QuestionHello Justin
I will be taking both a woman and her daughter-in-law as defendants to small claims court in the future.I am expecting to win a judgement from at least the daughter-in-law for hitting my rear bumper while driving her mother-in-law's car which was uninsured at the time of the accident. A local attorney mentioned I could also file against the girl's mother for negligence from not having an insured vehicle, so unless you think that would be a bad decision to do so I'll pursue the mother in small claims too.
A General Sessions Court clerk told me winning a judgment is easier than getting your money sometimes. He mentioned getting a form(s) from the court and submitting it to various local banks in my city in hopes to locate the defendant(s) bank account(s) to garnish. That seems sort of like hunting for Easter Eggs, especially in a city the size of Nashville, Tennessee. It seems like there should exist more efficient and faster methods to search for a defendant's bank account(s) and other assets to garnish if I should win this small claims judgement.
Thank you for any direction in this matter.
Mike E.
AnswerMike, you should look into the Tennessee Motor Vehicle Financial Responsibility Law. Unfortunately, outside of getting the defendant's to provide you with the information you seek via some discovery (which doesn't always work), there is no way to gain someone's bank account information without using old school investigation, like having somebody send them a $10 check and when it is deposited, you'll know the bank AND account information.
Outside of those types of techniques, the best option to persuade payment is to take judgment against the driver, and then use the financial responsibility law to request the State suspend her license and registration for noncompliance (not being able to pay for auto accident damages).
As for the mother, you will have to prove that she was negligent by entrusting the vehicle to the driver. If she knew, or should have known that the driver was not qualified to drive, or that she had a history of recklessness, or some other reason that she should have not been driving (drug abuser, etc.), then, and only then can you get the owner. Otherwise, the owner did nothing wrong by letting someone use the vehicle.
As far as bank garnishment, it is as easy as suing the back (using a writ of garnishment), but you have to know the bank information, and you risk that there is nothing in the account. Once you have the account, you can call to verify funds before you serve the garnishment suit on the bank. Trust me, although the clerk is right about it not being super simple to collect on a judgment, the clerk has no clue. Never trust a court clerk. Take it from my experience.
If you need further information, look me up. Petty Details, LLC. I hope this helps.
Regards,
Justin Petty
