A successful lawsuit leads to a judgment for money but not to payment of the judgment. If the defendant does not voluntarily pay the judgment, the plaintiff must commence enforcement proceedings against the defendant. There are two common ways to enforce a judgment.
One way is for the plaintiff to issue a court document called a writ of seizure and sale. The writ is filed with the sheriff of the county and empowers the sheriff to enforce the judgment. The plaintiff directs the sheriff to enforce the judgment by, for example, telling the sheriff to attend at the defendant’s bank branch and seize money in the defendant’s bank account to satisfy the judgment. When filed in the registry office, the writ also acts as a lien against land owned by the defendant in the county.
Another way to enforce a judgment is for the plaintiff to seize the defendant’s wages. If the plaintiff knows where the defendant works as an employee, the plaintiff may commence garnishment proceedings to seize (“garnish”) the wages. The plaintiff issues a court document called a notice of garnishment, which sets out what is due and owing, and sends it to the employer. The employer is obligated to hold back a portion of the defendant’s wages from each paycheck and send it to the sheriff who, in turn, sends it to the plaintiff. If the employer fails to co-operate, the employer may be liable to the plaintiff for the amount that should have been held back.
For a defendant who owns land or earns wages that can be seized, it is prudent to pay the judgment and avoid further legal costs and the risk of a bad credit rating.