Update on cha-ching....

[dipper]

Hi Soc,

"I" filed a show cause against bm's former employer for a failed garnishment.  They didnt show -and judge issued an arrest warrant.  The next time the vice president showed and was ordered to figure out amount owed and pay it.  Vice president called to say they werent liable and would fight it.  Today was court date...

Vice president told judge they didnt feel liable.  judge once again told them they were served in November when store was served - and therefore are liable... Vice president did have figures available and judge ordered an exact amount to be paid...

Now we are waiting to see what happens next......court number was showing on caller ID when I got home this evening - they had tried to reach me about 15 minutes after I left today - will check in with them in the morning...

Just wanted to give an update...

[socrateaser]

.

[dipper]

Soc,

Twice the general district court judge told company that as their representative took possession of the summons of garnishment, they were responsible whether they received it or not.  He recently ordered a specific dollar amount.

The company has now appealed the ruling.  

This company also did not show for first show cause - and are claiming that rep served with those papers did not send them in.  

Two different representatives served and the company is trying to claim that neither did their job in forwarding information.  Not very believable.  And from what I understand, doesnt matter anyway.  They hired these people as representatives and therefore, company was served.

Not to mention that I sent them copies of the garnishment on three different occassions...

[socrateaser]

>Soc,
>
>Twice the general district court judge told company that as
>their representative took possession of the summons of
>garnishment, they were responsible whether they received it or
>not.  He recently ordered a specific dollar amount.
>
>The company has now appealed the ruling.  
>
>This company also did not show for first show cause - and are
>claiming that rep served with those papers did not send them
>in.  
>
>Two different representatives served and the company is trying
>to claim that neither did their job in forwarding information.
> Not very believable.  And from what I understand, doesnt
>matter anyway.  They hired these people as representatives and
>therefore, company was served.
>
>Not to mention that I sent them copies of the garnishment on
>three different occassions...

The owner of this company has a very bizarre sense of priorities. If this is an appeal to the VA Court of Appeals, it will cost them at least $10K in attorney fees to avoid paying you. I don't remember how much money is at stake, however I doubt that it is that much.

I assume that you have were served the notice of appeal. That preserves the appellant's rights, however, they must usually file an undertaking bond (probably $500) to cover some portion of the costs on appeal. Also, I don't know if this appeal automatically stays the judgment, or whether they must specifically obtain an order staying the judgment on appeal.

I wish that I had time to research all of this for you, but I don't. You will need to look through the statues and also get a copy of the Court of Appeals rules. I don't know if these are available online.

You really need those rules in order to determine the sequence of events, because you may be able to just sit back and wait for them to serve you with their brief on the merits. That document will almost certainly expend $5K of their money, and I do not believe that they are screwball enough to pay that amount just to avoid paying you that amount.

You may want to contact their attorney named on the notice of appeal, by fone, and ask whether they would like to settle amicably now, before they expend substantial attorney fees in a lost cause.

Then, if the attorney blows you off, I suggest that you follow up with written correspondence stating the same thing, and that you copy the company's entire board of directors and all officers. The objective is to bring some pressure to bear on the owner from his partners to stop screwing around and just pay the damn bill.

If the owner is not a 51% shareholder, then this will likely work. If he is, then he can just tell everyone to shut up. But for a couple of bucks in stamps, it may be worth the effort.

[dipper]

Soc,

The amount ordered is under $1500.  I think they are standing on their 'principles' - claiming they didnt receive it, therefore shouldnt have to pay it - but that is a lie in itself.  They knew in December about it and ignored it.

Thank you for guiding us as what kind of information we need to look into.

Our thing has been that they ignored a court order.  We hadnt expected to actually get money rewarded.  They still appear to be quite arrogant against the court.

[socrateaser]

>Soc,
>
>The amount ordered is under $1500.  I think they are standing
>on their 'principles' - claiming they didnt receive it,
>therefore shouldnt have to pay it - but that is a lie in
>itself.  They knew in December about it and ignored it.
>
>Thank you for guiding us as what kind of information we need
>to look into.
>
>Our thing has been that they ignored a court order.  We hadnt
>expected to actually get money rewarded.  They still appear to
>be quite arrogant against the court.

I can't even imagine what grounds for appeal they could offer. Is the notice of appeal to the VA Court of Appeals?

[dipper]

Soc, 'I' got a notice of hearing on an appeal from a district court today in the mail.  This is from the Circuit court of my county, where we will appear early October for the purpose of scheduling a date on which this case will be tried.

[socrateaser]

>Soc, 'I' got a notice of hearing on an appeal from a district
>court today in the mail.  This is from the Circuit court of my
>county, where we will appear early October for the purpose of
>scheduling a date on which this case will be tried.

OK, I checked the VA statutes, and this is an appeal from a district to a circuit court, which apparently entitles the defendant to a new trial. This is not an appeal to the Court of Appeals, so the expense is not the same. Theoretically, the defendant can ask for a jury trial, however you have the right to move for summary judgment before that happens, which means that if you can show the court that there are "no material facts in dispute on any issue before the court," then the court may give judgment in your favor without trial. So, if you have documented proof of service on the company, and you sign an affidavit stating that you weren't paid in time, then that's the whole case, and the circuit court will have to give you judgment.

Frankly, this is total bullshit on the part of this company. I can't imagine any attorney showing up in court to represent them, because there's not even a good faith argument that can be made for appealing the case, and the attorney could be suspended from practice for appealing a case where there's nothing to appeal.

You should be able to go into court and suggest that this entire appeal is frivolous and if the court agrees you may get even more money from the company.

Also, check and see if the notice of appeal was filed within 10 days of the date of entry of judgment in district court, because if it's not, then you can have the appeal dismissed as untimely.

And, if the original amount owed was actually greater than what you originally asked for in district court, you may now increase your demand for payment to the full amount owed. That could get your opponent in a more settlement oriented mood.