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Asset discovery is a big part of the process of collecting judgments in Texas because it is the primary means available for locating a debtor's assets. Interrogatories play a major role in the post judgment discovery process.
But, there are some things you need to know about post judgment interrogatories before you start.
1. The prejudgment discovery limitations of Rule 190 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure do not apply to post judgment interrogatories.
Rule 190 imposes certain limits on the discovery process as it unfolds before a case goes to trial. Those limits concern the time period during which you can pursue discovery, the number of questions you can ask in interrogatories, and the amount of time for a deposition. Post judgment interrogatories are not so limited. In fact, Rule 190.6 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure explicitly exempts post judgment discovery from the Rule.
2. Any question should be permissible as long as it aids in enforcing your court order.
The key here is understanding that your questions should be designed with the specific purpose to aid in the enforcement of your judgment. With that in mind, your questions should be crafted to help you figure out whether your judgment debtor -
(A) has non-exempt property that is subject to seizure and sale to satisfy your judgment;
(B) has fraudulently transferred property in an effort to avoid your judgment;
(C) will acquire any assets that will be subject to your judgment.
As long as you keep your questions in line with these objectives, you should not have any problems using post judgment interrogatories in Texas.
3. Your right to conduct post judgment discovery transfers to your successor or assignee.
The fact that you won in court gives you the right to conduct post judgment discovery in the first place. But, what happens when you assign your award to a non-lawyer collection specialist? Does the person or company to whom you assign the judgment have the same right to use interrogatories as you do?
With a larger number of successful plaintiffs using non-lawyer judgment recovery specialists, that question has come up. The answer in Texas is that your assignee has the same right to conduct post judgment discovery as you do. Rule 621a of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure clearly states that the right to conduct discovery after a judgment "shall inure to ... successors or assignees ..."
4. In pursuing answers to post judgment interrogatories, you have to keep clearly in mind which assets are exempt and which are not.
Just because you have the right to search for the defendant's assets after judgment does not mean you have a right to cross lines when it comes to the protection of exempt property in Texas. Texas does allow quite a few exemptions so there is a lot of property your judgment debtor owns that you simply can not take to collect your judgment. You have to be respectful of that distinction when sending interrogatories to your defendant.
But, this does not mean you can not ask about all of your debtor's assets and financial condition. Keep in mind that any question should be permissible as long as it is crafted to help you find out what property your debtor owns and whether any of his assets are non-exempt and subject to your judgment.
5. You can not send post judgment interrogatories to your debtor if the judgment has been suspended by a supersedeas bond.
A losing defendant in a Texas lawsuit can, of course, appeal the decision to a higher court. While the appeal is being pursued he can suspend the execution of the judgment by posting a bond with the clerk of the court. The bond must be payable to the plaintiff and is designed to protect the plaintiff against any loss or additional damage caused by the appeal. Rule 24 of the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure provides more details on the bond and conditions for its use.
The bottom line is that you can not go forward with post judgment interrogatories while the case is on appeal if the defendant files the bond to suspend the judgment. But, if the appeal is made without the filing of a bond you are free to use post judgment interrogatories to locate information on your defendant's assets.
Post judgment interrogatories are a very good tool for locating your debtor's assets and determining which of those assets are subject to your judgment. Use them wisely.
