When a court awards an association judgment against a delinquent homeowner, board members often sigh with relief, “finally, it’s over.”

But is it the end? A court order for money judgment is a powerful tool, but it is more often, as Winston Churchill said about the Battle of Britain, which preceded four more years of war, merely, “the end of the beginning.”

The majority of assessment judgments are taken by default, that is, the owner does not even show up to the court or fails to file an answer. Even if the owner is present and hears the judge announce the court’s judgment that the owner owes a specific dollar amount to the association, the owner can, and most do, simply walk out of the court without paying the association.

However, the entry of judgment in favor of an association allows the association, now a “judgment creditor,” to use legal processes to search for and take assets of the owner, who post-judgment becomes a “judgment debtor.”

First, a judgment debtor may be required by the court to answer interrogatories, written disclosures of their assets, including where the judgment debtor works, banks and other assets or income sources.

Armed with such information, the judgment creditor may ask the court to issue garnishments, or orders that others in possession of a judgment debtor’s assets pay the assets into the court, where they are ultimately paid over to the judgment creditor until the full amount of the judgment, plus post-judgment interest, is satisfied. Bank balances, a portion of the judgment debtor’s wages and rents payable to the judgment debtor are the assets most typically garnished.

Is it that simple? Often,no. It may be difficult to locate and serve the judgment debtor with interrogatories and the judgment debtor’s employment or bank information may not otherwise be known, or the judgment debtor may simply refuse to answer. Of course, a judgment debtor who defies the court and refuses to answer interrogatories may ultimately be jailed for contempt of court. Each step of the process requires finding and serving the employer, bank, or tenant and the judgment debtor. Time intervals are built-in to each step of the process. Employers may not cooperate and must be compelled to comply. Personal bankruptcy proceedings may delay and complicate the process.

So, is it all worth it? Association boards lack the time and expertise to pursue delinquencies through judgment, much less through post-judgment. However, law firms experienced in and diligent about pursuing post-judgment collections routinely recover full judgments, including all legal fees the association pays to the law firm for the collection, plus post-judgment interest and costs. In 2003, Orten & Hindman collected 2.3 million dollars in delinquent assessments for association clients.