First, I am not a lawyer (just a law student). Though a lawyer will
cost you money, I would strongly recommend getting one. First,
getting a lawyer will most likely make the other party's lawyer take
any communication about the contract more seriously. Second, if you
have to litigate this, a judge will more likely be receptive to your
arguments if a lawyer present them. Judges generally dislike people
who represent themselves. Also, depending on what Iowa's laws are
like, you may be able to expand your suit to cover your attorney's
fees. Even if you're committed at going at it alone, many lawyers
will give free consultations. You may take your contract in and
explain your situation. It would be good to get an objective party's
knowledgable opinion on whether or not you can win. If the attorney
tells you it's a lost cause, don't even bother going at it alone
because you likely won't have a prayer.
That being said, it doesn't sound like you have a judgment. It sounds
like the party you have the contract with has a judgment (against
whoever falsely imprisoned them/violated their rights). You will need
to go to court against the plaintiff in the false arrest/civil rights
case (who will become the defendant in your case), and get a judgment
against him specifcially. Unless your name is actually on the
judgment (the part signed by the judge, not just the contract between
you), you likely can't yet file a lien against anything. My guess is
you'll have to file a suit against the other party in a court which
has jurisdiction of them (if you live in the same state, that should
be enough) for a contract dispute. Presuming the contract is
relatively clear and the other party is just flatly refusing to pay
w/o any good reason, you should have little trouble winning a
judgement. After you get the judgement against the other person, if
the other person doesn't pay up, THEN you get the lien against their
property. Odds are though that if you haul the other person into
court, they'll just give over the amount in the contract to avoid any
legal costs, especially if it is a pretty clear cut issue. Even if
they decide to go to court, just getting a judgment should probably be
enough, because at that point most sane people realize they'll be
screwed if they don't pay up. While this doesn't address specific
procedure, I think you're putting the cart before the horse at this
point. Generally, if you talk to the clerk of court after you get the
judgment, they can give you a really good idea of what you'll need to
file.
Further, unless absolutely necessary, don't go to federal court. If
you're from the same state as the other party, if the other party does
business in Iowa, if the other party used to live or work in Iowa, or
if they have "minimum contacts" with the state, just sue them in Small
Claims Court. This has numerous advantages. 1) It's WAY cheaper than
going to federal court, in terms of both filing fees and attorneys. 2)
It doesn't require you have a lawyer b/c procedures are much more
informal. 3) Getting a judgement is pretty much the same thing as a
writ of execution (see
http://www.scottcountyiowa.com/courts/small_claims.php ). Virtually
all contract law is governed by state law anyway, so unless there is
diversity jurisdiction, the federal court likely won't even hear the
case. Small claims judgments are just as valid as a judgment from any
other court, they carry the full weight of law, and they are much,
much easier to get.
Again, I'm not a lawyer, so I would STRONGLY suggest getting one,
especially if you're dealing with a significant sum of money. Also,
you can dig around through the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (for
filing in federal court) or Iowa's civil procedure rules (for filing
in Iowa state court) for more detail if you insist on going at it
alone. Both can be found with a google search.
Sorry this isn't a specific answer to your question, but I think
getting a lien at this point would not even be possible given the
situation as I interpreted it. |
