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.
Creditors Rights 101 