Bill Text: NH HB1175 | 2016 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Relative to post-judgment real estate liens.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 3-1)
Status: (Passed) 2016-05-23 - Signed by Governor Hassan 05/19/2016; Chapter 80; Eff. 1/1/2017 [HB1175 Detail]
Download: New_Hampshire-2016-HB1175-Introduced.html
HB 1175-FN - AS INTRODUCED
2016 SESSION
16-2332
05/10
HOUSE BILL 1175-FN
AN ACT relative to post-judgment real estate liens.
SPONSORS: Rep. Lachance, Hills. 8; Rep. Backus, Hills. 19; Rep. Potucek, Rock. 6; Rep. Gallagher, Belk. 4
COMMITTEE: Judiciary
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ANALYSIS
This bill provides that a judgment may be secured against real estate by recording a certified copy of the judgment with the registry of deeds of the county in which the real estate is located.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
16-2332
05/10
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Sixteen
AN ACT relative to post-judgment real estate liens.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Post-Judgment Attachment and Execution. RSA 503:12 is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:
503:12 Post-Judgment Attachment and Execution.
I. Attachments and levies of execution on personal property and real estate may be made on judgments in small claims actions in district courts as provided in RSA 511, RSA 528, and RSA 529.
II. A judgment entered in accordance with this chapter may be secured against real estate of the defendant in accordance with RSA 524:13.
2 New Section; Judgments; Post-Judgment Real Estate Liens. Amend RSA 524 by inserting after section 12 the following new section:
524:13 Post-Judgment Real Estate Liens.
I. A judgment entered by any court in this state may be secured against real estate by recording or re-recording, at any time during the duration of the judgment, a certified copy of the judgment with the registry of deeds of the county in which the real estate is located.
II. The recording of a certified copy of the judgment under subparagraph I shall create a judgment lien, which shall have the force and effect of an attachment against all real estate of the defendant in the county of recording. The judgment lien shall be subject to all applicable exemptions from attachment and execution and shall be subordinate to any other liens of record entitled to priority on the date of recording.
III. At the time of recording, the plaintiff shall mail to defendant's last known address a copy of all documents sent to the deed registry.
IV. Unless the judgment is satisfied or discharged or the lien is otherwise removed or altered, the judgment lien created under paragraphs I and II shall remain in force and effect for as long as a suit may be maintained upon the judgment under RSA 508:5.
V. When a judgment secured by a judgment lien under this section is satisfied, the plaintiff or his or her attorney shall deliver to the defendant or owner of the encumbered real estate a discharge thereof. The defendant or owner shall cause the discharge to be recorded and shall pay the register of deeds the recording fee established pursuant to RSA 478:17-g. The failure of the plaintiff to comply with the provisions of this paragraph shall be a violation.
VI.(a) If such plaintiff fails to deliver such discharge of a satisfied judgment within 30 days from receipt of a request to deliver such discharge, or if other exigent circumstances require an immediate discharge, such discharge may be issued by the court in which the judgment was rendered upon presentation of proof that the judgment has been paid in full, in the form of either a bank check, a certified check, an attorney's client funds account check which bears no indication of a stop payment order or return for insufficient funds, or by other equivalent documentary evidence of such receipt of payment.
(b) The discharge shall include the names and addresses of the plaintiff and the defendant, the date and amount of the judgment, the name of the underlying case, and the book and page of recording of the attachment.
(c) The discharge, when recorded, shall constitute a complete release of the lien created by the recording of the judgment.
(d) Any person who induces a court to execute a discharge in accordance with this paragraph, on the basis of information and statements known to the person to be false, shall be guilty of a class B misdemeanor.
3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2017.
16-2332
11/12/15
1175-FN - FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT relative to post-judgment real estate liens.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Judicial Branch and New Hampshire Association of Counties state this bill, as introduced, may increase state and county revenue and state expenditures by indeterminable amounts in FY 2017 and each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact to local revenue or county and local expenditures.
METHODOLOGY:
The Judicial Branch states this bill provides that a judgment may be secured against real estate by recording a certified copy of a judgment with the county registry of deeds in which the real estate is located. The Judicial Branch charges $10 for each certified copy of a judgment and the revenue derived therefrom is deposited into the general fund. This bill contains a violation and a class B misdemeanor. There is no method to determine how many charges would be brought as a result of this bill to determine the fiscal impact on expenditures. The table below provides the potential costs associated with each penalty included in this bill:
| FY 2017 | FY 2018 |
Judicial Branch* |
|
|
Violation | $48 | $51 |
Class B Misdemeanor | $50 | $53 |
Appeals | Varies | Varies |
*It should be noted average case cost estimates for FY 2017 and FY 2018 are based on data that is more than ten years old and does not reflect changes to the courts over that same period of time or the impact these changes may have on processing the various case types. | ||
The New Hampshire Association of Counties states that counties charge fees, at different rates, to record judgments. To the extent certified copies of judgments are recorded or re-recorded with a county registry of deeds, county revenue will increase by an indeterminable amount.
