Can creditor add anything other than post-judgment interest to a judgment debt?

[Mike]

If I can not pay the judgment debt and do not want to do bankruptcy, can the creditor add any additional amount to the outstanding debt (e.g. collection cost, attorney fee, etc) other than post-judgment interest? According to NJ court rule, post judgment interest is "simple interest". Is it compounded annually?

[Eagle]

Pre and Post Judgment interest are simple and not compounded. The only exception is when the court orders compound interest in the award. In your case if the court did not indicate compound interest in the order then it is simple interest.

Creditor cannot add additional costs to judgement. If it costs him money to collect the judgment then he foots the bill.

[Mike]

Thank you so much for your response. I would like to make sure that I understand how pre and post judgment interest rate should be calculated. My case lasted three years (2005, 2006, and 2007) and suppose the amount awarded is $50k. When computing pre judgment interest accrued, given that published interest rate for 2005, 2006, and 2007 are 1% 2% and 4%, respectively, can I calculate total amount of pre judgment interest this way (assuming for simplicity the case started on January 1, 2005, and ended in the end of 2007)?

50,000 x (1% + 2% + 4%)

Without compounding, the interest accrued in the past are not added to the principal for the future years, am I correct?

[Eagle]

Mike: I will look into this & post an answer for you in a day or two.