When I was a young lawyer, one of my relatives came to me and said that a woman owed him $45.00. He said that she had told him several times that she would pay him, but she didn’t. For some reason, it really bothered him. There were other people who owed him a lot more money. He asked me if I would sue her. I told him I would.

This was about 30 years ago, and the filing fee in Justice Court was $35.00. I sued her, got her served, and took a judgment against her for $45.00.

After the judgment was signed, I sent her a demand letter. When she didn’t respond, I begin post-judgment collection procedures.

Shortly after that, she died. She was only 36 years old. I don’t know what she died of. We never collected the judgment.