Section 13-20.Discovery Sought by Judgment Creditor

Section 13-20 gives a judgment creditor a way to track down assets to satisfy a money judgment. The creditor can obtain discovery from the judgment debtor, from any third person the creditor reasonably and in good faith believes may hold the debtor’s assets, or from a financial institution, on any matter relevant to satisfying the judgment. Discovery starts with interrogatories on a court-approved form, served on the person from whom discovery is sought; neither the interrogatories nor a notice of them is filed with the court. The person served must answer and return the interrogatories within thirty days, and a judgment debtor’s answers must be signed under penalty of false statement. A person served must reveal the amount, nature, and location of the debtor’s nonexempt assets up to an amount clearly sufficient to satisfy the judgment with interest and costs, with in-state assets subject to levy or foreclosure disclosed first. A financial institution served with interrogatories discloses only whether it holds the debtor’s funds and the account balance, up to the amount needed to satisfy the judgment.

If the person served fails to answer sufficiently within thirty days, fails to disclose sufficient assets, or objects to the interrogatories (an objection that is not filed with the court), the judgment creditor may move for supplemental discovery orders, including an order compelling compliance or authorizing additional interrogatories, and an order for production or for examination of the debtor or third person, which must be conducted before the judicial authority. Any such order must warn that failure to comply may result in contempt. The judicial authority may also, on motion or on its own, issue protective orders shielding the debtor or third person from annoyance, embarrassment, oppression, or undue burden or expense. The rest of Chapter 13’s discovery provisions do not apply to discovery sought under this section.