New company recovers court judgments

Most people don't realize that when someone is awarded a monetary judgment in a court of law, all they take home from the courthouse is a piece of paper that says they have won a sum of money.

It's up to the winner of the judgment, and not the court system, to enforce the judgment, but that's where Donna Day's new company, Judgment Recovery of the Ozarks, comes in.

Judgment Recovery of the Ozarks takes care of all the work involved in getting people to pay court judgments, Day said.

She obtained her business license July 1 and is working to establish her clientele.

Because safety is a consideration not everyone she collects from is happy about paying up Day declined to provide the physical location of her company for publication. Her mailing address is 2101 W. Chesterfield Blvd., PMB 88.

Day said the way her company operates is that winners of court judgments assign the judgments to the company through the courts.

That step is necessary, she added, because it enables her to take the steps to get the money, via wage garnishment, bank account seizure, liens and seizure of personal property, because only the person to whom the judgment is assigned can take those steps without first obtaining court orders. And the fact that she doesn't have to obtain court orders separates her from traditional collection agencies, Day said.

Judgment Recovery of the Ozarks collects judgments for various types of cases, including medical services rendered and unpaid rent, but the company does not handle child support cases.

Claims include "cases where a neighbor backed into another neighbor's tree or shrub and it had to be replaced and they take them to court all kinds of small claims," Day said.

All of the methods Day uses to collect money on court judgments can be used by individuals or companies, if they want to invest the time and effort. But, she said, because of the work involved, she's confident that her company's services will be in demand.

"It's like if you have a lawnmower but you don't want to mow your grass, so you hire somebody else to do it. I'm taking over all the recovery process," she said. "Basically, my service isn't something (judgment winners) couldn't do, just like (they can) go ahead and mow their laws or ... change the oil in their own cars."

Winners of court judgments can also hire attorneys to collect their money, but attorneys often require up-front payment, whereas Judgment Recovery of the Ozarks fees come only from money that's collected, Day said.

Typically the money is split so that she receives 40 percent and her clients receive 60 percent, although that can vary depending on the size of the judgment.

Also, she said, she can petition the court for interest on older, unpaid judgments, as well as enforcement-related fees that she pays out-of-pocket.

"Anything that is recovered will go through the court system. The court will send me all funds, and then within 30 days of me receiving the funds, (clients) will receive their 60 percent," Day said.

Day said she decided to open her company after being laid off from Springfield Trust Com-pany.

She trained with Califor-nia-based Judgment Recovery Specialists, which has locations all over the United States, although she said her business isn't part of a franchise.

"A lot of (judgment recovery) is paperwork, and I've always been in the paperwork' field. It just felt like something that suited me, because I like a lot of investigative things. I like the challenge," Day added.