I don’t know anything about civil suits, but from the outside looking in it seems like it’s very easy for defendants to dodge, delay, withhold payment, hide assets, etc. When a judgement is handed down, how is it enforced? And how often, if ever, are assets seized/frozen?
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If you win money in a lawsuit (at least in most of the US), you can use the court to attach and seize assets of the defendant. The exact process depends on the jurisdiction, but after a relatively small amount of time after a judgment (leaving appeal issues aside), the prevailing party can petition the court to seize assets of the losing party – bank accounts, brokerage accounts, real estate, businesses, cars, etc. Some things can’t be seized, or are a least subject to limitations, but just about everything else is up for grabs. Once the court authorizes the seizure (and again, depending on the jurisdiction), the prevailing party can get law enforcement to literally seize assets, serve notice on banks to turn over funds, contents of safety deposit boxes, etc. Losing parties can and do try to evade payment, but if there’s enough at stake, there’s an entire industry built around tracking down and seizing/recovering assets.
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