In this week’s Freedom Friday blog and email newsletter, we’re talking about a brand-new topic, and an issue I discuss with many of my breach of contract clients. I touched on this briefly during the recent Top Six in 2026 series, but I wanted to give it a full blog article in the Freedom Friday blog and email newsletter. A few weeks ago, I made the comment in passing that there is no guarantee of recovery for a default judgment, and in this week’s Freedom Friday blog and email newsletter, I want to talk about why that is so. In today’s Freedom Friday blog and email newsletter, I’m answering the question, “Why is there no guarantee of recovery for a default judgment?”
In Oklahoma, if you file a lawsuit, the defendant has to be served, and once you have service, the defendant has twenty (20) days to file a formal response to the lawsuit, which in legal terms is called an “answer”. If the defendant does not file an answer, you can move for a default judgment. There are a few requirements with default judgments. All courts in Oklahoma require you to file a motion for default judgment, showing proof of service, and some courts require you to provide the court with additional documentation before a default judgment. Once a default judgment is entered, you then have a paper judgment, but there is no guarantee of recovery for a default judgment.
If you sue a defendant in Oklahoma, you need to consider the financial status of the defendant, especially if you are suing on breach of contract, open account, or any similar type of claim. There are three (3) primary ways of collecting on a judgment in Oklahoma: filing a lien on the defendant’s property, garnishing the defendant’s wages, and garnishing the defendant’s bank account. Let’s take each of these in turn. The first way to collect on a judgment is to file a lien on the defendant’s property. However, you can only have a valid lien if the defendant owns real property, such as a land or a house. If the defendant rents, or does not own property of its own, even if you have a paper default judgment, you cannot collect on a judgment lien.
The second way you can collect on a judgment in Oklahoma is through a wage garnishment. If the defendant is an individual person, and is employed, then you can file a wage garnishment, serve it on the defendant’s employer, and for about six (6) months, you can garnish a portion of the defendant’s wages, and apply those amounts to the judgment against the defendant. However, if the defendant is not employed, you cannot collect through a wage garnishment. Also, some occupations, like restaurant servers and bartenders do not make enough “wages” for a garnishment to work out. It is also difficult to collect a wage garnishment on a self-employed person. Therefore, even if you have a paper judgment, you cannot always collect on it through a wage garnishment.
The third way you can collect on a judgment in Oklahoma is through a bank garnishment. If the defendant has a bank account, and you know which bank has that account, you can file a bank garnishment, serve it on the bank, and get a one-time payment from the bank to apply towards your judgment against the defendant. However, sometimes a defendant has a bank account, but they do not keep a lot of money in it, or the account is overdrawn already. Also, in some business situations, the defendant might owe the bank money because of a defaulted loan the defendant has with the bank, and therefore, until the bank’s loan is paid, they will not pay your garnishment. Again, even if you have a paper judgment, you cannot always collect on it through a bank garnishment.
Unfortunately, in commercial claims I have prosecuted against businesses, I have seen uncollectable judgments. The defendant is an LLC, does not own any real property, a wage garnishment would not apply, and as for a bank garnishment, the LLC’s bank account was overdrawn, or the bank claimed the LLC owed it money. This is why there is no guarantee of recovery for a default judgment. In addition to these reasons, if the defendant files for bankruptcy, then that stops the collection process, as well.
Thinking about starting a small business? Or maybe your small business is having issues with contracts, leases, business partners, collection issues, or experiencing other barriers to growth? Please contact me at Jonathan@libertylegalok.com to schedule a FREE consultation.
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