Keep Away

This is a real story not related to real estate. Stop reading if that annoys you.

Many years ago I was a young associate in a suburban Denver law firm. Our office primarily represented normal suburban people with suburban problems - divorces, wills, estates, traffic tickets, drug arrests, you know. We also represented contractors, roofers, plumbers, electricians, several small manufacturers and a couple of banks.

The senior partner obtained a very large monetary judgment in favor of his client who had been warring with his brother over the family business. I like to tell people that getting a judgment is the easy part of any law suit. It is collecting a judgment that is the hard part.

Rule 69. Execution and Proceedings Subsequent to Judgment

The Colorado Rules od Civil Procedure direct the process of civil litigation including Rule 69 provides remedies to judgment creditors to enforce the collection of  a judgment. I won't bore you with the details of which there are many. But the one I used one spur of the moment idea to collect on the brotherly non-love case.

The court may order any party or other person over whom the court has jurisdiction, to apply any property other than real property, not exempt from execution, whether in the possession of such party or other person, or owed the judgment debtor, towards satisfaction of the judgment. In this case I required the losing brother to appear in court where he testified and identified his assets including season tickets to the Denver Broncos which at that time were like gold - only more valuable. 

At the conclusion of the hearing I asked the court to order the judgment debtor to deliver the season tickets to my office in partial satisfaction of the judgement. A day or so later the judgment debtor obeyed. It was the weekend and I went to Mile High Stadium to see where the seats were located. I was awed as they were in the east stands a few rows up from the field and not that far away from the 50 yard line. I looked around - this is where the big shots not rich enough for sky boxes hung out. The seats were very valuable in deed. I notified our client who got the rest of the season tickets. 

For several weeks after scoring the tickets for my client, lawyers at the county court house would congratulate me on my tactic.