Month: July 2017

To Renew a Tennessee Judgment, the Motion Must be Filed Within the Ten Year Period

A quick follow-up to my discussion of Rule 69.04 and renewal of judgments in Tennessee.

A few of you e-mailed me to ask about the timing of filing a motion to extend the judgment for another ten years. Specifically, does the motion have to be granted in the ten year period, or is it enough to simply file the motion during the ten year period?

The answer is contained in Rule 69.04.

As long as a motion to extend is filed “[w]ithin ten years from entry of a judgment,”  a judgment creditor may “avoid having the judgment become unenforceable by operation of Tenn. Code Ann. § 28-3-110(a)(2).” See Tenn. R. Civ. P. 69.04 Advisory Comm. cmt. to 2016 revision.

Also, look at In re Hunt, 323 B.R. 665, 669 (Bankr. W.D. Tenn. 2005), which says “it is not essential that the debtor receive these pleadings within the ten-year period, only that the renewal pleading be filed within that time.”

To be clear, it’s my interpretation that Tenn. R. Civ. P. 69.04 does not require the order extending the judgment for the additional ten-year period to be entered within ten years from the entry of the old judgment. But you have to file that Motion to Renew before the ten years expires.

New Version of Rule 69.04 Makes Renewing a Tennessee Judgment Easier

A few months ago, I warned you all that Tennessee judgments are only enforceable for ten years and, if you have a file of uncollected judgments, you might need to check your drawers.  If you do a lot of creditors rights law work (like me), then you have about ten drawers full of unpaid judgments, so this is a big deal.

The Tennessee legislature may saw this issue coming, because, in 2016, they simplified the process by which a judgment creditor can renew (extend) the life-span of a judgment. The revisions to Tenn. R. Civ. P. 69.04 provide that the creditor:

Within ten years from the entry of a judgment, the creditor whose judgment remains unsatisfied may file a motion to extend the judgment for another ten years. A copy of the motion shall be mailed by the judgment creditor to the last known address of the judgment debtor. If no response is filed by the judgment debtor within thirty days of the date the motion is filed with the clerk of court, the motion shall be granted without further notice or hearing, and an order extending the judgment shall be entered by the court. If a response is filed within thirty days of the filing date of the motion, the burden is on the judgment debtor to show why the judgment should not be extended for an additional ten years. The same procedure can be repeated within any additional ten-year period.

So, long story short, now, it’s done by Motion and without the prior “show cause” process used in the past (and, notably, in the same case docket as the original action).

The Tennessee Court of Appeals discussed this new process in a recent opinion, at Trina Scott v. Sharfyne L’Nell White, No. M2015-02488-COA-R3-CV, July 14, 2017).  You’ll note that the underlying matter in this case was decided prior to 2016, but Judge McBrayer (himself, once a well known debtor-creditor lawyer) discusses both the new and old laws in issuing the opinion.

 

 

 

Read The Rules. Know The Rules. Start with Tenn. R. Civ. P. 54.02

When I first started practicing law, my mentor was a procedure savant. He knew the Rules of Procedure inside and out. In turn, I eventually learned the Rules.

That’s my single biggest piece of advice for any litigation attorney: Know the Rules of Procedure. If you’re in state court, read the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure. Before you go to court, read that county’s Local Rules.

The key to success at anything is knowing the rules. Sports. Checkers. The practice of law. A strong, working knowledge of the rules of procedure puts you ahead of 85% of your fellow lawyers.

Recently, while reading a  Tennessee Court of Appeals opinion about final judgments and appeals, I was reminded of a lesson my old boss taught me about Tenn. R. Civ. P. 54.02.

Rule 54.02 applies in cases where are multiple parties and multiple claims for relief, but a party is able to resolve its claims as to part of the litigation. In that circumstance, Rule 54.02 allows the trial court deem the judgment as to that part of the case “final,” which means that the party’s appeal deadlines start to run and, more importantly, the plaintiff can proceed with collection on the judgment as to that party.

But, you don’t get Rule 54.02 relief unless you think to ask for it. Under the Rule, you have to (1) specifically request that the judgment be “final” and (2) use magic language by which the Court makes an “express determination that there is no just reason for delay” and an “express direction for the entry of judgment.”

The case I cite above is interesting, because the Judgment that was appealed included the Rule 54.02 magic language, but the Court of Appeals denied the appeal as premature, because there was still one loose end (the assessment of attorney fees). It’s interesting (and re-assuring) to see the appellate court look at substance over form.

Even though Rule 54.02 led this attorney astray, don’t forget to include that text in your Judgments. It’s most powerful when you have the chance to take a judgment against one liable party early in the case, but one of the other defendants shows up and contests his own liability. In that scenario, while you’re litigating the matter against one defendant, you can commence execution and collections on the other, without waiting until getting all the claims resolved.