I have called the court and they have told me that the lawsuit is finished, but can you answer this question, a judgement is now awarded to the Plaintiff, what does that mean? What does it mean to have a judgement (civil) against a person, (husband and wife and on a business)

thx
catonline

Hi catonline. The court told you the lawsuit is finished and judgment was awarded to the plaintiff. That usually means the plaintiff "won" in court, but depending on the type of case there may be a right to appeal the decision. Were you the plaintiff or the defendant? Depending on whether this is a serious matter to you, you may want to speak to an attorney regarding your rights. There are time limits within which you are able to appeal judgments. You can also call the court to find out the time limits.

we are the defendants, does the judge set the rules on how the judgement will be paid back,(like wage garnishment; or lein on property) do you know if the judge can rule that property be sold, and do you know how long the judge will take to rule on the judgement or do you think the court clerk will know? It talks about a constructive trust in the papers from the plaintiff, do you know anything about that?

thx
catonline

The judgment against you will be for a certain amount, but it doesn't sound like the judgment in your case specified how the amount awarded should be paid (for example, in installments payments or lump-sum, etc.). If a judgment can not be appealed and overturned, then each state has its own mechanism for an unpaid judgement to become a lien against your property. The court clerk may have more information for you about the procedure in your state for a judgment to become a lien. However, I suggest you try to speak to an attorney about this immediately to determine your legal options. You can find more information about an attorney through the attorney locator service on LawInfo's home page at: http://www.lawinfo.com/. Some do offer free consultations.

Thank you for your help, maybe you can help on this next question, the plaintiff's were awarded the full amount they were asking for, but they have been paid part of that already, so if a trust is set up will the trust be for the full amount or will the judge take into consideration what they have been paid back to date? If the Plaintiff is awarded a trust for the full amount isn't that considered double dipping?

thx
catonline

When was the money paid to the plaintiff... before or after the judgement was ordered?

Money was paid to the Plaintiff before judgement and weekly payments are being paid to date, will this be taken into consideration

You will need to check with the court or an attorney to determine what the judgment actually requires you to do. You have some sort of arrangement with the plaintiff because you're making payments. Payments made toward a judgment should be deducted from the total amount awarded, just like paying off any other debt. However, there may be interest accuring, or some other factor at play. You might try to contact the party to whom you make payments - whether that is the plaintiff or some third party - and ask how the payments are being deducted from the total amount awarded.