot not enter nal judgment

until it has resolved a ll claims as to al l parties. Federal Rule

of Civil Procedure 54 p rovides that when an act ion involves

multiple claims, whe ther a claim, counterclaim, cro ss-claim

or third-par ty claim, or when multiple parties a re involved,

the court may di rect entry of nal judgment as to fewer th an

all claims or pa rties, but “only if the court expressly d eter-

mines that ther e is no just reason for delay.” While it is not

proper to commence colle ction proceedings prematurely,

in cases where “there i s no just reason for delay,” it may

be prudent to request entr y of nal judgment as to a single

claim on which your cl ient has prevailed.

State and Federal Ru les Apply

Federal Rule of Civil P rocedure 69(a) provides that the pro-

cedure to execute on a money judg ment “must accord with

the procedure of the st ate where the court is located.” Thus,

after win ning a civil judgment, a judgment creditor w ill use

state law procedures i n supplemental federal pro ceedings to

collect the award. St ate law might allow the judgment credi-

tor to pursue a writ of execut ion, a writ of garn ishment and

order to garnish wages or ba nk accounts, or a lien on the

judgment debtor’s property. These pro cedures must be fol-

lowed precisely. It is essential t hat counsel be familiar with

the applicable state ru les, forms, and de adlines.

Post-Judgment Proceedings:

Collecting a Monetary Judgment

By Hon. Karen L . Stevenson, Litigation Ne ws Associate Editor

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