Also known as: judgment lien · judgement lien · judgement liens
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A statutory lien that attaches to a judgment debtor's real property upon the docketing or recording of the judgment. The lien gives the judgment creditor the right to levy on the property to satisfy the debt. Scope, duration, and priority relative to other interests are governed by state law.
Jennifer Jackson obtained a money judgment against Jerome Jackson for an unpaid loan. She promptly docketed the judgment in the county where Jerome owned a vacant lot. The docketing caused a judgment lien to attach to the lot, clouding title and preventing Jerome from selling the property to a buyer without first satisfying the lien.
Justin Jarvis bought a warehouse from Jha Pharmaceuticals and gave the seller a purchase money mortgage for most of the price. Jeffrey Jha, an earlier judgment creditor of Justin, had already docketed a judgment lien against Justin's after-acquired property. The purchase money mortgage took priority over the judgment lien to the extent the loan proceeds funded the acquisition.
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A judgment lien attaches upon docketing or recording of the judgment in the county or state where the debtor's real property is located. The lien then encumbers the debtor's interest in that property.
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The lien clouds title and must ordinarily be satisfied or released before a subsequent purchaser will accept the property. It therefore impairs the owner's ability to convey clear title.
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No. A purchase money mortgage given as part of the same transaction in which the debtor acquires title takes priority over preexisting judgment liens against the purchaser, even if the mortgagee had actual knowledge of the judgment.
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The judgment lien is extinguished as to the foreclosed property if it is junior to the foreclosed mortgage, but the lienholder may receive any surplus proceeds after senior liens are paid.
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