Enforcement of court decision

Legal General Legal Matters
1

Hi Richard et al.,

I have in my hand a crisp court judgement against a foreign national who owes me a sum of money. The order states that he must repay a set sum of money plus NT$1000 court costs to me.

The problem now is that this particular foreign student has failed the fall semester at school, and therefore is now no longer receiving scholarship support. Therefore, I cannot garnish his scholarship monies. However, it is clear that he is getting money from somewhere, as he is still in school this semester (and tuition at Fujen is about NT$45000 a semester, not to mention books and living expenses).

Whom should I notify to try to figure out a way to get – anything – out of this guy? The Foreign Student Office at his school reports that the only thing to do is to get his assets – but I doubt he has any.

Is a decision here (arbitration, I believe, but recognized by a court) enforceable in El Salvador if that nation is a signatory to the New York Convention on International Arbitration? Can he be prevented from leaving Taiwan while there is a court order pending against him??

2

From your postings on the forum, I see that you are fluent in Spanish. Yet, with the expected difficulty of locating a lawyer in El Salvador, and the myriad details of submitting documents to that country for use in a court case, including translation and certification fees, etc. . . . . . I don’t see why you feel the figure of US$ 1000 is at all adequate to cover “court costs” . . . . .

This seems far too low to me.

3

No, I said the defendant has been ordered to pay the NT$1000 in court costs (Taiwan suit) to me.

4

[quote=“ironlady”]I have in my hand a crisp court judgement against a foreign national who owes me a sum of money. The order states that he must repay a set sum of money plus NT$1000 court costs to me.

Whom should I notify to try to figure out a way to get – anything – out of this guy? The Foreign Student Office at his school reports that the only thing to do is to get his assets – but I doubt he has any.

Is a decision here (arbitration, I believe, but recognized by a court) enforceable in El Salvador if that nation is a signatory to the New York Convention on International Arbitration? Can he be prevented from leaving Taiwan while there is a court order pending against him??[/quote]

It will depend more likely on whether or not Taiwan and El Salvador have a bi-lateral agreement regarding the recognition and enforcement of judgments from each others’ courts and arbitration tribunals.

5

I’d rather enforce it HERE, but the chances of that look slim at best. I doubt he’s got beans THERE either (the word “loser” is no longer in the dictionary, this guy’s picture replaces it quite nicely). But since it’s “only” a civil judgement, no one really gives a $hit here, apparently.

6

IL. I’m assuming that you know this, but just in case you don’t… you need to take your judgment to the Execution Department of the District Court. This is a civil division of the Court.

If he has anything here… a bank account?, the court should be able to attach whatever is in that account.

7

I’ll run round tomorrow morning and see about it…but I have little hope. He has lost his scholarship (duh!) and is probably living on a) handouts, b) illegally gotten teaching gains, c) drug money or d) charity from the Church (at what price I will not conjecture…but I have some theories.)

However, the problem is that when you go to the admin division, you must pay 8/1000 of the amount to be gotten (i.e., NT$800) and then, IF he has anything, they can attach it…but the chances of this guy having a pot to piss in are slim to nonexistent. However, I’ll try.

Failing that, I guess publication on the front page of the newspaper, with the gentleman’s photo, would at least soothe my ire a bit. :fume:

8

Honey, why don’t you handle this the right way? Get some thugs to beat the tar out of the son of a bitch.

9

Ah, my boss already offered to help out in this department, but I guess I’m just too much of an old-fashioned gal. But give me a few more weeks of therapy (mostly provided by kindly Taiwanese government officials behind desks) and I might be ready to do it… :bluemad: :wink:

10

To have won the court case was perhaps the best form of retribution, but it’s only a moral victory, as I doubt whether you’ll ever see much money. Approaching his family could be your best bet; otherwise, resort to hiring thugs (but be prepared for retaliation).

In my opinion, litigation won’t get your money back. If you were to consider the feasibility of a full-time student scraping together any amount of money, then you would realise that you will have to make a huge effort to get any return.

I can understand that if a huge amount of money was involved, or if you enjoyed exacting retribution, then you’d want to chase this guy; but I’d be more inclined to just forget about the whole experience and get on with my life.

11

His FAMILY? Honey, let me tell you about this shyster’s family. He’s an ex-monk with the face of an angel and the acting skills of an Oscar winner. :noway: I have NO doubt whatsoever that he’s already told his family all about how this was a gift, how I was sexually harassing him (he has said this in front of a panel of priests at Fujen who were trying to act as “mediators”) yaddda yadda yadda. He and the truth are not best buddies, you see. He also mysteriously “lost” his ability to speak English during this “mediation” session, and had to bring in a nun from Taipei to interpret into Spanish for him. (Oddly enough, he regained his English skills shortly thereafter, in interviews with the foreign student advisor – because obviously his Chinese sucks so they HAD to speak English.) So at least I’ve been privileged to be witness to a bona fide miracle. :astonished:

The Family? Please request tape 19: “I have two sisters. One is a nun and the other is a doctor. We always went to Catholic schools. We live in a two-story house. We are not rich but we always share food with others. We have a German shepherd named Dolly.” (Anyone who knows this guy can recite this verbatim… :noway: ) There is frequent mention of the mother but NEVER a word about Dad – who is still in the picture. Just imagine what one could get out of that. This guy even uses his mother’s surname rather than his father’s, as is usual in Latin America.

I guess about the only thing left for me to do is post his address and home phone and get random people to order pizzas (three per day) in his name… :raspberry:

Of course, the mere fact that he, after boasting about how he would be a future Ambassador to Taiwan, has now failed out of school, is fairly universally disliked by everone at his own country’s embassy, and will undoubtedly soon be on a plane home (China Airlines, to boot!) in disgrace is something of a comfort. But I’d rather have the bucks. Live a good life, I say, but pay me back first…

12

[quote=“The Big Babou”]
I can understand that if a huge amount of money was involved, or if you enjoyed exacting retribution, then you’d want to chase this guy; but I’d be more inclined to just forget about the whole experience and get on with my life.[/quote]

The amount of money is NT$110,000…and yes, now it has become retribution. I was going to “let it go”, as you say, until he LIED about me to my face in front of a considerable number of witnesses. Nope, it’s personal. That’s why I’d even inquire about dogging him back to El Salvador. I can put up with a lot of things but being accused of the stuff he said – all with the oh-so-sincere tone – pissed me off. I don’t get pissed off easily, but when I do, I like to follow through. :fume:

13

This seems to have taken place out at Fu Jen University; and I have absolutely no idea whether this would work or not but could you get one of the Padres out there to “remind” the debtor that good Catholics are supposed to repay their debts and “not bear false witness”.

I realize that suggestion maybe laughable as the debtor may well have zero respect for priests or what the Church teaches. I realize that Fu Jen student does not=Catholic. (I too went to a Catholic law school and the bulk of students were not Catholic ). I also realize that many Padres would have zero interest in getting involved in such a dispute.

But it is an idea.

take care,
Brian

14

Woo-hoo! Please recall that it wasn’t me who brought up the subject of priests and morality re honesty and repayments.

I just so happen to have interpreted a conference at Fujen this morning. At this conference, I happened to run into the very priest who had acted as the “mediator” at a very memorable meeting I had with Debtor-Boy earlier on in this whole process (the meeting where he had unfortunately forgotten how to speak English). This guy, after seeing the evidence (in writing) that I have, after seeing a statement in writing and on audiotape from a witness who was there with both of us when Debtor-Boy stated unequivocally that he would pay back this debt, and now after learning there is a judgement against the guy, skirted the issue. He was OBVIOUSLY uncomfortable talking about it and very clearly wished I would simply evaporate before his eyes. His only comment was something like “I haven’t seen him much this semester.” Right…really strong mediation skills, those. Good effort…NOT! :fume:

And, now let’s talk about Rasputin…at least that’s our nickname for him…this is the Spanish priest who has advised Debtor-Boy that a) it is illegal to freelance (untrue); b) he should not give a copy of his passport to my boss for legitimate tax purposes because “she will get it and use it against him” (hell, the Foreign Affairs Police offered me his passport number on their own!) and, I assume but do not know for sure, c) he should not pay back this money. This is the priest who stated once, “I would put my hand into fire for this man. He has no sin.” Hmmm…I thought that particular quality was limited to one individual according to the Catholic religion, or at least to person(s) not now living on Earth! This is the same priest who claimed that he had called my cell phone and we had had a half-hour argument which made him so angry that he changed the time of Mass to avoid my attending – a claim which was difficult to back up given the fact that my cell phone log didn’t have his number on it and it went back a good four weeks. He admitted he had lied, but I never did find out WHY…(although I have my theories, some of which involve Debtor-Boy… :astonished: )

Get the priests to help? I think they’ve “helped” enough already. Reckon the next stop is the media. If there’s one thing my boss knows how to do, it’s make noise in the media… :wink:

15

In theory a darn good idea, as Debtor-Boy is about as Catholic (all letters capitalized, not just the first) as they come. (Well, actually he’s so Catholic he’d be guilty if he ever came. :laughing: ) Former monk…first line when meeting strangers “My sister is a nun.” Thinks every word from every priest and nun’s mouth is Truth with a capital T. Shows up at multiple Masses to have the support of priests in the eventuality of…well, maybe something like being sued for not returning a loan?? :fume:

Unfortunately, since the last statement above doesn’t seem to be true in the present situation, it won’t work. And since the guy now has nothing to lose in Taiwan (I’m not even sure why the hell he’s still here, but I’d love to know what he’s living off of) I’m sure he’ll get away with this.

16

Okay, we have eliminated religion and law as solutions; I suspect that only leaves gang-sta force and (what is lower on the food chain)…the Taiwanese media.

Do an expose. Apple might find it of interest especially if they can get photos of Deadbeat El Salvadorian and maybe interview a nervious El Salvadorian diplomat (El Salvador is one of the few remaining “formal allies” of Taiwan??). Sad to say I know no one over there (at Apple, not El Salvador) but perhaps some of the other folks in the word biz may know an intrepid reporter at Apple/Next magazine.

And after the expose runs then…well, as a member of the State Bar of California I can not advise violations of the law…

take care and don’t take any wooden nickels
Brian

17

Ironlady, it really does seem like you moght have to resort to collecting your debt the traditional Taiwanese way. Or maybe you could fake it. Gte a few male Taiwanese friends to dress up (down?) and corner the guy after a class, pretend to be triads and give him some threats. Scare him into giving you the money back.

Brian

18

He hasn’t got a dime at present, and the minute there’s a threat, he’ll cut and run, I’m 99% certain. But media sounds lovely…hmmm…perhaps a nice picture and advertisement on the front page of the English papers, sort of like the “runaway teacher” ads. If THOSE aren’t libel, then surely this wouldn’t be, as I’ve already got a court judgement against the guy…

I’ve already got someone who has offered to beat the guy up for free…but I just can’t stomach that sort of thing.

19

There is a Chinese saying that reflects practice in Taiwan: “When a debtor owns nothing, he becomes a king!”

When a debtor has disposed of all of his property, there is very little that his creditor or even a court can do to him. Thus, it is always advisable when a creditor finds that his debtor has not honored his payment, to immediately investigate the debtor’s property and apply to the court to attach the debtor’s assets. Otherwise, the debtor will have a chance to transfer ownership of all of his assets to others.

In order to safe-guard the compulsory execution of a money claim or of a claim convertible to a money claim, a creditor may apply for provisional attachment. Such an application may also be made with regard to a claim not yet due for performance.

According to the relevant law in Taiwan, a creditor may apply to the court to seize a debtor’s property even before filing a lawsuit. In practice, the court will request the creditor to place a bond in an amount equal to one third (1/3) of the value of the claim as security for damages that might be sustained by the debtor as a consequence of the seizure. The debtor may furnish the full amount of the value of the claim as security to stay the order of attachment or to withdraw the attachment.

Although it may seem quite convenient for a creditor to seek a provisional attachment against a debtor to protect his rights, it should be noted that if the provisional attachment is later proven to have been improperly requested, the creditor may be liable for damages sustained by the debtor because of such attachment.

A creditor who obtains a final judgment may apply to the court to enforce the same. A creditor may also apply for the execution of a non-final judgment where a provisional execution is granted in the judgment.

There are two ways to obtain such an order. The first method under the relevant Taiwan law states that when a court renders a judgment ordering the payment of a negotiable instrument or a judgment based upon the acceptance of liability by the defendant, the court shall declare, ex officio, a provisional execution on the judgment. The second method, specifically for commercial litigation, is for the plaintiff to apply directly to the court for an order for a provisional execution.

In practice, plaintiffs are required to furnish a sum of money for security in the amount equal to approximately one third (1/3) of the value of the judgment to effect the provisional execution on the judgment. The defendant may also be allowed to furnish security, in advance, in the amount equal to the full value of the judgment to avoid provisional execution.

The benefit to the plaintiff for obtaining a provisional execution on a non- final judgment is evident and it is always advisable for a plaintiff to make every effort to obtain such an execution.

20

For anyone who wishes to take a dash through the fascinating Taiwanese civil court system, I offer the following:

When you get a first judgement (that is, you win the case the first time), you must wait 20 days before requesting a Certificate of Final Judgement. (You will see this information again…) However, the 20 day period begins on the date when the losing party signs for the judgement notification.

Cut back to Debtor-Boy’s case: somehow, mysteriously, the document in question, which was sent to the same address that had gotten each and every previuos document into his hands, did not “reach” him. Someone signed for it, all right, but he “didn’t get it”. It ended up at the school’s law center for unknown reasons – no other previous legal document had ever taken that route.

Eventually the court was informed somehow that he “hadn’t received” (refused to sign for, more like) the judgement.Then a company was called in to “serve” him. They evidently contacted the Ambassador – who knew this was going on all the time AND HAD A COPY OF THE JUDGEMENT SINCE MAY 3 – and HAD NOTIFIED DEBTOR-BOY OF THIS FACT – and the Ambassador finally “notified” DB, who went to the Banqiao Court and signed for the judgement. This effectively extended the window for his appeal from 20 days starting April 22 to 20 days starting June 3. (Naturally, as he had the docs before that, I assume he started “work”.)

So the moral is: make sure the opposite party receives the judgement promptly, if it matters to you.

Next step: the losing party will appeal, obviously. In this case, he/they claimed legal defects in the original judgement (that is the only grounds for appeal, so I’m told). They claimed that the judge had not considered evidence concerning (get this!) his mother’s cancer (first I’ve heard of this particular malady!) yadda yadda yadda. Naturally he attached voluminous certified medical docs from El Salvador (where his sister is a doctor – think those were hard to get?? :bravo: ).

So, what happens in the general sense is: loser appeals. You, as the plaintiff, receive a notification that there is an appeal going on. You don’t have to do anything, just wait. Eventually they will either notify you of a hearing date (unlikely) or send notification that the original judgement has been upheld (which is what happened in this case).

I’m told, BTW, that Taiwanese courts very rarely hear appeals, especially small claims appeals, ESPECIALLY appeals where the party appealing didn’t bother to show up in court for the first trial (thereby relinquishing the right to oral argument, apparently).

I believe that Debtor-Boy has the right to another appeal, but the chances of it being heard are minuscule at best, especially since Court #2 wasn’t interested in his excuses. So, in theory, one has to wait until he receives the judgement THIS time (and who knows how long he can delay that??) then let 20 more days elapse before a Certiicate of Final Judgement could be obtained.

This is the sum of what I learned at my last visit to the nice folks at the Banqiao Civil Court, plus a few stops at the friendly local cop shop (where all the documents end up). Happy suing, y’all!