What if your judgment debtor is or has a business? It is important to perform post judgment investigation, to uncover the existence of any business that your judgment debtor owns or is involved with. Ideally, you also did this before you sued them. My articles are my opinions, and not legal advice. I am a judgment broker, and am not a lawyer. If you ever need any legal advice or a strategy to use, please contact a lawyer.
Is your judgment debtor's business a DBA (Doing Business As), or is their business a corporate entity? A corporate entity is treated as an entirely separate and individual entity in the eyes of the law. Legally speaking, a corporate entity has many of the same rights that an individual person has.
A DBA (sometimes called a Fictitious Business Name) business is not legally separate from the person or persons that own it. With a DBA business, a money judgment against the owner is essentially also a judgment against their DBA business, even if the original cause of action for the judgment has nothing to do with their DBA business. A judgment creditor is free to hire a Sheriff to attempt to freeze, seize, levy, or garnish; non-exempt assets belonging to the business owner, whether they appear to be a part of their business or not. The possible assets that might be levied include real estate, some business equipment, furniture, accounts receivable, some inventory, bank accounts, some vehicles, or perhaps any other asset which the debtor owns.
When a judgment debtor has a DBA business, it may increase the range of possibilities available to attempt to recover a judgment. The additional choices can make judgment enforcement easier, especially when their DBA business is profitable or has available assets.
When your judgment debtor is a business entity, for example a LLC or a corporation, you cannot have the Sheriff levy anyone's assets, unless they are specifically listed as judgment debtors, in the body of the judgment, no matter what kind of company-related shenanigans they might be practicing now or in the past. Unless a court order specifies otherwise, when your judgment debtor is a corporation or LLC, only that entity's assets may be used to help satisfy your judgment.
A corporation is treated as an entirely separate and individual entity in the eyes of the law, with many of the same rights as an individual person. The more public, profitable, and established a business is, the easier it is to recover a judgment against them. In some cases, a profitable business pays judgments when they are brought to their attention. Usually, one must find, and have the Sheriff levy the judgment debtor entity's assets or income streams. This requires discovery, to find out who is paying your judgment debtor, or what assets they own.
When your judgment debtor owns shares in a corporate entity, or has partial ownership of one, levying those kinds of assets to help satisfy your judgment is usually complex, and is beyond the scope of this article.
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