Many years ago, a dentist sued his patient, an aspiring … iPhone gaming mogul, for failing to pay her bill for services. He won a default judgment when his patient apparently ignored the lawsuit. And then she got famous. Like, really famous.
She is now Kim Kardashian, perhaps best-known for her app, and she made legal news for what might be a world record. The dentist just sold his $1,600 judgment for a whopping $5,000. That’s not a typo.
Sure, most of the time, when folks buy debt, they’re not certain to collect, so there’s a little bit of a discount for the new debt holder. The rich, however, are not like you and I:
JudgmentMarketplace.com, a three-year-old site that gives creditors a forum for hawking uncollected debts, said the transaction marked the first time in the company’s history that the selling price for a listed judgment exceeded the total value of the principal and interest.
Firstly, there’s a web site for this? It’s like eBay, but instead of selling antique buttons, you’re selling legal judgments? Secondly, guy who runs this site, what’s your expert opinion on the economic ramifications of this … silliness?
He said the Kardashian judgment may have commanded a premium because of its novelty value. In other words, for $5,000, you can tell people at a cocktail party that a Kardashian is indebted to you.
Ain’t no party like a Wall Street Journal party, because at a Wall Street Journal party there is discussion about the most famous person who owes you money. #inbedby9pm