This should go without saying: if you are a judgment debtor owing millions and don’t plan to repay your creditors, it’s probably not the smartest idea to boast that you’re making a LOT of money. But in this case, that’s EXACTLY what this judgment debtor did. She did so loudly, proudly, and very publicly, on a podcast and also on social media.
The debtor’s exact quote was: “I made $600 bands last year”. Wow. Just wow.
When Jamie heard that, he knew it was GOLD. Sometimes proving a debtor is making a lot of money is really difficult and requires lots of discovery and effort. Here, the Judgment Debtor had just handed Jamie a huge gift: what we call a “party admission” in the legal world, against one’s own interest. That’s admissible as evidence in Court.
With the Debtor’s unforced error fully documented, Jamie knew exactly how he would he capitalize. He filed a Motion for Assignment Order.
The Los Angeles Superior Court granted Final Verdict Solutions’ founder Jamie Shelton's motion for an assignment order against a judgment debtor who works as a cast member on a reality TV series. The Court assigned Jamie 50% of every payment the reality TV network behind the show (the “Network”) owes the Debtor, now and in the future.
The Network must pay that 50% share directly to satisfy the judgment against their cast member, the Debtor. The assignment covers payments due now and payments that come due later, and it stays in place until the judgment, interest, and costs are paid in full.
A court in New York entered a money judgment against the Debtor. The original creditor assigned that judgment to Jamie, who brought it to California under the Sister State Money Judgments Act, where the Los Angeles Superior Court entered judgment on it.
The balance is more than $2.7 million, and it accrues interest at about $758 per day. That is roughly $277,000 a year in interest alone. The Debtor had paid nothing toward it.
The Debtor lives in Nevada, and Jamie had her personally served there with notice of entry of the California judgment. More than 30 days passed with no motion to vacate, so the judgment became enforceable.
Her address didn't matter, because the motion went after the money, not her. The Network has its principal office in Hollywood, California. The Court held that a right to payment is located where the payer is, so the Debtor’s right to be paid by the Network is property sitting in California. That let the Court apply it to the judgment whether or not the Debtor herself has any contacts with California.
The Court assigned the right to payment directly to Jamie rather than ordering the Debtor to sign anything over. That keeps the order aimed at the money and at the Network, which is exactly where it needs to be.
If the Network were the Debtor's employer, her pay would count as "earnings," and California's Wage Garnishment Law would cap collection at 20% of her disposable earnings. To get 50%, the judgment creditor had to prove the Debtor is an independent contractor, and the burden was squarely on him.
That case was built largely out of the Debtor's own words and posts:
The court weighed those facts under a Borello test for employment status vs. independent contractor, and found that the evidence favors independent contractor status. Her Network pay is not earnings, so the 20% cap does not apply. The Debtor also never claimed an exemption, and under the statute, she has waived it as a result.
Code of Civil Procedure section 708.510 lets the court weigh the debtor's needs, what she already pays on other judgments, the balance due, and how much she is being paid. Every factor pointed the same way.
The Debtor's own statements put her Network pay near $600,000 a year. Half of that still leaves her about $300,000 a year before taxes. Meanwhile, the assigned half barely covers the roughly $277,000 a year in interest the judgment throws off. There were no competing wage assignments or prior assignments, and nothing in the record showed she needs more to live on.
The motion was unopposed, so the Court had no evidence to the contrary.
Final Verdict Solutions buys judgments from creditors who are tired of chasing them, then enforces them across state lines. If you hold a judgment that hasn't been paid, the team will take a look at it.
Call Jamie at (484) 312-3300 or email Jamie@finalverdictsolutions.com.
