Around a year ago I sued someone for fraud, and after a somewhat long process, the prosecutor thought the best way to resolve the issue was to mediate with the other party (a beer importer from Taichung)
After mediating, we reached an agreement and signed a contract, (I am to receive monthly payments from this individual) however, and not surprising at all, this person has stopped making payments.
I guess my question is, what can someone do when a mediation contract is broken by the other party?
I have tried going to the Taiwanese IRS in order to garnish his wages, but of course everything is under his family’s name.
Around a year ago I sued someone for fraud, and after a somewhat long process, the prosecutor thought the best way to resolve the issue was to mediate with the other party (a beer importer from Taichung)
After mediating, we reached an agreement and signed a contract, (I am to receive monthly payments from this individual) however, and not surprising at all, this person has stopped making payments.
I guess my question is, what can someone do when a mediation contract is broken by the other party?
I have tried going to the Taiwanese IRS in order to garnish his wages, but of course everything is under his family’s name.
Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.
Thank you![/quote]
If it’s a proper mediation agreement it should be enforceable without a lawsuit, so you can just go to a court and apply for compulsory execution. You should probably check with a lawyer first to make sure you have all the right documents ready and to ask what to do if the other party’s assets have been hidden (more forms to fill out I think).
Thanks for the reply, I’ve already scheduled an appointment with a lawyer, and will stop by the courthouse (again) this Monday; I was previously told that in order to enforce a mediation contract, one would have to pay 0.08% of the value of the contract, just to go more in depth into the finances of the sued party and see if anything could be taken away in order to repay the debt.
Seems a little bit ridiculous that one would have to pay more “just to see” if the other party has valuables.
If someone out there has gone through something similar I would love to hear from you.
Thanks for the reply, I’ve already scheduled an appointment with a lawyer, and will stop by the courthouse (again) this Monday; I was previously told that in order to enforce a mediation contract, one would have to pay 0.08% of the value of the contract, just to go more in depth into the finances of the sued party and see if anything could be taken away in order to repay the debt.
Seems a little bit ridiculous that one would have to pay more “just to see” if the other party has valuables.
If someone out there has gone through something similar I would love to hear from you.
Thanks![/quote]
Hopefully the fee is only needed if the assets are concealed. It should be easier if the other party is a company, because the company’s registered capital is public record (judicial.gov.tw/assist/assis … t03-04.asp.
Please tell us the outcome. I may need to go through the process soon too…
Hey yyy,
Thanks a lot for those links and that information, it will sure come in handy, and I really hope you don’t have to go through the system, it is a broken one that seems to aid the criminal more than the victim.
I did stop by the courthouse and the free legal help offered at City Hall. Basically the lawyers said that I cannot do much, if the other party “has no money” then there is really nothing I can do, except to go back to the courthouse and fill out more paperwork, or sell the contract to a third party and receive only a fraction of what is owed, although he did mention to be careful with this option since many companies might use illegal ways to get the money back.
Anyone out there has gone this route?
Back in the courthouse I was given another sheet of paper to fill out, basically what it does, is the government will “keep an eye” on this guy’s assets, and if he ever owns anything, only then I would get my money back, oh yeah, and I have to renew it every five years, the clerk mentioned it only costs 1000NT to file the paperwork.
Anyways, it was rather disappointing news; it is laughable how easy it is to get away with fraud in Taiwan.
I will talk to other lawyers, and hopefully they might see something that others did not.
Anyone has a link on the laws regarding public shaming?
I’m not into debt sales, so I don’t know if you can be held responsible for the debt buyer’s actions… Maybe you just need to make sure the debt buyer is licensed or something?
In your position I would also keep an eye on the guy. Is he married? Maybe he has joint assets with his wife (cdcb.judicial.gov.tw/abbs/wkw/WHD6K00.jsp). Does he have a second/third passport? Maybe the authorities in country X can help. Does he tweet or blog about his lavish lifestyle? Has he ever been investigated privately?
I suppose the only limits to the scrutiny you can subject him to are (1) how busy you are and (2) how vengeful you are. (I guess you’ve already thought of that, but this website is not unknown to my nemesis, so this message may also serve as a warning to him/her/it/them. :fume:)
EDIT
One more thing: if all else fails, but you can prove the guy is involved in his family business and that it somehow shares responsibility, the business doesn’t need to be a registered company (i.e. doesn’t need to be a juristic person) to be capable of being sued, as long as it has a “representative” or “administrator” (Code of Civil Procedure Art. 40 Par. 3).
The lawyer didn’t really want to get into specifics,which makes me wonder if it’s even legal at all, I guess is one of those things that people get away with in Taiwan, because, well, they can.
This would be my last option if this individual keeps being stubborn.
This is awesome information, thank you so much, something to take to the next lawyer I meet up with. I can definitely prove this clown is involved in the family business.
I have been keeping track of this guy, and I’m saving all of the info hoping that I can mail the prosecutor that saw us and say something like “See! I told you he wasn’t going to pay…”
Is that even possible?
Also, thanks for those shaming links, I’ll need to read up on them, because I have a feeling that’s where everything is headed.
The lawyer didn’t really want to get into specifics,which makes me wonder if it’s even legal at all, I guess is one of those things that people get away with in Taiwan, because, well, they can.
This would be my last option if this individual keeps being stubborn.[/quote]
It sounds like the lawyer is aware of some gangster types who operate in the industry. It reminds me of one day at my old job when I walked into the office and saw a guy with a nasty face sitting with my boss, angrily and confidently lecturing Bossy about something. Out of politeness I tried not to pay attention. Bossy was all “dui dui dui” and seemed eager to get rid of him but powerless to do so without causing a scene, and probably also afraid of him. If Bossy had gangsters pressing for payment of debts, that might explain the squeeze-blood-from-a-turnip behavior he/she has become known for.
Still, I assume legal debt collection agencies exist here like in other countries. I mean, this is a modern, developed economy… right?
[quote]I have been keeping track of this guy, and I’m saving all of the info hoping that I can mail the prosecutor that saw us and say something like “See! I told you he wasn’t going to pay…”
Is that even possible?[/quote]
Hopefully someone more familiar with criminal law can answer that.
Good luck!
