Also known as: judgment liens · judgement lien · judgement liens
Written by attorneys — see sources below.
A statutory lien that attaches to a judgment debtor's real property upon docketing of the judgment in the county records. The lien enables the judgment creditor to levy on the property and sell it to satisfy the judgment. Priority among competing liens is determined by the order of docketing.
John Jones buys Blackacre after Jennifer Jackson has already obtained and docketed a money judgment against him. The judgment lien immediately attaches to Blackacre upon Jones's acquisition. Jackson may now levy on the parcel to collect the judgment amount.
Julia Jensen sells Whiteacre to Jerome Jackson and takes back a purchase money mortgage for most of the price. Jackson already owes a docketed judgment to Jaffe Securities. The purchase money mortgage receives priority over the judgment lien even though the lender knew of the earlier judgment.
Joanna Jung and Javier Jimenez hold Blackacre as joint tenants with right of survivorship. A creditor dockets a judgment lien against Jimenez only. When Jimenez dies, Jung takes the entire parcel by survivorship and the judgment lien terminates.
Raymond Johnson and plaintiff Hazel Tenhet owned a parcel of property as joint tenants. The deed was executed by Jettie N. Johnson to them as joint tenants. The property consisted of a dwelling house and lot. Its value did not exceed three thousand five hundred dollars at the time of Johnson's death in 1971. Assertedly without plaintiff's knowledge or consent, Johnson leased the property to defendant Boswell. The lease was for a period of ten years at a rental of one hundred fifty dollars per year. It included a provision granting the lessee an option to purchase. Johnson died some three months after execution of the lease. Plaintiff sought to establish her sole right to possession of the property as the surviving joint tenant. After an unsuccessful demand upon defendant to vacate the premises, plaintiff brought this action to have the lease declared invalid. The third amended complaint contained five causes of action. The trial court granted a motion to strike the fourth and fifth causes of action. It sustained demurrers to the second and third causes without leave to amend. But the court made no express ruling on the first cause of action seeking declaratory relief and damages. The trial court sustained demurrers to the complaint and entered a judgment of dismissal. Plaintiff appealed from the ensuing judgment of dismissal to the Supreme Court of California.
View caseJefferson Trust obtains a docketed judgment against John Jones individually. Jones and his wife hold their home as tenants by the entirety. The judgment lien does not attach to the home because the creditor cannot reach property held in that form for one spouse's separate debt.
On November 30, 1968, Masako Sawada and Helen Sawada were injured when struck by a motor vehicle operated by Kokichi Endo. On that date Kokichi Endo owned a parcel of real property in Wahiawa, Oahu, Hawaii, as a tenant by the entirety with his wife Ume Endo. On June 17, 1969, Helen Sawada filed her complaint for damages against Kokichi Endo. Masako Sawada filed her suit against him on August 13, 1969. The complaint and summons in each case was served on Kokichi Endo on October 29, 1969. By deed dated July 26, 1969, Kokichi Endo and Ume Endo conveyed the Wahiawa property to their sons Samuel H. Endo and Toru Endo. The deed was recorded in the Bureau of Conveyances on December 17, 1969. No consideration was paid by the grantees. Both sons were aware at the time of the conveyance that their father had been involved in an accident and that he carried no liability insurance. Kokichi Endo and Ume Endo continued to reside on the premises. On January 19, 1971, after a consolidated trial on the merits, judgment was entered in favor of Helen Sawada and against Kokichi Endo in the sum of $8,846.46. At the same time Masako Sawada was awarded judgment on her complaint in the amount of $16,199.28. Ume Endo died on January 29, 1971. After being frustrated in their attempts to obtain satisfaction of judgment from the personal property of Kokichi Endo, the Sawadas brought suit to set aside the conveyance. The trial court refused to set aside the conveyance, and the Sawadas appealed.
View caseNo. The lien arises only when the judgment is docketed or recorded in the real property records of the county where the debtor's land is located.
Supporting sources
The lien expires because the debtor's interest terminates at death and the surviving joint tenant takes the whole property free of the lien.
Supporting sources
No. A judgment against only one spouse does not attach to property held by both spouses as tenants by the entirety.
Supporting sources
A purchase money mortgage given to the vendor or a third-party lender for acquisition funds has priority over a prior judgment lien against the purchaser even if the mortgagee knew of the judgment.
Supporting sources
…tenancy into a joint tenancy or tenancy in common. In holding that the spouses could jointly convey the property, free of any judgment liens against the husband, the court said: “To hold the judgment to be a lien at all against this property, and the right of execution suspended during the life of the wife, and to be enforced…