Call Kurtis: Till Tap

We've all seen those court shows. You win, you get paid, right? Not always.

So what good is a judgment if you can't collect your money? That's what Ida Ogden may want to know.

She had just won her case in Sacramento small claims court.

The judge didn't buy Gary Pruitt's defense:

Judge: "Did you ever pay her the $562?"
Pruitt: "No sir, I didn't."
Judge: "So, the court is ordering that you pay her $566, and the court is ordering that she pay you nothing."

Three months later does she have the money?

"No, no money," says Ida.

But what happened to Pruitt's, "Oh yeah, she'll be paid"?

Those were the famous last words from the owner of Pruitt's Once and Again in Elk Grove. Ida knew collecting her judgment was going to be tough.

"Well my personal opinion I think he should have automatically been thrown in jail."

She could do something called a till tap. That's when a sheriff's deputy, like Sacramento's Mark Habecker, physically takes the money right from the business's cash drawer.

Deputy Habecker says it'll cost you $85 up front but "...those fees get added to what we collect... first of all we cover your fees then we work on the judgment."

Unfortunately, it's not so effective.

"Rarely, less than five percent," he says.

It was an option Ida considered.

"But knowing that there is no money being exchanged at his place of business, and if there is, it's not gonna get in that cash register."

Having a deputy hover over the cash drawer could get the ball rolling, and it's a ball Ida will keep pushing.

"If I totally stop, he, once again, he got a way with it. And he's gonna continue doing this," she says with determination in her voice.

It's steeled by the words Pruitt echoed in the halls of the justice center: "So remember that. Always go before the judge."

In addition to a till tap there's also something called a keeper. That's when the deputy hangs out at the business all day and collects every penny that comes in until the judgment is paid in full.

That can run anywhere from $300 to $400, and it's a gamble just like the till tap; it all depends on whether enough money comes in.

Since doing the original story we've received two more complaints about Pruitt's Once and Again.

Someone identifying himself as Gary Pruitt called the newsroom Wednesday and claimed the shop was closed and he filed personally for Chapter Seven Bankruptcy Protection. We searched federal court records, and couldn't find his filing. If he did in fact file for Bankruptcy, Ida should immediately contact the trustee with the bankruptcy court about getting paid.

Click here for other ways to collect small claims court judgments.