Federal judgments in Florida - still good after five years.

• Author: Tanner, Michael G.

The liens of a judgment of a federal court sitting in Florida is enforceable for up to 20 years from the date of entry.

Recently I ate lunch with a friend, a fine trial lawyer who spends much of his time in federal court. We chose a small lunch spot near our federal courthouse in Jacksonville, which turned out to be a very apt venue for our conversation.

My colleague ordered the vegetable platter and I ordered the special. Midway through his okra and tomatoes, he made the statement which was to be the genesis of this article.

"You know, federal judgments aren't good after five years anymore," he said. That stopped me cold, right in the middle of buttering my cornbread. "What do you mean?" I said.

"I mean federal judgments in Florida are only good for five years," he said.

He then proceeded to tell me about the 11th Circuit's recent decision in Balfour Beatty Bahamas, Ltd. v. Bush, 170 F. 3d 1048 (11th Cir. 1999), and how that decision supposedly supported his surprising statement. For those who haven't read Balfour, the key points are briefly these: In 1991, the plaintiff, Balfour, obtained a judgment in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida against the defendant, Bush. In 1997 Balfour served Bush and his wife with post-judgment interrogatories and subpoenas duces tecum for depositions in aid of execution. Bush sought a protective order, arguing that the five-year limitation of F.S. [sections] 95.11(2)(a) applied to Balfour's judgment and barred its collection efforts.[1] That statute provides:

95.11 Limitations other than for the recovery of real property.

Actions other than for recovery of real property shall be commenced as follows: ...

(2) WITHIN FIVE YEARS. --

(a) An action on a judgment or decree of any court, not of record, of this state or any court of the United States, any other state or territory in the United States, or a foreign country.[2] (emphasis added)

Bush argued that Balfour's 1991 judgment was entered by a "court of the United States" and was therefore unenforceable in 1997.[3] The district court denied Bush's motion, agreeing with Balfour that a federal court sitting in Florida is a "court of record in this state" and that the 20-year limitation period of F.S. [sections] 95.11(1) applied to any efforts to enforce Balfour's federal judgment.[4]

In March 1999, the 11th Circuit reversed the district court, holding that the term "any court of the United States" of F.S. [sections] 95.11(2)(a) applied to the court which rendered Balfour's judgment and that Balfour's collection efforts were therefore barred.[5]

I told my lunch companion that I knew about Balfour, but that I still didn't understand his statement. I explained that the decision did not address the duration of the lien of a judgment of a federal court sitting in Florida, and such liens (and the right to enforce them) continue for up to 20 years, notwithstanding Balfour.

It was a long lunch and I could tell my colleague was still skeptical.

Florida's Lien Law

Consider first Rule 69(a), Fed. R. Civ. P., which governed Balfour's post-judgment discovery. That rule directs that the procedure which a federal court is to follow "on execution ... and in aid of a judgment, and in proceedings on and in aid of execution" shall be "in accordance with the practice and procedure of the state in which the district court is held."[6]

Generally, the methods available in Florida to enforce a judgment include lien, independent action, execution, creditor's suit, contempt, and mandamus.[7] As to liens, federal law directs that judgments rendered by federal courts sitting in Florida shall be a lien on "property" (real and personal) located in the state to the same extent as judgments of Florida courts.[8] In the language of the federal statute, 28 U.S.C. [sections] 1962: "Every judgment rendered by a district court within a State shall be a lien on the property located in such State in the same manner, to the same extent and under the same conditions as a judgment of a court of general jurisdiction in such State, and shall cease to be a lien in the same manner and time."

A judgment of a Florida circuit court (a court of general jurisdiction) becomes a lien on real property in a particular county when a certified copy of the judgment is recorded in the public records of the county and any judgment so recorded "shall be a lien for a period of seven years from the date of the recording" under F.S. [sections] 55.10(1). F.S. [subsections] 55.10(2) and (3) provide that the lien may be extended for two additional seven-year periods by re-recording, but that no lien shall extend beyond the period provided for in F.S. [sections] 55.081[9]--"20 years from the date of the entry of such judgment, order or decree."[10]

Federal law further directs that when state law requires a state court judgment to be recorded in order for a lien to attach, the recording requirement likewise applies to federal judgments, but only if the state law authorizes the similar recording of federal judgments.[11] Florida law so provides; F.S. [sections] 28.222(3)(C) provides that the clerks of the circuit courts are authorized to record "[j]udgments, including certified copies of judgments, entered by any court of this state or by a United States court having jurisdiction in this state...."[12]

As to personal property, the holder of a Florida judgment is entitled to an execution "during the life of the judgment"[13] and "[w]hen issued, an execution is valid and effective during the life of the judgment or decree on which it is issued."[14] An execution becomes a lien on personal property from the time it is delivered to the sheriff[15] and such liens on personal property are likewise limited to 20 years from the date of the entry of the judgment.(16)

Because federal law directs that these provisions shall apply with equal force to judgments of the Florida circuit courts and federal courts sitting in Florida, and directs that the liens imposed by judgments of those federal courts shall be coextensive with the liens of judgments of Florida circuit courts, any state law to the contrary, such as a state statute of limitation, is preempted.[17]

The judgment of a federal court sitting in Florida, once recorded (now under F.S. [sections] 55.10), thus imposes a lien on real property for up to 20 years following its date of entry, notwithstanding a shorter statute of limitation for an "action" on a judgment of a "court of the United States," such as F.S. [sections] 95.11(2)(a). This was made clear by the Florida Supreme Court 56 years ago in its decision in B.A. Lott, Inc. v. Padgett, 14 So. 2d 667 (Fla. 1943).

In Lott, the...