I'll try to keep this straight to the point. I'm looking for a simple recommendation on the following situation.
State of Ohio.
In 2018 I take a landscaper to small claims court (civil court) and win a judgment for present day value ~$5k.
The landscaper doesn't pay and doesn't show up to show up to a "show cause" hearing. A Civil warrant is issued.
We cant garnish his wages since he is self-employed but we put a bank attachment on some of his accounts including a safety deposit box but they resulted in us getting no money, however his safety deposit box is still restricted from his access, and he wants to get it. We also put a lien on his home.
Earlier this week I get a notice that he is filing Chapter 13 bankruptcy. He owes some money on his mortgage, a car, and our lien are all listed. There are lien avoidance sections completed for both the car and our lien, with a bunch of calculations and a final check box indicating "the entire lien is avoided".
Today I get a call from his bank asking me if it is ok to release his safety deposit box.
I would love to file a adversary proceeding in bankruptcy court for an objection to discharge the lien because I believe his original actions which led to the small claims court action was willfully malicious and fraudulent. Is it worth it? Does him filing Chapter 13 just remove the lien or also wipe out the small claims judgment we have against him? Do we have to release his safety deposit box (im guessing this depends on the answer to my previous question)?
State of Ohio.
In 2018 I take a landscaper to small claims court (civil court) and win a judgment for present day value ~$5k.
The landscaper doesn't pay and doesn't show up to show up to a "show cause" hearing. A Civil warrant is issued.
We cant garnish his wages since he is self-employed but we put a bank attachment on some of his accounts including a safety deposit box but they resulted in us getting no money, however his safety deposit box is still restricted from his access, and he wants to get it. We also put a lien on his home.
Earlier this week I get a notice that he is filing Chapter 13 bankruptcy. He owes some money on his mortgage, a car, and our lien are all listed. There are lien avoidance sections completed for both the car and our lien, with a bunch of calculations and a final check box indicating "the entire lien is avoided".
Today I get a call from his bank asking me if it is ok to release his safety deposit box.
I would love to file a adversary proceeding in bankruptcy court for an objection to discharge the lien because I believe his original actions which led to the small claims court action was willfully malicious and fraudulent. Is it worth it? Does him filing Chapter 13 just remove the lien or also wipe out the small claims judgment we have against him? Do we have to release his safety deposit box (im guessing this depends on the answer to my previous question)?