This legal research guide provides information about small claims cases in justice court and provides links to filing information for select Texas counties.
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A court judgment awarding money in Texas is referred to as a "money judgment." If the plaintiff in a small claims case was awarded a money judgment, they are referred to as the "judgment creditor."
If the defendant in a small claims case was ordered to pay in a money judgment, they are now referred to as the "judgment debtor."
Being awarded a money judgment in a small claims case does not automatically mean the judgment creditor will get the money owed to them. Certain legal action may need to be taken by the judgment creditor to try and collect the debt owed to them. Check out the following subpages to learn more about the different options available.
For those who were ordered to pay in a money judgment, check out our Debt Collection research guide for resources on your rights as a debtor.
Created by the Texas Justice Court Training Center, this deskbook covers procedure in civil cases in justice court. Chapter 10 discusses how judgments are enforced.
An overview from the Travis County Law Library on some of the ways in which someone can attempt to collect the money awarded to them in their judgment.
Check out this section in the self-help small claims information packet from the Texas Justice Court Training Center to learn more about ways to try and collect the judgment if you win your case.
A 2016 conference presentation given by a private law firm discussing the ways in which to try and collect on a money judgment.
Post-judgment discovery is a way for the winning party to find out what assets the losing party owns and where they are located. Post-judgment discovery does not require the justice court's approval.
Court rules state the losing party must be given at least 30 days to respond to a request. The losing party may file a written objection with the court within 30 days of receiving the request. If an objection is filed, the judge must hold a hearing to determine if the request is valid.
An article from the website TexasLawHelp.org on what happens after a creditor wins their debt lawsuit. The article briefly discusses post-judgment discovery.
Created by the Texas Justice Court Training Center, this deskbook covers procedure in civil cases in justice court. Chapter 10, Section B briefly discusses post-judgment discovery.
This State Bar of Texas manual walks practitioners through the entire process of debt collection. Topics covered include finding debtor and debtor’s assets, repossession, prejudgment remedies and liens, bankruptcy, as well as trial procedure.
Chapter 26 from this resource contains forms related to post-judgment discovery.
Judgments that are issued outside of Texas by other states or foreign countries are referred to as "foreign" judgments. To try and collect on a foreign judgment here in Texas, the winning party must file their foreign judgment with a Texas court in order to have it "domesticated." Once domesticated, they may then try to collect the debt owed to them here in Texas.
Created by the Texas Justice Court Training Center, this deskbook covers procedure in civil cases in justice court. Chapter 10, Section K discusses domesticating foreign judgments.
Information from a private attorney on the steps to take to try and collect on a foreign judgment in Texas.
This article, which was featured as part of a Continuing Legal Education course on Creditors' Rights, explains in great detail how to domesticate judgments from counties and countries outside of the state of Texas.
Judgments awarded in Texas to a non-government creditor are generally valid for ten years but can be renewed for longer. If a judgment is not renewed, it will become dormant.
A creditor can request to revive a dormant judgment to continue to try and collect the debt. However, you generally only have two years in which to try and revive a dormant judgment.
