BILL REQ. #: S-3708.1
State of Washington | 62nd Legislature | 2012 Regular Session |
Read first time 01/16/12. Referred to Committee on Judiciary.
AN ACT Relating to extending the time to enforce civil judgments; and amending RCW 6.17.020, 4.56.190, 6.32.010, and 6.32.015.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1 RCW 6.17.020 and 2002 c 261 s 1 are each amended to read
as follows:
(1) Except as provided in subsections (2)((, (3), and (4))) through
(5) of this section, the party in whose favor a judgment of a court has
been or may be filed or rendered, or the assignee or the current holder
thereof, may have an execution, garnishment, or other legal process
issued for the collection or enforcement of the judgment at any time
within ten years from entry of the judgment or the filing of the
judgment in this state.
(2) After July 23, 1989, a party who obtains a judgment or order of
a court or an administrative order entered as defined in RCW
74.20A.020(6) for accrued child support, or the assignee or the current
holder thereof, may have an execution, garnishment, or other legal
process issued upon that judgment or order at any time within ten years
of the eighteenth birthday of the youngest child named in the order for
whom support is ordered.
(3) After June 9, 1994, a party in whose favor a judgment has been
filed as a foreign judgment or rendered pursuant to subsection (1) or
(((4))) (5) of this section, or the assignee or the current holder
thereof, may, within ninety days before the expiration of the original
ten-year period, apply to the court that rendered the judgment or to
the court where the judgment was filed as a foreign judgment for an
order granting an additional ten years during which an execution,
garnishment, or other legal process may be issued. If a district court
judgment of this state is transcribed to a superior court of this
state, the original district court judgment shall not be extended and
any petition under this section to extend the judgment that has been
transcribed to superior court shall be filed in the superior court
within ninety days before the expiration of the ten-year period of the
date the transcript of the district court judgment was filed in the
superior court of this state. The petitioner shall pay to the court a
filing fee equal to the filing fee for filing the first or initial
paper in a civil action in the court, except in the case of district
court judgments transcribed to superior court, where the filing fee
shall be the fee for filing the first or initial paper in a civil
action in the superior court where the judgment was transcribed. The
order granting the application shall contain an updated judgment
summary as provided in RCW 4.64.030. The filing fee required under
this subsection shall be included in the judgment summary and shall be
a recoverable cost. The application shall be granted as a matter of
right, subject to review only for timeliness, factual issues of full or
partial satisfaction, or errors in calculating the judgment summary
amounts.
(4) After June 9, 1994, a party in whose favor a judgment has been
filed as a foreign judgment or rendered pursuant to subsection (1) or
(5) of this section, or the assignee or the current holder thereof,
excluding those resulting from a breach of contract, may, within ninety
days before the expiration of the second ten-year period, apply to the
court that rendered the judgment or to the court where the judgment was
filed as a foreign judgment for an order granting an additional ten
years during which an execution, garnishment, or other legal process
may be issued. If a district court judgment of this state is
transcribed to a superior court of this state, the original district
court judgment shall not be extended and any petition under this
section to extend the judgment that has been transcribed to superior
court shall be filed in the superior court within ninety days before
the expiration of the second ten-year period. The petitioner shall pay
to the court a filing fee equal to the filing fee for filing the first
or initial paper in a civil action in the court, except in the case of
district court judgments transcribed to superior court, where the
filing fee shall be the fee for filing the first or initial paper in a
civil action in the superior court where the judgment was transcribed.
The order granting the application shall contain an updated judgment
summary as provided in RCW 4.64.030. The filing fee required under
this subsection shall be included in the judgment summary and shall be
a recoverable cost. The application shall be granted as a matter of
right, subject to review only for timeliness, factual issues of full or
partial satisfaction, or errors in calculating the judgment summary
amounts.
(5) A party who obtains a judgment or order for restitution, crime
victims' assessment, or other court-ordered legal financial obligations
pursuant to a criminal judgment and sentence, or the assignee or the
current holder thereof, may execute, garnish, and/or have legal process
issued upon the judgment or order any time within ten years subsequent
to the entry of the judgment and sentence or ten years following the
offender's release from total confinement as provided in chapter 9.94A
RCW. The clerk of superior court, or a party designated by the clerk,
may seek extension under subsection (3) of this section for purposes of
collection as allowed under RCW 36.18.190, provided that no filing fee
shall be required.
(((5))) (6) "Court" as used in this section includes but is not
limited to the United States supreme court, the United States courts of
appeals, the United States district courts, the United States
bankruptcy courts, the Washington state supreme court, the court of
appeals of the state of Washington, superior courts and district courts
of the counties of the state of Washington, and courts of other states
and jurisdictions from which judgment has been filed in this state
under chapter 6.36 or 6.40 RCW.
(((6))) (7) The perfection of any judgment lien and the priority of
that judgment lien on property as established by RCW 6.13.090 and
chapter 4.56 RCW is not altered by the extension of the judgment
pursuant to the provisions of this section and the lien remains in full
force and effect and does not have to be rerecorded after it is
extended. Continued perfection of a judgment that has been transcribed
to other counties and perfected in those counties may be accomplished
after extension of the judgment by filing with the clerk of the other
counties where the judgment has been filed either a certified copy of
the order extending the judgment or a certified copy of the docket of
the matter where the judgment was extended.
(((7))) (8) Except as ordered in subsection (4) of this section,
RCW 4.16.020 (2) or (3), chapter 9.94A RCW, or chapter 13.40 RCW, no
judgment is enforceable for a period exceeding twenty years from the
date of entry in the originating court. Nothing in this section may 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.
(((8))) (9) The chapter 261, Laws of 2002 amendments to this
section apply to all judgments currently in effect on June 13, 2002, to
all judgments extended after June 9, 1994, unless the judgment has been
satisfied, vacated, and/or quashed, and to all judgments filed or
rendered, or both, after June 13, 2002.
Sec. 2 RCW 4.56.190 and 2011 c 106 s 4 are each amended to read
as follows:
The real estate of any judgment debtor, and such as the judgment
debtor may acquire, not exempt by law, shall be held and bound to
satisfy any judgment of the district court of the United States
rendered in this state and any judgment of the supreme court, court of
appeals, superior court, or district court of this state, and every
such judgment shall be a lien thereupon to commence as provided in RCW
4.56.200 and to run for a period of not to exceed ten years from the
day on which such judgment was entered unless the ten-year period is
extended in accordance with RCW 6.17.020 (3) or (4), or unless the
judgment results from a criminal sentence for a crime that was
committed on or after July 1, 2000, in which case the lien will remain
in effect until the judgment is fully satisfied. As used in this
chapter, real estate shall not include the vendor's interest under a
real estate contract for judgments rendered after August 23, 1983. If
a judgment debtor owns real estate, subject to execution, jointly or in
common with any other person, the judgment shall be a lien on the
interest of the defendant only.
Personal property of the judgment debtor shall be held only from
the time it is actually levied upon.
Sec. 3 RCW 6.32.010 and 1994 c 189 s 4 are each amended to read
as follows:
At any time within ten years after entry of a judgment for the sum
of twenty-five dollars or over, unless the time is extended in
accordance with RCW 6.17.020 (3) or (4), upon application by the
judgment creditor such court or judge may, by an order, require the
judgment debtor to appear at a specified time and place before the
judge granting the order, or a referee appointed by the judge, to
answer concerning the same; and the judge to whom application is made
under this chapter may, if it is made to appear to him or her by the
affidavit of the judgment creditor, his or her agent or attorney that
there is danger of the debtor absconding, order the sheriff to arrest
the debtor and bring him or her before the judge granting the order.
Upon being brought before the judge, he or she may be ordered to enter
into a bond, with sufficient sureties, that he or she will attend from
time to time before the judge or referee, as shall be directed, during
the pendency of the proceedings and until the final termination
thereof. If the judgment debtor or other persons against whom the
special proceedings are instituted has been served with these
proceedings, the plaintiff shall be entitled to costs of service,
notary fees, and an appearance fee of twenty-five dollars. If the
judgment debtor or other persons fail to answer or appear, the
plaintiff shall additionally be entitled to reasonable attorney fees.
If a plaintiff institutes special proceedings and fails to appear, a
judgment debtor or other person against whom the proceeding was
instituted who appears is entitled to an appearance fee of twenty-five
dollars and reasonable attorney fees.
Sec. 4 RCW 6.32.015 and 1994 c 189 s 5 are each amended to read
as follows:
At any time within ten years after entry of a judgment for a sum of
twenty-five dollars or over, unless the time is extended in accordance
with RCW 6.17.020 (3) or (4), upon application by the judgment creditor
such court or judge may, by order served on the judgment debtor,
require such debtor to answer written interrogatories, under oath, in
such form as may be approved by the court. No such creditor shall be
required to proceed under this section nor shall he or she waive his or
her rights to proceed under RCW 6.32.010 by proceeding under this
section.