Category: Judgment Collections

You’ve Got the Escalade, Now What? A Reminder of What Slow Pay Motions Can’t Do

With the economy in shambles, I’ve come to learn that, sometimes, people are broke.

When I ask that they pay me $250 a month on a judgment, they turn around and file a “slow pay” motion asking to pay me $20 a month.  I talked about Slow Pay Motions (a.k.a. Motion to Pay Judgment by Installments) a few years ago.

Let me revisit one aspect I left out in that earlier post:  What exactly does a Slow Pay Motion stop you from doing?

Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-216 does not stay garnishments against real or personal property; it only stays garnishments against wages or salaries due to the debtors:

The filing of such motion by the debtor shall stay the issuance, execution or return of any writ of garnishment against wages or salary due the judgment debtor or any other funds belonging to the judgment debtor …

Tennessee cases support this conclusion: “No such installment payments are to be ordered unless the debtor has filed an affidavit stating that no other assets are available for payment of the judgment except the wages or salary of the debtor and that any other funds receivable by the debtor are so limited that installment payments are appropriate.” Harrington v. Harrington, 759 S.W.2d 664, 668 (Tenn. 1988).

So, let’s say you execute against a Cadillac Escalade (congratulations), and the borrower files a Slow Pay. In that case, the Court may enter a Slow Pay Order and set payments. But, that Order will prevent Wage Garnishments;  it will not stop collections on real or personal property.

Computation of Time: How Do You Count “10 Days” for a General Sessions Court Appeal in Tennessee?

Everybody knows that, in Tennessee General Sessions Courts, you have a right to file a de novo appeal in ten days. But, lawyers sometimes scratch their heads on how to count ten days. Is it business days? Is it calendar days?
Tenn. Code Ann. § 27-5-101 may provide the Answer:

Any person dissatisfied with the judgment of a recorder or other officer of a municipality charged with the conduct of trials, in a civil action, may, within ten (10) entire days thereafter, Sundays exclusive, appeal to the next term of circuit court.

So, under the statute, you use calendar days but you exclude any intervening Sundays.
Also, see Tenn. Code Ann. § 1-3-102:

The time within which any act provided by law is to be done shall be computed by excluding the first day and including the last, unless the last day is a Saturday, a Sunday, or a legal holiday, and then it shall also be excluded.

So, if the tenth day falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or a legal holiday, the deadline rolls forward.

Ok, last question, what’s a “legal holiday” in Tennessee? See Tenn. Code Ann. § 15-1-101:

January 1; the third Monday in January, “Martin Luther King, Jr. Day”; the third Monday in February, known as “Washington Day”; the last Monday in May, known as “Memorial” or “Decoration Day”; July 4; the first Monday in September, known as “Labor Day”; the second Monday in October, known as “Columbus Day”; November 11, known as “Veterans’ Day”; the fourth Thursday in November, known as “Thanksgiving Day”; December 25; and Good Friday; and when any one (1) of these days falls on Sunday, then the following Monday shall be substituted; and when any of these days falls on Saturday, then the preceding Friday shall be substituted; also, all days appointed by the governor or by the president of the United States as days of fasting or thanksgiving, and all days set apart by law for holding county, state, or national elections, throughout this state, are made legal holidays, and the period from twelve o’clock (12:00) noon to twelve o’clock (12:00) midnight of each Saturday which is not a holiday is made a half-holiday, on which holidays and half-holidays all public offices of this state may be closed and business of every character, at the option of the parties in interest of the same, may be suspended.

Confessions of Judgment aren’t Valid in Tennessee: Here’s Why

All kinds of search terms lead visitors to this site. I routinely look at them, because it’s a great insight into what creditor rights issues people want to learn about. (And, sometimes, it’s pretty funny.)

A common query is whether confessions of judgments are valid in Tennessee. Frankly, after nearly 15 years of practice in Tennessee, I’ve never dealt with a confession of judgment, so, as a practical matter, I don’t think they are valid in Tennessee. But, recently, I actually came across the answer.

As background, a confession of judgment is a contract provision (or a stand-alone contract) in which one party agrees on the front-end of a transaction to let the other party enter a judgment against him if the deal goes bad.  You agree, in advance and before any default or dispute arises, that the other party can get a judgment, even without a lawsuit pending and despite any legitimate defenses that may ultimately exist.

You can imagine why a creditor would include such a provision in their contracts.

Tennessee doesn’t allow such provisions. Tenn. Code Ann. § 25-2-101(a) says:

Any power of attorney or authority to confess judgment which is given before an action is instituted and before the service of process in such action, is declared void; and any judgment based on such power of attorney or authority is likewise declared void.

But, an agreement to allow a judgment may be allowed after a lawsuit is filed and after the party is served (when, it would be assumed, the party has received due process of the law and the issues are defined).  § 25-2-101(b) says:

This section shall not affect any power of attorney or authority given after an action is instituted and after the service of process in such action.

So, even though Confessions of Judgment are not valid in Tennessee at the time of the contract, such provisions will be enforceable after the filing of the lawsuit, such as in a forbearance or settlement agreement.

New Opinion Analyzes Common Defenses to Domestication of Foreign Judgments in Tennessee

A good rule of thumb in Tennessee is that a valid foreign judgment will be enforceable here, provided the plaintiffs comply with the procedural requirements of Tennessee Code Annotated § 26-6-101, et seq.

A new Tennessee Court of Appeals opinion, in Bancorpsouth Bank v. David J. Johnson, et. al. (July 16, 2013), examined both the general law, as well as the potential defenses to domestication. This is a good case to know, since it reviews all aspects of the foreign judgment enrollment process.

First, it presents the three “standard” defenses to domestication:

a forum state may decline to accord full faith and credit to the judgment or public act of another state if it is (1) void due to a lack of personal or subject matter jurisdiction, (2) based upon fraud, or (3) “where enforcement of the judgment would violate the public policy of the forum state.” …  Tennessee courts have recognized and adopted all three of these exceptions. … (citations omitted)

These defenses aren’t easy to establish, and the Court notes  “a party who seeks to show that a foreign judgment should not be enforced in Tennessee must meet a ‘stern and heavy‘ burden.”

Most attacks on a foreign judgment are under Defense No. 1 (that the judgment is void); this new case is interesting in that is that the Court provides a good analysis of Defense Nos. 2 and 3 (which no other case that I’ve seen has done).

Defense No. 2, Fraud:  “[T]o deny full faith and credit on the basis of fraud, there must be allegations of extrinsic fraud, that is, fraud that is collateral to questions which were either determined or which could have been determined in the underlying action. Extrinsic fraud is contrasted with intrinsic fraud, which pertains to an issue involved in the underlying action or where the acts allegedly constituting fraud were or could have been litigated…”

“‘[E]xtrinsic fraud ‘consists of conduct that is extrinsic or collateral to the issues examined and determined in the action,’. . . while intrinsic fraud is fraud within the subject matter of the litigation, such as forged  documents produced at trial or perjury by a witness.”

An example of extrinsic fraud is a party lying to the other party about the court date or committing some fraud regarding the litigation (something beyond the allegations of the lawsuit). Intrinsic fraud would be some fraud related to or contained in the allegations of the lawsuit, such as a fraudulent signature on the note at issue.

Defense No. 3, Public Policy:  “Under the public-policy exception to full faith and credit, “Tennessee courts are not obligated to give full faith and credit to any judgment of a state which we hold to be violative of Tennessee’s public policy or the Federal Constitution.”

This is rare, however: “The principle of giving full faith and credit to the judgments of sister states will “almost invariably” outweigh the interest of an individual state; the public-policy exception to full faith and credit is applied only on ‘extremely rare occasions.'”

While the Court doesn’t provide examples, the Defendants’ argument is illustrative. Here, they argued that the foreclosure that resulted in the deficiency balance at issue in the lawsuit was improper, and it was an issue that Tennessee has a defense for, under Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-5-118.

The Court saw this as an improper attempt to re-litigate potential defenses under the underlying judgment, not some public policy that rendered the out-of-state judgment unenforceable.

Most cases cite the three major defenses, and this new opinion is significant because it provides helpful analysis of what constitutes those defenses.

Contingent Fees: The Good, The Bad, and The Reason Many Lawyers Don’t Handle Them

Generally, a client pays a lawyer for his services by the hour, which is exactly what it sounds like. If a lawyer with an hourly rate of $250 does an hour’s worth of work, then the client owes the lawyer $250.

In some instances, a lawyer will handle a matter on a contingency fee basis, which means that the fee is paid only if there is a favorable result (i.e. “I don’t get paid unless YOU win”). The exact fee is calculated as a percentage of the amount of money recovered in the case.

Because I do creditor’s rights law, I’m sometimes asked to handle matters on a contingent fee. With the economy being where it is, however, I’m far less likely to accept creditor cases on this agreement. With so many people broke, the possibility of payment is lower than ever and the fight to get that money is harder than ever.

Proponents of contingency fees argue that they provide access to lawyers and the justice system for people who, otherwise, couldn’t afford lawyers (and that expensive hourly rate). That’s true.

My experience with accepting clients on a contingency fee billing is that those clients–i.e. the ones who are not paying for every phone call, every email, every step of the litigation–are the ones who have the most unreasonable demands of my time. Paying good money for an hour long phone call has a good way of discouraging any unnecessary hour long phone calls. If a nasty fight on an inconsequential issue doesn’t cost them anything, well, of course, they want you to fight on that issue.

When a client asks me to take a collections case on a contingent fee basis, I’m generally pretty frank with them in response. I explain the factors I consider: (a) how much actual work will  be required; (b) whether the defendant has lots of assets;  and (c) whether payment of the claim will be very quick. In short, it’s only a good deal for  the lawyer if it’s going to be a windfall involving not much work and a quick payment.

In this economy, it’s rare to find the collections referral that pays quickly and without much effort. In a contingency fee case, the risk of nonpayment rests entirely on the lawyer’s shoulders. From a client’s perspective, the risk is that a lawyer is going to lose motivation to work on a case over a long duration when it doesn’t produce results (i.e. money).

My advice to lawyers is to be careful on these types of cases; my advice to the clients would be the same.

Last Chance to Learn: Creditors’ Rights in Tennessee: 10 Collection Strategies

A quick reminder: Tomorrow, June 6, 2013, I’ll be teaching the CLE  presented by M. Lee Smith Legal Publishers called Creditors’Rights in Tennessee: 10 Collection Strategies.

This is a one hour audio seminar, that will cover the usual Tennessee collections lawyer song and dance. Things like:

  • Things to consider prior to declaring a loan in default and filing a collections lawsuit
  • Issues in deciding between Chancery Court and General Sessions Court
  • Importance of knowing your Statute of Limitations
  • Making sure you Sue the Right Party
  • Judgment Liens and why they work
  • Fraudulent Transfers
  • Overview of bankruptcy issues, including preferences and Trustee avoidance actions
  • Common roadblocks to collecting money, including domestication of foreign judgments

It’s one hour of CLE credit, and, hopefully, what I teach you during seminar will put some money in your clients’ pockets.

New Tennessee Legislation Imposes Contempt Sanctions on Judgment Debtors Who Don’t Notify Creditors of New Employment

As a creditor rights attorney, I’m always looking for new developments in the law that gives me any advantage.

Recently, I saw that the Tennessee Legislature is considering a new law that gives creditors an unfair advantage.

I’m talking about Public Chapter 187, on wage garnishments, which would create the new Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-225. The statute provides, in part, that:

… A judgment debtor whose salaries, wages or other compensation are subject to a garnishment shall notify the judgment creditor who filed the writ of garnishment within ten (10) days, as computed in § 1-3-102, of obtaining any new employment. Notice to the judgment creditor shall be by certified mail and shall include the name, address and telephone number of the new employer. A judgment debtor who fails to provide notice of new employment in compliance with this section is in contempt of court and, upon the court making a determination of contempt, may be punished the same as contempt of court in a judicial proceeding. …

Under this proposed law, any debtor whose wages are being garnished must notify the creditor within 10 days, via certified mail, of any new employment.

As a creditor’s lawyer, sure, I understand why this law would be helpful: when a debtor switches jobs it can take months for me to figure out where they work. But, I’m surprised that  the Legislature would waste this energy to get involved in this collections cat-and-mouse game.

Frankly, even noting my creditor-friendly bias, I think this law goes a little far. An affirmative requirement that  the debtor send written notice, via certified mail, seems so onerous that I predict that a General Sessions Court would hesitate to impose h a contempt charge.

This is just a strange law, all around.

What is a Scire Facias (Specifically, What Does it Mean When an Employer gets a Scire Facias on a Judgment against an Employee)?

“Scire Facias” means, on a very general level, “to show cause.” It’s a Writ (known as a “Writ of Scire Facias”) that a judgment creditor can file in various instances. Specifically, a judgment creditor will file a Scire Facias on conditional judgments where the employer has failed to answer wage garnishments.

This happens most often on wage garnishments and bank levies. The procedure is that, once the employer has failed to file an Answer or other response to a Wage Garnishment, the Plaintiff files a Conditional Judgment that grants a “conditional” judgment against the employer for the amount of the Judgment against the Defendant.

It is called “conditional” because the Judgment isn’t final until the Plaintiff prepares and serves on the employer a “Scire Facias” directing the employer to appear and “show cause” (i.e. explain) why they failed to file an answer to the wage garnishment.

There are three general outcomes:

  1. The employer doesn’t appear and the Judgment goes final against the employer;
  2. The employer appears and has no good explanation for the failure, and a judgment (or consensual payment) in some amount is reached (Note: The employee lying to the employer about the status of the debt is not a defense for the employer–the employer has to comply with the response obligations under the law); and
  3. The employer appears and presents some good reason, such as the garnishment was defective, the Defendant was not employed during the relevant timeline, or there was another garnishment.

Regarding item number 3, that’s not always a good and sufficient response, since a garnishee should always answer legal process, but a Court will accept a late answer in that situation, unless there is a showing of collusion or a pattern of failure to respond.

Mark Your Calendars: Tennessee Bar Association to host Creditors Rights 101 Webcast on April 17, 2013

On April 17, 2013, the Tennessee Bar Association has asked me to present a webcast CLE called “Creditor Rights 101: 10 Collection Strategies Every Lawyer Should Know.”

This is part of the TennBarU series, designed to give Tennessee general practitioner attorneys an overview of issues in Tennessee creditor rights. Discussion will include:

• Pre-Lawsuit Considerations
• Statute of Limitations Issues
• Jurisdiction and Venue Selection
• Judgment Enforcement Options
• Basic Bankruptcy Issues
• Common Roadblocks to Collecting Money

And, don’t forget, your Tennessee Bar Association membership gets you 3 hours of free CLE.