Ames v. Sears, Roebuck & Co.

This appeal entails an examination of the circumstances under which a judgment debtor, by use of a writ of audita querela, can obtain relief from a final judgment awarding monetary damages to a judgment creditor. The defendant, Sears, Roebuck and Company, filed its application for a writ of audita querela alleging that the plaintiff, Laurie L. Ames, was threatening to cause execution to issue on a judgment in her favor in the amount of $175,000. Because the plaintiff had earlier received a payment of $25,000 from other alleged tortfeasors, the defendant claimed that its postjudgment payment…