California Debt Collection Blog

When collecting judgments in California, the meaning of certain judgment-related terms can be very important.  This post explains California’s Enforcement of Judgment Laws definition of the term “money judgment”. A “money judgment” is the part of a judgment requiring the payment of money.  A money judgment usually must be stated with certainty and specificity.  In other words, a money judgment must state the precise amount of money to be paid by the debtor.  CCP § 680.270; see Guess v. Bernhardson (2015) 242 Cal.App.4th 820, 831. Not all judgments are "money judgments". ...

When collecting judgments in California, the meaning of certain judgment-related terms can be very important.  This post explains California’s Enforcement of Judgments Law's definition of the word “judgment”.  A “judgment” is defined to mean any “judgment, order or decree” entered by a California court.  See CCP § 680.230; see also CCP § 680.110.  However, the word “order” cannot always be substituted for the word “judgment”.  Rather, the specific circumstances matter.  See Hyundai Motor America v. Sup.Ct. (Rosen) (2015) 234 Cal.App.4th 418, 425-426. “Judgments” are final determinations of the parties' rights in lawsuits.  ...

To collect a judgment entered in federal court or bankruptcy court in California, the judgment enforcement steps are typically taken in federal court (rather than state court).  However, California’s Enforcement of Judgments Law procedures are applied to enforcement of the judgment.  In other words, the judgment creditor’s available avenues for collection are dictated by California state law rather than federal law, except when federal law contradicts California law.  California’s EJL procedures also apply to “proceedings supplementary to and in aid of a judgment”, unless a federal statute applies.  See Federal ...