 Re: Going to Sue
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sooner  We filed a case in Texas against a guy (age 19 at the time) who crashed into our yard and caused considerable damage. Because he was racing (and ticketed with "attempted contest of speed"), his insurance did not pay a dime. We had to get our insurance involved and we recovered some of the cost of the repairs. We filed in small claims court and the filing and service fee was $161.00. We won a judgment of over $9,200.00 (plus court costs) but because this guy can't hold a job and lives with his in-laws, we'll probably never receive any money and the judgment isn't worth the paper it's written on.
Good luck and keep us posted on how this turns out. | This is another good point. You get a judgment on an individual.
And then what?
In order to garnish in most states, they must have a full time job that pays more than $7.50 per hour. Under federal law, they must take home a certain amount of money before you can touch a PENNY of their money. And then, the garnishment is limited to between 10% and 25% of their pay.
And that is if everything goes your way. If that person has other judgments ahead of you, you will have to wait in line. If they are being garnished for taxes or child support, you could have a VERY LONG wait.
In fact, about 80% of all judgments for money are NEVER collected. Some people are doomed to stay in minimum wage type jobs and are very difficult if not impossible to collect from. People switch jobs. They become disabled. They go on welfare. They own a business and put everything in their wife's name. They file for bankruptcy.
Meanwhile, you are spending a small fortune to try to find and garnish their assets. For small amounts of money it is rarely worth it.
The bottom line is, if it will make you feel better - if you simply CANNOT let this go - then by all means go ahead and file a lawsuit. But don't expect an easy pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Because collecting from most people is ANYTHING but easy!
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