I am not a lawyer, I am a Judgment Broker. This article is my opinion, based on my experience in California, and laws vary in each state. If you ever need legal advice or a strategy to use, please contact a lawyer.
One tool to recover judgments is paying a Sheriff to levy a judgment debtor's vehicle, which could be a car, truck, motorcycle, etc.
Levying a judgment debtor's vehicle can be risky and difficult for several reasons:
1) It requires a lot of money to have a Sheriff seize and sell a judgment debtor's vehicle. If you do not have thousands of dollars to gamble, it is best not to try.
2) The sale may not make economic sense. The judgment debtor's vehicle may not have enough equity in it because of previous leases or loans.
Other expenses and considerations are State exemptions, the imperfect market (a forced sale) at Sheriff auction sales, and the costs involved with paying the Sheriff to tow, store, and sell at auction, the judgment debtor's vehicle.
Especially if you do not calculate all these factors first, you can easily lose money attempting to levy a judgment debtor's vehicle.
3) The Sheriff usually will not look for hidden vehicles, and will not pick locks or break into a locked area, without a separate court order instructing them to do so.
You have to describe the vehicle to the Sheriff in detail, supply the license plate number, and exactly where it is parked. Usually, the Sheriff will make just a few attempts to secure the vehicle for your initial fee.
4) Legally, one cannot threaten anyone. Due to laws, especially in California, usually you should avoid communicating to judgment debtor that you plan to pay a Sheriff to take their vehicle.
In California, the safest legal way for a judgment creditor to pay the Sheriff to seize the judgment debtor's vehicle, is by surprise.
Losing a vehicle can cause a strong reaction in the judgment debtor. Ideally that reaction would be to pay you or the Sheriff to stop the levy.
There is also a chance their reaction might be irrational. Most judgment debtors rely on their vehicles for transportation to work, to go shopping, or to take kids to school.
Before you attempt to levy a judgment debtor's vehicle, try a bank or wage garnishment first.
After you do your homework, you may decide to buy a writ of execution, and then pay the Sheriff to levy the judgment debtor's vehicle. The judgment debtor may respond by filing a claim of exemption.
If the debtor files for bankruptcy protection, the money you spent will likely go down the drain.
You may hear from the judgment debtor, after they try to file a vehicle theft report, and find out what happened, or if they see the Sheriff towing their vehicle.
Sometimes the judgment debtor will contact you, to make arrangements to get their vehicle back ASAP, and that might be your best opportunity to work out a deal. Remember, whatever you paid the court and the Sheriff, is not refundable.
For every three judgment debtors that say they will file for bankruptcy protection, usually one actually does. Listen to them, then go back to the office and check with PACER.
If the Sheriff auction goes through, be sure to contact the Sheriff's office to learn what is required. In California, the Sheriff usually sends you a notice of the auction sale, with the cost of the opening bid.
Show up at the auction, to protect your position. If you are not there, someone could purchase the vehicle for the price of the opening bid. If that happens, you would get nothing toward your judgment - and you will lose what you paid for storage fees.
In California, one goes to the auction with certified funds (see CCP 701.590), for the minimum opening bid, which is the total of the liens, plus the debtor's exemption.
You can credit bid for anything over the opening bid (which may include the debtor's claimed exemption), to help keep the bidding prices up, up to the amount listed on the writ of execution for your judgment.
Unlike eBay, fierce bidding is extremely rare at Sheriff auctions. Usually, there are only a few bidders at each sale.
Sheriff's sales are not well-advertised. The law only requires the Sheriff to post a flyer at a public place, for instance a grocery store or a post office. You could do your own advertising to try to attract more bidders.
If you are not the winning bidder, the Sheriff does the math, takes their cut, deducts expenses, and will eventually send you a check.
If you are the winning bidder, you can keep the vehicle or sell it. If you sell it, you must spend more, to make the vehicle ready for sale.
If you are the assignee of record, you have to decide if you will split any potential profit with the original judgment creditor.
Many enforcers do not split any vehicle levy profits, because they do not get to split the costs of the vehicle levy, or the risk of losing all the money they spent; with the original judgment creditor.
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