Collections: Post Judgment Collection - A Focus on Debtor's Interrogatories

     Once judgment is entered, what is next? Although all creditors would like for the judgment amount to "fall from the sky", it does not. Sometimes debtors will pay, either in full or in incremental payments. Sometimes creditors can garnish wages or accounts, or issue a levy on property. Sometimes creditors can bring a creditor's bill to sell real estate. But what can be done when the above listed remedies are not, or at least are not yet, options, or when there is no information about the debtor from which to devise a post judgment collection plan? Virginia Code §8.01-506 provides a good start - Debtor's Interrogatories. For the price of a summons to answer interrogatories (usually $44.00 plus service charges) an attorney can summon the debtor to appear before the court granting the judgment (or other court should the matter be transferred by the judgment court) or a Commissioner in Chancery (a lawyer appointed by the court to serve in this capacity) to examine the debtor's personal estate, specifically, to answer questions about income, assets and the debtor's general ability to pay in order to attempt to satisfy the judgment. The summons is enforceable by a capias (arrest warrant) which is issued through the court.

     The interrogatory procedure is summary in nature. No pleadings are required. No trial by jury is available. Under recent amendment to Virginia Code §8.01-506, the creditor may, as part of the interrogatory system, require the production of account books or other writings that contain evidence of the judgment debtor's estate, provided that the creditor gives an affidavit stating that he believes the books exist and identifies them with reasonable certainty.
     Virginia Code §8.01-506 allows a debtor to request that the interrogatories be held at a court most convenient for the debtor. Therefore, if the debtor moves far from the creditor's area, it may not be cost effective to pursue the interrogatories.
     It is important to note that a creditor cannot conduct debtor's interrogatories - only an attorney can. This certainly can be frustrating for creditors who take their own uncontested judgments and file their own garnishments, but it is a reminder as to why creditors are better served by turning all accounts over to counsel for collection prior to seeking judgments so that counsel can assess the attorney's fee provided in the contract or note, and can keep the entire process moving.