Also known as: collectabilities · collectible · collectibles · collectibility
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
The practical feasibility of recovering the full amount of a money judgment from a defendant through available enforcement mechanisms. This factor weighs the defendant's available assets, the cost and difficulty of collection efforts, and the likelihood that a creditor will actually receive payment.
Connor Clark obtained a substantial damages judgment against Catherine Carter after she repeatedly trespassed on his land and damaged crops. Carter owns only a modest home with little equity and no liquid assets beyond her wages. Clark's attorney advises that further collection efforts would likely yield only a fraction of the award after legal fees, prompting consideration of injunctive relief instead.
Carlos Castillo secured a money judgment against a water storage district for improper diversion affecting his farmland. The district holds limited taxable property and relies on assessments from members who have resisted payment. Castillo's counsel notes that the judgment's collectability is low because enforcement would require repeated suits against dispersed landowners.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Coastal Shipping lost an environmental suit brought by a nonprofit and faced a large attorney-fee judgment. The group's only assets are modest donations and a small office lease. The shipping company's lawyers conclude that the judgment's collectability is negligible because the nonprofit lacks reachable funds beyond exempt contributions.
Cade Carpenter won a judgment against a federal agency official for improper removal from a regulatory board. The official possesses only personal savings and a pension protected by statute. Counsel determines that the judgment's collectability is poor absent waiver of sovereign-immunity protections or voluntary payment.
Christopher Collins obtained a judgment against an accounting firm for aiding a fraudulent securities scheme. The firm maintains insurance but faces multiple competing claims that may exhaust coverage. Collins's attorneys assess that the judgment's collectability depends on whether the policy limits and firm assets suffice after priority claimants are paid.
Colin Chambers secured a child-support judgment in one state against a parent now residing in another. The obligor holds only exempt homestead property and irregular wages. The custodial parent's lawyer concludes that the judgment's collectability requires registration and wage garnishment across state lines with uncertain results.
Collectability is one of several factors used to assess whether a damages remedy is adequate compared to an injunction. When a defendant's assets make full recovery unlikely or costly, courts may view the damages remedy as less adequate and lean toward injunctive relief to protect the plaintiff's interests.
Supporting sources
A judgment against a partnership alone does not automatically permit collection from a partner's personal assets. Creditors must typically obtain a separate judgment against the partner and satisfy additional statutory conditions, such as an unsatisfied writ or bankruptcy status, before personal assets become reachable.
Supporting sources
Obstacles include insufficient defendant assets, protected exemptions such as pensions or homesteads, multiple competing claims that exhaust available funds, and the expense of multi-jurisdictional enforcement or repeated collection actions.
Supporting sources
…to several other alleged failings by Ernst & Ernst in its audit of First Securities, principally its failure to inquire into the collectibility of certain loans by First Securities to Nay and and its failure to follow up on a 1965 memorandum that characterized First Securities' overall system of internal control as weak because of…