No, we won't take half to settle. Here's a garnishment instead.

We represent a large insurance company that provides group health insurance to large employers.  Recently, we went to trial on a case for them where the defendant, an employer of approximately 500 people, alleged that our client failed to properly handle claims and to properly debit the account of the defendant for premiums.

The judge granted a judgment in our favor and awarded attorneys' fees.

Once we received the judgment we received a call from the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) asking what we could do to settle the judgment. We told him to pay each and every penny owed on the judgment and the matter would be over.

He then requested a settlement of half the judgment amount to resolve the judgment. His best argument was "don't you just want to make this go away?"  Our response: No, not really. What he did not know was that we had already sent a writ of garnishment to their bank to freeze their accounts.  We had also sent a large amount of post-judgment discovery to get the ball rolling.

Well, once the garnishment hit the bank and their account was frozen, the conversation changed dramatically. They hired an appellate lawyer to appeal their case and began to resist us on several fronts.  Eventually, the appellate lawyer realized the defendant's predicament and the judgment was settled for 97% of the amount of the judgment, paid in cash.

If we have bank account information, the process is almost always less painful for our clients. This information is provided to you by your customers when they pay their invoice.  Do you save that information or do you discard it?  In this case it might have been the difference between a two-year fight after obtaining a judgment and a two month fight after obtaining a judgment.

Post-Judgment Interest Changes
No, we won't take half to settle. Here's a garnishment instead.
Of Debts- and Jerry Jones' Airplane
This Is Why You File Liens
Settle our Garnishment? Um, no.
If I pay you, then you can't foreclose on my house!
A Turnover for the Ex.
Take the 5th, lose your stuff.
Yeah, but what about the roof?
Um, That's My Airplane
What does a writ of possession look like?
Nice Landlords Finish Last
Rent it, don't steal it.
Watch out for the Girlfriend
Can You Get Arrested In Florida?
A TRO for All Seasons
An Old Lady Loses Everything
Magic Letterhead
"One of the Worst Days of My Life"
Can You Handle The Truth?

Email:  Darrell W. Cook

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