S.B. 70

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JUDGMENT LIEN ON REAL PROPERTY
2 1998 GENERAL SESSION
3 STATE OF UTAH
4 Sponsor: L. Alma Mansell
5 AN ACT RELATING TO JUDICIAL CODE; MODIFYING PROVISIONS RELATED TO
6 JUDGMENTS AS LIENS UPON REAL PROPERTY; REQUIRING IDENTIFYING
7 INFORMATION IN A SEPARATE INFORMATION STATEMENT ATTACHED TO THE
8 JUDGMENT AND PROVIDING EXEMPTIONS; AND MAKING TECHNICAL CHANGES.
9 This act affects sections of Utah Code Annotated 1953 as follows:
10 AMENDS:
11 78-22-1, as last amended by Chapter 96, Laws of Utah 1997
12 78-22-1.5, as enacted by Chapter 96, Laws of Utah 1997
13 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
14 Section 1. Section 78-22-1 is amended to read:
15 78-22-1. Duration of judgment -- Judgment as lien upon real property -- Abstract
16 of judgment -- Small claims judgment not lien.
17 (1) Judgments shall continue for eight years unless previously satisfied or unless
18 enforcement of the judgment is stayed in accordance with law.
19 (2) Prior to July 1, 1997, except as limited by Subsection (4), the entry of judgment by a
20 district court is a lien upon the real property of the judgment debtor, not exempt from execution,
21 owned or acquired during the existence of the judgment, located in the county in which the
22 judgment is entered.
23 (3) Prior to and after July 1, 1997, an abstract of judgment issued by the court in which the
24 judgment is entered may be [filed and docketed] recorded in any court of this state and shall have
25 the same force and effect as a judgment entered in that court.
26 (4) Prior to July 1, 1997, a judgment entered on or after April 27, 1992, in the small claims
27 division of any court shall not qualify as a lien upon real property unless [filed and docketed]

1 recorded in accordance with Subsection (3). [This Subsection (4) shall apply to all small claims
2 judgments entered on or after April 27, 1992.]
3 Section 2. Section 78-22-1.5 is amended to read:
4 78-22-1.5. Definitions -- Judgment recorded in Registry of Judgments.
5 (1) For purposes of this section, "Registry of Judgments" means the index where a
6 judgment shall be recorded and searchable by the name of the judgment debtor through electronic
7 means or by tangible document.
8 (2) On or after July 1, 1997, a judgment rendered or recorded in a district court does not
9 create a lien upon or affect the title to real property unless the judgment is recorded in the Registry
10 of Judgments of the office of the clerk of the district court of the county in which the property is
11 located.
12 (3) In addition to the requirement of Subsection (2), any judgment that is recorded in the
13 Registry of Judgments on or after September 1, 1998, shall include a separate information
14 statement of the judgment creditor that contains:
15 (a) the correct name and last-known address of each judgment debtor and the address at
16 which each judgment debtor received service of process;
17 (b) the name and address of the judgment creditor;
18 (c) the amount of the judgment as entered in the Registry of Judgments;
19 (d) if known, the judgment debtor's social security number, date of birth, and driver's
20 license number if a natural person; and
21 (e) whether or not a stay of enforcement has been ordered by the court and the date the stay
22 expires.
23 (4) For the information required Subsection (3), the judgment creditor shall:
24 (a) provide the information on the separate information sheet if known or available to the
25 judgment creditor from its records, its attorney's records, or the court records in the action in which
26 the judgement was entered; or
27 (b) state on the separate information sheet that the information is unknown or unavailable.
28 (5) (a) Any judgment that requires payment of money and is recorded on or after
29 September 1, 1998, and is not accompanied by the separate information statement as required in
30 Subsections (3) and (4) may be amended by recording a document entitled "Amendment to
31 Recorded Judgment" in the Registry of Judgments in compliance with Subsections (3) and (4).

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1 (b) The amendment to the recorded judgment shall state the date of recording the original
2 judgment in the Registry of Judgments.
3 (c) Recording an amendment to a recorded judgment has no effect on the computation of
4 time as provided in Section 78-22-1.
5 (6) A judgment that requires payment of money recorded on or after September 1, 1998,
6 has as its priority the date of compliance with Subsections (3) and (4).




Legislative Review Note
as of 1-28-98 4:12 PM

A limited legal review of this bill raises no obvious constitutional or statutory concerns.

Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel

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