News

2022-03-15
Study Reveals That Majority of Judgments Go Uncollected Each Year in Los Angeles

SueYa.com is helping individuals and companies to enforce their uncollected judgments with no upfront fees

PASADENA, Calif., March 15, 2022 — SueYa.com recently commissioned a study utilizing sophisticated technology to scour the Los Angeles County court system databases to determine how many legal judgments remain unsatisfied. The results are eye-opening, concluding that nearly 65% of plaintiffs collect little or no money from defendants.

“Most people think that the moment a court grants them a legal judgment, that the defendant will be quick to pay. The reality is, obtaining a judgment is only 50% of the battle,” says Takashi Cheng, Chief Executive Optimist at SueYa.com. Cheng explains that “plaintiff fatigue” is to blame. He adds, “A plaintiff has typically expended a lot of time, money on legal fees and endured emotional stress to secure a judgment. When their attorney tells them that they need to spend more money to enforce the judgment and collect, the plaintiff is exhausted. Over time, the plaintiff often loses track of the debtor, and a judgment becomes nothing more than a bad memory.”

SueYa.com is asking anyone with a California judgment to send it their way. The website offers a judgment enforcement service on contingency, meaning anyone holding a legal judgment can assign the case to SueYa.com for servicing. The client will receive 50% of the net proceeds after court costs if they collect on the judgment.

“Our proposition to any potential client is simple. Let us leverage our 15 plus years of experience to see if we can get you paid. We don’t ask for any fees up-front,” says Cheng. It is important to note that outstanding legal judgments accrue 10% interest per year and additional awards of attorney fees in the State of California.

A study similar to the one performed by SueYa.com was showcased in the ABA Journal in April of 2020. The author of the article, financial forensic investigator Joe Dickerson, identified a pattern amongst lawyers and plaintiffs, sharing that, “Proper follow-up and analysis could have resulted in recovery of significant amounts of money in those cases. We did the follow-up, and it worked more times than not, resulting in significant recoveries.”

SueYa.com employs a multifaceted approach to judgment enforcement. The platform combines technology, active monitoring of credit profiles, and debtor demographic data, and it examines what they describe as a “financial literacy curve.”  This curve relies on the notion that people in their younger years are often not conscious of their credit and leave unpaid debts behind. As these debtors get older, have careers, and require access to credit, the likelihood that they will pay increases dramatically as they seek to remove harmful credit notations. This might also be prompted by purchasing a new car or home.

The ABA Journal concluded that 80% of judgments nationwide are uncollected, validating SueYa.com’s local study. SueYa.com is now focusing on outreach to the many plaintiffs who have judgments due to expire. In California, judgments must be renewed every 10 years to remain in effect. SueYa.com wants to ensure that clients have a second chance to collect.