Judgment Debtor Definition and Legal Meaning

On this page, you'll find the legal definition and meaning of Judgment Debtor, written in plain English, along with examples of how it is used.

What is Judgment Debtor?

the losing party against which the court has made a decision to pay a specific amount to the winning party(judgement creditors).The court can seize their property or assets also for the repayment.

History and Meaning of Judgment Debtor

A judgment debtor is a legal term that refers to the losing party in a lawsuit that the court has ordered to pay money or provide some other kind of relief to the winning party. This is usually in the form of a monetary judgment, but it can also be other types of remedies. The court has the ability to seize the debtor's property or assets in order to ensure that the judgment is paid.

In most cases, a judgment creditor will try to negotiate with the judgment debtor to come up with a payment plan or some other way to satisfy the judgment. If the debtor refuses to cooperate, the creditor can go back to court and ask for a writ of execution to be issued. This allows the creditor to seize the debtor's assets in order to satisfy the judgment.

Examples of Judgment Debtor

  1. John lost his case against Sally and was ordered by the court to pay her $10,000. Since John was unable to pay the judgment, Sally filed a writ of execution and seized his car to satisfy the judgment.

  2. After losing a lawsuit, the judgment debtor may file a motion with the court to set aside or vacate the judgment. This is usually done on the grounds of some kind of legal error, such as improper service of process or fraud.

  3. In some cases, a judgment debtor may decide to file for bankruptcy in order to discharge or reduce the amount of the judgment. This can be a way to avoid having their assets seized to satisfy the judgment.

Legal Terms Similar to Judgment Debtor

  1. Judgment Creditor: The winning party in a lawsuit who has been awarded a judgment by the court.

  2. Writ of Execution: A court order that allows a judgment creditor to seize the property or assets of a judgment debtor in order to satisfy the judgment.

  3. Judgment Lien: A lien that is placed on the property of a judgment debtor in order to secure the payment of a judgment.