FINAL BILL REPORT

SSB 5251

C 43 L 03

Synopsis as Enacted

Brief Description: Modifying foreign judgment provisions.

Sponsors: Senate Committee on Judiciary (originally sponsored by Senators Brandland, Thibaudeau, Shin and Kline).

Senate Committee on Judiciary

House Committee on Judiciary

Background: A judgment is an official and authentic decision of a court of justice on the respective rights and claims of the parties to an action. A judgment is filed after it is signed in court and the clerk enters it in the execution docket. The first page of a judgment, which provides for the payment of money, must include, in addition to other information, the name of the judgment creditor and his or her attorney, the judgment debtor, the amount of the judgment, the interest owed, and the total of costs and attorney fees.

A foreign judgment is a judgment from a jurisdiction outside the state of Washington. It may be filed in superior or district court. There is concern that a Washington court in which a foreign judgment is filed may not know how long the judgment is enforceable under Washington law if the filing and expiration dates of the foreign judgment are not provided.

Summary: The first page of a foreign judgment must include the filing and expiration dates of the judgment under the laws of the original jurisdiction. At the time of filing the foreign judgment in Washington, the judgment creditor or his or her attorney is required to make and file with the clerk of the court an affidavit stating the filing and expiration date of the judgment in the originating jurisdiction. This affidavit is not to be interpreted to extend the expiration date of a foreign judgment beyond the expiration date under the laws of the jurisdiction where the judgment originated.

Votes on Final Passage:

Senate       46  0

House       95  0

Effective: July 27, 2003