When a lawsuit is resolved by a judge or jury, the party who lost the lawsuit (the judgment debtor) generally owes the party who won the lawsuit (the judgment creditor) an amount of money—including the damages for the breach of contract, negligence, fraud, or other claims, plus interest owed on the amount of the judgment from the time the wrongful acts occurred until the judgment is paid (prejudgment interest and post-judgment interest), the amount of court costs, and possibly the amount of the judgment creditor’s attorney fees.

After the judgment becomes final (the deadline to file an appeal expires) the judgment creditor may seek to collect on the judgment using various legal methods such as property liens, wage garnishment/writ of garnishment, bank account garnishment/bank levy, writ of execution, attachments, turnover orders, property levies, contempt proceedings, and post-judgment discovery (interrogatories, document requests, depositions). These processes and the names for them vary from state to state, but all generally seek to (1) take cash owned by the judgment debtor to satisfy the judgment, or (2) force the sale of property owned by the judgment debtor, and use some or all of the proceeds to satisfy the judgment.

In California, once a lawsuit is resolved and a judgment is issued, the losing party (judgment debtor) owes the winning party (judgment creditor) the awarded amount, which may include damages, prejudgment and post-judgment interest, court costs, and possibly attorney fees. After the judgment is final and the appeal period has expired, the judgment creditor can enforce the judgment through various collection methods. These methods include placing liens on the debtor's property, garnishing wages or bank accounts, obtaining a writ of execution for seizing assets, and other legal mechanisms like attachments, turnover orders, and property levies. Additionally, the creditor may use contempt proceedings and post-judgment discovery tools such as interrogatories, document requests, and depositions to uncover assets of the debtor. The specific procedures and terminology may vary, but the goal is to either seize cash or sell the debtor's property to satisfy the judgment debt.