Ÿ$Ÿ Collecting an Unpaid Judgment Against a Judgment Debtor Who Uses Several Aliases

The topic of this article is an extremely useful method that can be used by a judgment creditor in California to collect an unpaid judgment against a judgment debtor or debtors who use several aliases without being required to file a motion to amend the judgment, and without notice or a hearing. However, it can only be used in certain specified situations which are detailed in the California Code of Civil Procedure. The method is known as an affidavit of identity.

Proper use of an affidavit of identity is critical to effective judgment recovery in California. The author has collected on several California judgments with the use of an affidavit of identity, and has never had an application for an affidavit of identity rejected. Many judgment debtors use several aliases in an attempt to confuse and evade their creditors.

The basic procedure requires that a judgment creditor file an application with the Court located in the county where the judgment was entered. The application must include a declaration detailing all of the facts supporting the application including any exhibits. The application is then reviewed by a Judge or Commissioner who decides whether to grant or deny the application.

Many counties in California including Los Angeles and Orange counties, have a specific local form which is used as the application for an affidavit of identity, and in some cases, the order approving the application as well. A party should visit the website of the Court located in the county where the judgment was entered to determine whether that particular Court has their own local form or forms.

If the judgment creditor can prove to the Court that a judgment debtor(s) are known by additional names which were not listed on the judgment, they can request that the Court issue an abstract of judgment and/or a writ of execution listing the additional names, without notice or a hearing.

This avoids the time and expense of filing a motion to amend the judgment which would require giving advance notice to the judgment debtor, thus alerting them that the judgment creditor is actively seeking to collect on the unpaid judgment.

Note that this procedure CANNOT be used in other ways such as attempting to collect against someone who was not listed on the judgment, nor can it be used to collect against any corporations, partnerships, or any legal entities not separately named in the judgment in which the judgment debtor is a partner, shareholder, or member, other than the judgment debtor.

The relevant code section that authorizes the issuance of an abstract of judgment listing additional names is Code of Civil Procedure Section 674 (c)(1).

The term affidavit of identity is defined in Code of Civil Procedure Section 680.135.

The relevant code section that authorizes the issuance of an abstract of judgment listing additional names is Code of Civil Procedure Section 699.510 (c)(1).

Proper use of the affidavit of identity can make the difference between collecting or not collecting on an unpaid judgment. Judgment recovery professionals in the State of California will certainly agree with the previous statement.

The author sincerely hopes that you have enjoyed this article.

Yours Truly,

Stan Burman