Mostly correct. There is no avenue to issue an arrest warrant for civil matters in Montana. Period. As far as collecting if the defendant lives in another state, it depends on which state they are now residing in. Colorado is considered a closed state. Therefore, judgments from other states are not enforceable in Colorado. (Think O J Simpson. He moved to Florida for a reason. It is also a closed state.) The only other avenue for collection is to transfer the debt to a collection agency in Colorado, and then that agency could collect the debt, for a considerable fee of course. Usually in the range of 40% of the judgment. And then only if the defendant has assets to seize. Money in a bank, more than 1 car, a motorhome, more than 1 gun, etc.
I know 40% seems like a large number to pay, but 60% of something is much better than 100% of nothing. And in most cases, the money ends up not being the issue. The pound of flesh always seems to weigh more than the money at the end of the day. And rightfully so in my opinion.
The law is very much skewed in this regard in my opinion. I know of a few folks in the Bozeman area that owe tens of thousands in civil debts, but they know the system, and play it to their advantage. Until karma decides to kick them in the throat, they are not going to pay a dime. I think their should be a threshold in the law, be it $10,000 or whatever. Once that number is met, it becomes criminal, and warrants should be issued. Obviously, medical bills, and possibly a few other things would be exempt. But these career offenders need to know that there will be hell to pay someday. Or there will be no end to the number of people they "steal" from.
One of the keys to collecting is to keep studious records of every transaction. You might never need those records, but when you do, you will be very happy to have them. If you are given a partial payment, make a copy of the check before you deposit it. Then, when you hire somebody like me to collect the unpaid balance for you, you don't have to pay me to search every bank in town for the defendants money. You have the bank, and account number already. Write down everything, while it is still fresh in your mind. I have notes from every civil paper I have served over the last 10 years. Boxes and boxes of papers, and someday, if needed, I can swear in court as to what happened on that day in June of 1999. Or any other day you can pick. Sounds a little anal I know. But when I stand in front of a judge and swear to something, they know it is the truth, and that I can produce my notes from that day to prove it.
I know that all of this sucks, and in a small town like Miles City, one should never have to be that careful. But it's a new day my friends, and there will always be someone looking to take your hard earned money away from you. Use every tool at hand to protect yourselves.