It is a cause for celebration when you successfully obtain a judgment against your opponent. Unfortunately, however, that may not always be the end of the matter.
Court judgments will usually contain an order for the judgment debtor to pay the judgment debt by a specified deadline (usually 14 days, but that can vary). However, there are occasions when the judgment debtor cannot, or will not, pay the judgment debt either by the deadline or at all – despite being ordered by the Court to do so.
In those circumstances, enforcement action will be necessary to obtain payment. Common methods of enforcement action include:-
- Taking Control of Goods – It is possible to apply to the Court for a writ or a warrant of control which enables a High Court Enforcement Officer or a County Court bailiff to take control of the judgment debtor’s goods and sell them in order to pay the judgment debt. There are strict rules around what enforcement agents can and cannot do, and the judgment debtor will need to own goods of sufficient value for this method to be successful. However, a visit from a bailiff can often encourage payment or lead to payments being agreed in order to stop the enforcement action.
- Third Party Debt Order – This involves obtaining a court order that sums held by a third party on behalf of the judgment debtor are paid directly to the judgment creditor. Commonly this will involve the court ordering a bank to pay to the judgment creditor sums held in the debtor’s bank account as at the date of the order. Accordingly, the timing of an application for a third party debt order is important, to try to ensure that the debtor has sufficient funds in his account to satisfy the debt in full or part.
- Attachment of Earnings – Where the judgment debtor is an individual, who is employed, an order may be obtained from the County Court which requires the debtor’s employer to pay a proportion of their earnings directly to the judgment creditor. The proportion paid to the judgment creditor would be determined by the Court and is subject to the level of the debtor’s earnings and other commitments.
- Charging Order – This is a method of securing the debt against the judgment debtor’s land or securities. Once a charging order is obtained, the owner cannot sell the land without paying the underlying debt. In order to obtain payment, it is therefore necessary to wait for the debtor to sell the land or to apply for an order for sale.
- Insolvency Proceedings – If the judgment ordered against an individual is £5,000 or more, and it has not been possible to enforce the judgment, then steps could be taken to obtain a bankruptcy order. Similarly if a company owes £750 or more then you could seek a winding up order. Whilst insolvency is not a true enforcement method, because the judgment debtor’s assets would ultimately be collected and distributed amongst all of its creditors in accordance with insolvency law, the threat of insolvency may be enough to get the debtor to pay the judgment debt.
It can be difficult to assess which method of enforcement is the most suitable if you lack information about the judgment debtor’s financial position. In that scenario, we can instruct agents to carry out investigations into the judgment debtor’s assets or it is possible to apply for a court order requiring the judgment debtor to attend court and provide information about their assets and means.
If you would like to discuss this issue with us in further detail, please contact Liane Simmonds in our Dispute Resolution Team.
