Debtor Examinations And Third Parties
"My debtor has a second home, he brags about this, and I know his buddy has been to the vacation home often. This second house is not findable by me under the debtor's name. How can one drag the buddy of the debtor to court to disclose what he knows about the debtor's property?"
Often, to attempt to get a judgment paid, you want to bring in the debtor for a debtor's examination. Other times, you may need to bring in the spouse, business partner, or employer of your debtor as third parties, to gather information about the debtor that might lead to getting your judgment paid. I am a Judgment Broker, not a attorney, and this article covers what I have done in California for judgments that I owned. The methods are similar in other states. To bring a third party to court, you need to get a court-scheduled hearing. You have to get a court (or lawyer) stamped subpoena, personally served on both the debtor and the third party. You may have to also at the same time, have a consumer notice served on the debtor.
One must pay the court for the hearing, and then pay a process server to serve all parties. You also need to fill in the right court forms (EJ-125), and supply the correct wordings. That is what the rest of this article covers. There are two ways to go, when you fill out the paperwork, to comply with CCP 708.120.
One way is to use only page two of the EJ-125 form. Where it says (2) NOTICE TO JUDGMENT DEBTOR, type or better yet, use a fillable PDF on your computer and print, the reason to bring in the third party in this space, in CAPITAL LETTERS, as it states, because you do not want them to have any reason to try to quash your subpoena.
Write something such as "JANE SMITH IS THE SPOUSE OF THE JUDGMENT DEBTOR AND HAS KNOWLEDGE OF THE WHEREABOUTS OF THE ASSETS AND OTHER NECESSARY INFORMATION REGARDING THE JUDGMENT DEBTOR TO AID IN THE ENFORCEMENT OF THIS JUDGMENT" or "JOHN SMITH IS THE EMPLOYER OF THE JUDGMENT DEBTOR AND HAS FAILED TO COMPLY WITH THE EARNINGS WITHHOLDING ORDER LAWFULLY SERVED UPON THE COMPANY". All you really need is something stating why you need to ask the third party questions under oath about the judgment debtor.
If the reasons to bring in the third-party need further explanation, you will need to file a separate affidavit, declaring who this person is, their relationship to the judgment debtor, and whether they 1) Are indebted $250 or more to the judgment debtor, or 2) Likely have knowledge about the judgment debtor's assets.
On the EJ-125, on the back, you describe the judgment debtor's property under control of the witness, so you can effectively identify and lien the property, because a correctly served subpoena creates a silent one-year lien on any identified property.
On a separate affidavit, on regular pleading paper, using a standard format, write "Affidavit for 3rd Party Judgment Debtor Examination." For example, AFFIDAVIT OF YOURNAME, IN SUPPORT OF THIRD PARTY EXAMINATION OF MR. DEADBEAT DEBTOR. (or) AFFIDAVIT OF YOURNAME, ASSIGNEE OF RECORD, IN SUPPORT OF THIRD PARTY EXAMINATION OF MR. DEADBEAT DEBTOR. In the body of your affidavit, you write something based on your "belief and information":
I, the undersigned, declare as follows:
1. I am the (judgment creditor/assignee of record) in this case. I am over 18 years of age. I have personal knowledge of the facts herein, except as to those facts stated to be known upon information and belief, and as to those facts, I believe them to be true. If called upon to testify, I could and would competently testify thereto.
2. Judgment for the plaintiff in the above-entitled matter was entered on May 1, 2010 in the total amount of $XX,XXX.00 awarded against MR. DEADBEAT DEBTOR. The total amount plus interest and costs remain due.
3. I wish to examine MORTIMER SNERD, third party who is the (spouse, employer, etc.) of the judgment debtor.
4. I am informed and believe that MORTIMER SNERD has in his/her possession property of the judgment debtor, and that MORTIMER SNERD is indebted to the debtors in an amount exceeding $250. (Or that MORTIMER SNERD has knowledge of judgment debtor's assets - based on your information and belief.)
I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the foregoing is true and correct.
Then, you should list your Points and Authorities to back up your request. What I have done (only in California) to bring in 3rd parties to court when enforcing judgments I own, is to include points and authorities along with my declaration for a third party examination try to find debtor's assets. Here are points and authorities I haves used, on the second page of my affidavit, and also placed in the third party request itself:
POINTS AND AUTHORITIES IN SUPPORT OF ISSUANCE OF APPLICATION AND ORDER FOR APPEARANCE AND EXAMINATION OF THIRD PERSON
CCP 708.120. (a) Upon ex parte application by a judgment creditor who has a money judgment and proof by the judgment creditor by affidavit or otherwise to the satisfaction of the proper court that a third person has the possession or control of property in which the judgment debtor has an interest or is indebted to the judgment debtor in an amount exceeding two hundred fifty dollars ($250), the court shall make an order directing the third person to appear before the court, or before a referee appointed by the court, at a time and place specified in the order, to answer concerning such property or debt. The affidavit in support of the judgment creditor's application may be based on the affiant's information and belief.
CCP 708.130(a) provides that witnesses may be required to appear and testify before the court or referee in an examination proceeding under this article in the same manner as upon the trial of an issue. This includes the examination of any third person who has, or may have, knowledge of the judgment debtor's assets and liabilities. This includes the spouse of the debtor who, it can be reasonably calculated, possesses special knowledge regarding the income and assets of the debtor.
This understanding of the meaning of CCP 708.130 is corroborated by case law. While there is no case specifically dealing with third parties, the language of case law leaves little doubt that the scope of a debtor's examination is not to be unnecessarily narrowed. In the case of Kyne v. Eustice the court found:
The object of the proceeding is to compel the judgment debtor to give information concerning his property; and such judgment-debtor examination is intended to be summary and factual, according the widest scope for inquiry concerning the property and business affairs of the judgment debtor. (Coleman v. Galvin, 78 Cal.App.2d 313, 318 177 P.2d 606; McCullough v. Clark, 41 Cal. 298, 302.)
The purpose of such supplementary proceedings are to discover and reach assets of a judgment debtor so as to apply them to the satisfaction of the judgment. (Smith v. Smith, 51 Cal.App.2d 29, 31-32 124 P.2d 117; Coleman v. Galvin, supra,; In re Finn, 155 Cal.App.2d 705, 709 318 P.2d 816.) page 633
Accordingly, a third person or corporation alleged to have property of a judgment debtor or to be indebted to him may be examined concerning the same (CCP 717 now