judgement debt
Definition
Noun: A judgement debt is a sum of money that a court of law has officially ordered a person or organization (the debtor) to pay to another party (the creditor), typically as a result of a legal ruling in a civil case.
Usage Examples
- (A court-ordered debt from a legal ruling.)
- (The debt enforced by a court judgment.)
- (A formal court order for repayment.)
Advanced Usage
- "to satisfy a judgement debt": to pay the full amount owed under the court order.
- The debtor finally satisfied the judgement debt by selling his house. (He paid the entire court-ordered sum.)
- "to enforce a judgement debt": to take legal action to collect the owed money.
- The creditor hired a lawyer to enforce the judgement debt through wage garnishment. (Using legal means to compel payment.)
Variants and Related Words
- Judgment (n): the official decision of a court.
- The judgment was in favor of the landlord. (The court's ruling.)
- Debt (n): something, typically money, owed by one person to another.
- He accumulated a large debt from unpaid loans. (General financial obligation.)
- Judgment creditor (n): the person or entity to whom the judgement debt is owed.
- The judgment creditor filed a lien on the debtor's property. (The party entitled to receive payment.)
Synonyms
- Court-ordered debt: a debt imposed by a court ruling.
- Legal debt: a debt recognized and enforced by law.
Related Idioms
- "to be in judgement debt": to owe money as a result of a court order.
- After the trial, the defendant found himself in judgement debt for damages. (Obligated to pay a court-awarded sum.)