Judgment (legal)

At law, a judgment is the end-result of a civil trial. It encapsulates the court's verdict, and orders appropriate remedies.

Recovery

A judgment is not self-executing. The winner of a judgment must still collect assets from the losing party. Some parties are judgment-proof: that is, they have no money which a judgment can recover. Alternately, a wily "judgment-debtor" may hide assets from execution to appear judgment proof.

Many states provide a method of discovery, called "post-judgment discovery," to ensure that judgment-debtors cannot cheat justice. Texas provides this through Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 621a.

Methods of Recovery

Judgments are enforceable at law through a variety of mechanisms. They are, typically:

• Execution;
• Garnishment, or;
• Attachment.