One of the most powerful tools to collect on a money judgment in Illinois is the citation to discover assets. Once the citation is served on the judgment debtor (the person or company that owes you money), the citation forces the judgment debtor to pay you first before it can use his/its money to pay for anything else.
For example, if you are obtain a judgment against a former employer (e.g., company) for past due wages or commissions and you serve a citation on the company, the company generally cannot pay anyone before the company pays you first.
So in this example, the company cannot use any of its money to pay for its rent, or the wages of its current employees, before the company pays you.
The attorneys at DeBlasio & Gower used the citation tool against a company that owed our client over $3 million. That company could not pay its employees payroll without satisfying our judgment first.
Citation can also be used by commercial landlords and residential landlords in eviction cases. Often times, when the landlord gets an eviction order, the court will give the tenant time to move out. And most tenants know how to “play the game” to buy as much time as possible before they have to vacate the premises.
But a savy landlord that obtains an eviction order and a money judgment against a tenant can perhaps force the clock to move more quickly by serving the tenant with a citation to discover assets. Once the citation is served, it acts as a lien on the tenant’s assets and likely will force the tenant to cut a deal on the past due rent along with an agreement to voluntarily move out of the property long before he or she is required to. The reason? The tenant wants that lien released as soon as possible and the shrewd landlord will be glad to do so after the tenant vacates the property and pays some or all of the past due rent.
Our law firm used this strategy for a commercial landlord who obtained an eviction order and money judgment against a dry cleaning business tenant that was still operating its business. As soon as we served the citation to discover assets on the dry cleaner, he vacated the premises many days before he was required to under the eviction order.
The lawyers at DeBlasio & Gower have the experience you need to face the most difficult challenges in court, including the DuPage County Courthouse located in Wheaton, Illinois, the federal and state courts in Chicago and other collar counties. Strategically located in Chicago and Oak Brook, Illinois, our office is conveniently located minutes from all courts in the Chicagoland area and surrounding collar counties. Call us for a consultation on any business related litigation matter at 630.560.1123. www.DGLLC.net.
DISCLAIMER: This blog post is not legal advice and should not be relied on by anyone as legal advice in their particular situation. Furthermore, while DeBlasio & Gower LLC welcomes communications via its website, please be aware that communicating any information to DeBlasio & Gower LLC or any of its attorneys through its web site or via any other method without a formal engagement with the Firm does not constitute or create an attorney-client relationship between you (or any other users, senders or recipients) and DeBlasio & Gower LLC or any of its attorneys. For your protection, please do not send us confidential information until you have spoken with one of our lawyers and received authorization to send that information to our Firm. Thank you.