Opinion ID: 2054217
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Creating Valid Judgment Liens on Personal Property and on Real Property

Text: The threshold issue under Herman is a legal one: what steps must a judgment creditor take in order to obtain a valid lien on a debtor's property that is entitled to priority over a subsequently appointed receiver? We note initially that the procedure for acquiring a lien on personal property in the hands of a garnishee is different from the procedure for acquiring a lien on real property. In order to reach personal property of a debtor held by a third party, a judgment creditor mustfollowing entry of judgmentrequest the court to issue a writ of attachment. See D.C.Code § 16-542 (1989). The judgment creditor must then serv[e] the garnishee with a copy of the writ of attachment and of the interrogatories accompanying the writ. D.C.Code § 16-546 (1989). Service of the writ on the garnishee creates a valid lien in favor of the judgment creditor on the debtor's property held by the garnishee. Obtaining the property held by the garnishee, however, is an entirely separate matter, which typically involves the following additional procedures. Upon receipt of the writ of attachment, the garnishee is required to file answers to the interrogatories that accompany the writ. Within twenty-eight days following receipt of the garnishee's answers, the judgment creditor must request condemnation of the funds held by the garnishee. JOSEPH SPERLING, POSTJUDGMENT EXECUTION IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 3 (3d ed. 1990) (hereafter SPERLING ON POSTJUDGMENT EXECUTION). If the garnishee fails to answer the interrogatories accompanying the writ, or if the garnishee answers the writ but fails to send money to the judgment creditor, the judgment creditor should file a motion for judgment of recovery against the garnishee, see supra note 8. See D.C.Code § 16-556 (1989); Super.Ct.Civ.R. 69-I(e). Thus, although steps in addition to serving a writ of attachment may be required to obtain the property of the debtor held by the garnishee, the judgment creditor has a valid lien as of the date the writ is served on the garnishee. In contrast, in order to reach a debtor's real property, a judgment creditor mustfollowing entry of a judgment in the debtor's favorfile[] and record[] [the judgment] in the office of the Recorder of Deeds of the District of Columbia. D.C.Code § 15-102(a) (1989). [29] The act of filing the judgment with the Recorder of Deeds shall constitute a lien on all the freehold and leasehold estates, legal and equitable, of the defendants bound by such judgment. Id. To execute against the debtor's realty, the lienholder must show proof to the clerk of the court that the judgment was recorded, and the clerk will then issue a writ of fieri facias and send the writ to the marshal. SPERLING ON POSTJUDGMENT EXECUTION at 13. The writ of fieri facias can be used to lev[y] on all legal leasehold and freehold estates of the debtor in land. D.C.Code § 15-311 (1989). [30] Thus, the judgment creditor's lien on the debtor's real property is valid as of the date the judgment is recorded in the office of the District of Columbia Recorder of Deeds, even though further court procedures may be required to obtain or sell the debtor's realty to satisfy the lien (just as a motion for judgment of recovery may be necessary to recover funds from a garnishee).