NYC JUDGMENT ENFORCEMENT ATTORNEYS
Turning paper judgments into cash recovery.
You won. The judge ruled in your favor. You have a judgment saying they owe you $180,000. And nothing has happened. Their attorney stopped returning calls. The debtor still operates their business, still deposits checks, still pays themselves, while you hold paper worth nothing until you force it.
This is where most judgment creditors give up. Most New York judgments go uncollected because creditors stop pursuing them. The debtor knows this. They're betting you'll get frustrated, write it off, and move on. Every week you wait, bank accounts get emptied, property gets transferred, assets disappear into new LLCs.
We don't let that happen. KLG Law has enforced judgments clients brought us after years of inaction. We've frozen accounts debtors thought were hidden, seized assets from businesses that believed they were untouchable, clawed back fraudulent conveyances designed to make recovery impossible. This is what we do.
We represent businesses throughout Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, and Staten Island in post-judgment enforcement and creditors' rights actions. Our approach is litigation as business dispute attorneys, not collection calls. When someone owes you money and refuses to pay, we use New York's enforcement statutes to make collection unavoidable. That's what we do.
Post-Judgment Recovery
Commercial Debt Collection and Judgment Enforcement in New York
Already Have a Judgment?
We enforce what you've already won in court or arbitration.
Commercial Breach of Contract Disputes
Service disputes, failed deliveries, payment defaults on agreements.
Default Judgments After Non-Appearance
They didn't appear. You won. Now make that win mean something.
Arbitration Award Enforcement
Convert your arbitration award to a judgment, then enforce it fully.
Foreign Judgment Domestication
Domesticate out-of-state judgments in New York to reach local assets.
Personal Guarantee Liability Recovery
Business is empty. Go after the owner who signed personally.
Fraudulent Conveyance Recovery
They moved assets to hide them. We claw those assets back.
Owed Money, No Judgment Yet?
Commercial debt we pursue from demand letter to collection.
Construction Disputes
Unpaid subcontractors, material suppliers, project payment failures.
Wholesale Invoices
Net 30 turned into net never. Retailers who stopped paying.
Manufacturing Debt
Raw materials delivered, custom orders filled, payment missing.
Professional Services
Consulting, accounting, IT work, completed and invoiced, never paid.
Equipment Leases
They have your equipment and stopped paying. We fix that.
Promissory Notes
They signed promising payment. They stopped. Sue on the note.
Judgment Enforcement
When Should You Pursue Judgment Enforcement?
Enforcement makes sense when the debtor has assets you can locate and the judgment amount justifies the cost. We assess collectability before you spend money chasing someone who can't pay.
Does the Debtor Have Assets You Can Reach?
Bank accounts, real property, equipment, receivables, business interests are all targets. We investigate before recommending action. If the debtor has genuinely judgment-proofed themselves, we tell you before you spend money.
Does the Amount Justify the Cost to Collect?
A $25,000 judgment against a debtor who fights everything might cost $12,000 to enforce. You'd net $13,000 after a year. A $250,000 judgment against a debtor with a clear bank account? We freeze it next week. Math matters.
Is the Debtor Solvent or Filing Bankruptcy?
Bankruptcy triggers an automatic stay halting all collection. If your debtor filed Chapter 7 or 11, enforcement stops until the court permits it. Some debts survive bankruptcy; most compete with other creditors for scraps.
Is Your Judgment Still Valid and Enforceable?
New York gives you 20 years to collect. But real property liens expire after 10 years unless renewed. A judgment sitting for 8 years with no enforcement signals you're not serious. Interest accrues, but so does debtor risk.
What If You Haven't Filed Your Lawsuit in New York Yet?
If you're owed money but haven't filed suit, the question isn't just 'can I win?' It's 'can I collect when I win?' We evaluate asset positions before litigation. Sometimes pre-judgment attachment freezes assets first.
When a Judgment Is Not Worth Enforcing
We turn down enforcement matters. A $30,000 judgment against someone with no job, no property, and a bankruptcy history isn't collectible today. We'll tell you that. We might also tell you to wait. Circumstances change.
Creditors' Rights Enforcement
Post-Judgment Collection Tools That Force Payment
CPLR Article 52 gives judgment creditors tools to freeze accounts, garnish wages, seize property, and compel disclosure. Most debtors don't expect you to use them.
Bank Account Levy Freezes Funds
Under CPLR 5222, we serve a restraining notice on the debtor's bank. No court order needed. No warning to the debtor. The bank freezes funds immediately. The debtor tries to pay rent or run payroll, and it's declined. Settlement discussions often follow within days of the account going dark.
Information Subpoena Forces Disclosure
The debtor claims no assets. Under CPLR 5224, we serve an information subpoena demanding disclosure of every bank account, property, business interest, and income source, under penalty of perjury. We serve these on third parties too: banks, employers, landlords, business partners.
Judgment Debtor Examination Under Oath
When subpoenas don't produce enough, we depose the debtor under CPLR 5223. They must appear, answer questions about finances, produce documents. Where do you bank? What do you own? What have you transferred? They lie, it's perjury. They don't show, we get a warrant for their arrest.
Wage Garnishment Captures 25% of Pay
For individual debtors with jobs, we garnish wages through CPLR 5231. Their employer withholds up to 25% of disposable earnings and sends it to the marshal. Every pay period until satisfaction. The debtor can't stop it. The employer can't ignore it. Money comes before they see it.
Property Execution Seizes Business Assets
Bank accounts get levied and emptied. Business equipment gets seized and sold at auction. Vehicles get towed. Under CPLR 5232, we direct the marshal to execute against personal property. For business debtors, this means showing up with an inventory list and taking what isn't exempt.
Real Property Lien Blocks Sale or Refinancing
Filing a transcript of judgment with the county clerk creates a lien on real property the debtor owns. They try to sell? Title company finds your lien. They try to refinance? Same result. In Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, and Staten Island, real estate liens get immediate attention.
Turnover Order Redirects Their Payments
The debtor has customers who owe them money. Under CPLR 5225, we get a court order directing those customers to pay you instead. Rent payments. Contract payments. Distributions. Any money flowing toward the debtor gets redirected to you until the judgment is satisfied in full.
Court-Appointed Receiver Takes Control
For debtors who refuse to cooperate by hiding cash, ignoring orders, or failing to produce records, we ask the court to appoint a receiver under CPLR 5228. The receiver takes control of assets and operations with authority to collect income and pay your judgment. Most debtors settle first.
From Demand to Recovery
How Commercial Debt Collection Works
Commercial Debt Collection Before You File Suit
Collection starts with a properly drafted demand letter from a debt recovery lawyer, not another email from your accounting department. Debtors who've ignored your invoices for months suddenly respond when legal letterhead arrives, especially when the letter references specific CPLR provisions and outlines the consequences of continued non-payment. We conduct asset investigations during this phase, searching public records for real property, business assets, and bank account locations that become execution targets if litigation becomes necessary.
Filing for Judgment: Civil Court vs. Supreme Court
When negotiation fails, we file suit in the appropriate venue. Commercial disputes under $50,000 go to Civil Court; larger claims require Supreme Court. The choice matters. Civil Court moves faster but has limited enforcement tools, while Supreme Court provides broader discovery and more powerful remedies. Winning the judgment creates a lien on real property under CPLR § 5203 and opens the door to enforcement mechanisms. But the judgment itself doesn't transfer money. That requires aggressive post-judgment action.
Post-Judgment Enforcement and Asset Recovery
This is where most creditors fail. They obtain a judgment and wait for the debtor to voluntarily pay. That rarely happens. Effective post-judgment collection means serving restraining notices on banks under CPLR § 5222, filing income executions against business revenue under § 5231, and conducting judgment debtor examinations under § 5223 to uncover hidden assets. When debtors transfer property to avoid creditors, we file fraudulent conveyance actions under Debtor and Creditor Law §§ 273-279 to void the transfers and restore assets.