The life of a money judgment in Florida is limited - for only some purposes.

• Author: Maloy, Richard H.W.

Virtually every lawyer in Florida will tell you that the life of a money judgment (1) in this state is 20 years. (2) Extensive research reveals no judicial or scholarly opinion to the contrary; but that statement is only partially accurate. Presently there is a Florida statute that limits judgment liens to 20 years, (3) and there is a Florida statute that limits "actions" on certain judgments to 20 years and other judgments to five years. (4) There is, however, no statute or court rule that places a time limit on the execution of judgments. There are district court decisions stating that executions are limited to 20 years, but they are incorrectly decided; (5) and there is no Florida Supreme Court decision on point.

This article is an attempt to prove the proposition that under present law there is no time limit on which a judgment in Florida may be executed.

Three Options of the Holder of a Money Judgment

The holder of a money judgment (6) has three options as to how to use the judgment. The first option allows the judgment-creditor to obtain a lien against the judgment-debtor's real and personal property. We may call this the "lien option." The second option allows the judgment-creditor to create a new judgment just prior to the original judgment becoming dormant. (7) We may call this the "creation option." (8) Lastly, the third option allows the judgment-creditor to execute on the assets of the judgment-debtor in order to have the judgment satisfied. We may call this last option the "execution option."

By statute, exercise of the lien option and the creation option are specifically limited. (9) There is, however, no statutory nor rule provision specifying within what period of time the execution option must be exercised.

* The Lien Option

After a judgment is entered in favor of the judgment-creditor against the judgment-debtor, the judgment-creditor may obtain a lien against the judgment-debtor's real property by recording a certified copy of the judgment in the county in which the judgment debtor owns real property; (10) and against the judgment-debtor's personal property by filing a judgment lien certificate (11) in the office of the Department of State. (12)

Purpose of the Judgment Lien. There are two purposes of obtaining a judgment lien, one practical and one statutory. The practical purpose is to encumber the assets of the judgment debtor so that the debtor will not be able to alienate those assets. The statutory purpose is to give the judgment creditor "the right to proceed against the property of the debtor through writ of execution, garnishment or other judicial process." (13) It should be noted that even though the statute ([section] 55.205(1)), gives the holder of a judgment lien the right to proceed "through writ of execution, garnishment, or other judicial process," it does not state that the judgment creditor may not so proceed without the judgment lien. (14) The statute, moreover, gives the judgment-creditor without a lien the right to "proceed against the judgment-debtor's property through other judicial process," and provides that "[s]uch judgment creditor proceeding by writ of execution acquires a lien as of the time of levy and only on the property levied upon." (15) Thus the statute expressly provides for executions without a previously acquired lien and creates a limited lien for such circumstance.

Extension of the Judgment Lien. The recording of a certified copy of a judgment creates a lien upon real property in the county of recordation for "an initial period of 10 years from the date of recording." (16) The initial period of 10 years may be extended for an additional period of 10 years, by rerecording a certified copy of the judgment prior to the running of the 10-year period together with an affidavit containing the current address of the lienholder. (17) In Florida "no judgment, order, or decree of any court shall be a lien upon real or personal property within the state after the expiration of 20 years from the date of the entry of such judgment." (18) In order to retain a lien for the maximum period of 20 years, the certified copy of the judgment must be recorded simultaneously with the entry of the judgment. (19)

* The Creation Option

F.S. [section] 95.11 governs the times within which "an action on a judgment" may be commenced. (20) An action on a judgment is a proceeding by which the judgment-creditor, before the judgment becomes dormant, (21) creates a new judgment (22) for the purpose of taking it to a new jurisdiction, making it a judgment of that jurisdiction, and satisfying, at least partially, the new judgment there in the new jurisdiction. (23) An action on a judgment differs from an execution of the judgment, in that the former creates a new judgment, whereas the latter (the execution) is a proceeding that seeks to enforce a presently existing judgment. The time within which an "action on a judgment" may be exercised is "within 20 years" where the judgment or decree is of a "court of record of this state" (24) and "within five years" where the judgment or decree is of a "court not of record, of this state or of any court of the United States, any other state or territory in the United States, or a foreign country." (25)

Dormancy. At common law, because the law presumed that a judgment would be satisfied within a year and a day of its entry, it became dormant on the 366th day. (26) The Florida Legislature, by limiting "actions on judgments" to five and 20 years, (27) has in effect said that after the running of those time periods the judgments are "dormant" and cannot be used to create new judgments.

* The Execution Option

The purpose of the execution option is to collect the money that the judgment commands the judgment-debtor to pay to the judgment-creditor. In order to exercise that option, the following procedures are required: 1) a judgment is entered requiring the judgment-debtor to pay a sum of money to the judgment-creditor; 2) the judgment is recorded; (28) 3) a writ of execution is delivered to the sheriff or marshal (29) by the judgment-creditor; (30) 4) the sheriff or marshal levies upon assets of the debtor; 5) the sheriff or marshal then sells as much personal property and, if need be, the judgment-debtor's real...