What Types of Civil Cases Typically Result in Monetary Awards?

A gavel rests on a wooden block in the foreground with golden coin stacks behind it, illustrating the costliness of legal judgments in bankruptcy. Bankruptcy concept, failure, insolvency, Themis.

When a blog post or online discussion references judgment collection, the reference is to a civil court case resulting in a monetary award. Judgment collection is essentially collecting that award. Some judgment creditors (winning parties) undertake collection on their own. Others leave it to their attorneys or hire specialized collection agencies like Salt Lake City’s Judgment Collectors.

At this point, it might be worth noting the types of civil cases that typically result in monetary awards. Below are some of the top contenders, compliments of Judgment Collectors.

1. General Debt Cases

Judgment Collectors says most of the cases their industry deals with have to do with general debts. A company takes a customer to court for not paying his bill. The court rules in favor of the company and an award is entered. That award may include the original amount owed plus interest and legal fees.

General debt cases also occur between businesses. One company sues the other for the same reason. General debt cases are fairly common in civil courts across the country. They are so routine as to not even register in the news cycle.

2. Personal Injury Cases

The more newsworthy cases are ones that involve personal injury. They can take many forms, including:

Slip and fall accidents.
Car crashes.
Workplace accidents.
Accidental death cases.
Cases involving defective products.

These types of cases tend to make the news because monetary awards are so steep. A car crash victim could be awarded tens of millions to cover pain and suffering, lost income, and medical bills. Some states even allow punitive damages on top of pain and suffering.

3.Breach of Contract Cases

Civil courts are the place to try cases involving breach of contract. Because breaching a contract often causes the other party financial loss, these types of cases typically result in some sort of monetary award.

Note that a monetary award could be secondary to other stipulations laid down by the court. For example, the court may order the losing party to uphold its end of the contract. The monetary award is a secondary aspect designed to cover the winning party’s losses.

4. Rent and Eviction Cases

Some of the most curious civil cases involving monetary awards are litigated between landlords and renters. A landlord might sue a renter for back rent. Meanwhile, the renter’s excuse for not paying rests in accusations that the landlord is not keeping up the property.

Along those same lines are eviction cases. One case might see a landlord seeking both eviction and the payment of back rent in the same judgment. Another may involve attempting to recover back rent after eviction has already been accomplished. Either way, some of these types of cases can take strange terms.

5. Civil Cases

Civil cases in which one party is a government entity often include monetary awards in their respective judgments. For instance, consider a case in which the state department of labor sues an employer for violating state labor law. The main point of the lawsuit is to compel the employer to comply. A punitive monetary award is assessed against the employer to encourage future compliance.

Such cases could go in the other direction, too. A citizen could sue the government for some perceived wrong. If the court finds in favor of the consumer, a government entity may have to pay a monetary award.

Not all civil cases result in monetary awards. However, many due. And when that is the case, enforcing a judgment takes on a collection component. Winning parties must collect on their own with limited court intervention.