CHAPTER 200
OF JUDGMENTS.
AN ACT to amend an Act entitled "An Act Limiting Judgment Liens upon Real Estate in Kent and Sussex Counties and for other purposes" approved at Dover, March 23, A. D.1903, and being Chapter 457, of Volume 22, Laws of Delaware.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Delaware in General Assembly met:
Section 1. That an Act entitled "An Act Limiting Judgment Liens upon real estate in Kent and Sussex Counties and for other purposes" approved at Dover, March 23, A. D. 1903, and being Chapter 457 of Volume 22, Laws of Delaware, be and the same is hereby amended by striking out all of said Act after the enacting clause thereof, and inserting in lieu thereof the following, viz.
"Section 1. No judgment for the recovery of money hereafter entered or recorded in the Superior Court of this State in either Kent County or Sussex County whether rendered by said Court or transferred thereto from the Supreme Court, or from the dockets of a justice of the peace, or operative in either of said counties by virtue of any writ of testatum fieri facias, or otherwise, howsoever recorded in said court, shall continue a lien upon real estate for a longer term than ten years next following the day of entry or recording of such judgment; or in case the whole or any part of the money for which said judgment shall be recovered or rendered shall not be due and payable at or before the time of its entry or recording the day on which such .money shall have become wholly due and payable unless within said term of ten years, the lien of such judgment shall be renewed and continued by a written agreement, signed by the plaintiff or if there be more than one, one or more of the plaintiffs therein,
or the assignee or assignees thereof, or the person or persons to whose use such judgment shall have been marked, or his, her or their executors or administrators, and by the defendant or defendants, therein, or his, her or their executors or administrators, and in order to bind lands conveyed by the defendant or defendants by deeds of record, subsequent to such judgment the terre tenant or terre tenants of the real estate bound by such lien, or, in case of a judgment upon a mechanic's lien, the terre tenant or terre tenants of such real estate, or by the attorneys of record of the respective parties to such judgment, or of the persons interested therein as aforesaid, in substantially the following form, after stating the title of the cause, to wit; "It is agreed that the lien of this judgment shall be extended for the term of ten years," filed in the office of the Prothonotary and by him minuted and certified upon the record of said judgment, or of the testatum fieri facias, as the case may be, or by scire facias, in manner hereinafter set forth; provided, however, that if a writ of scire facias shall be sued out of said court before the expiration of said term of ten years, and said term shall expire during the pendency of the proceedings upon the scire facias, the lien of said judgment shall continue until final determination by said court of the rights of the respective parties thereto; or until the discontinuance or dismissal of such scire facias; and provided further, that if final judgment in such scire facias shall be rendered against the plaintiff or plaintiffs therein, and a writ of error shall be taken and the Supreme Court shall render final judgment thereon in favor of the plaintiff or plaintiffs in error, the lien of such original judgment shall be restored and continued, but such restoration or continuance of said lien by such final judgment by the Supreme Court shall not in any manner effect or be operative as against as against any bona fide purchaser, mortgagee or judgment creditor who shall become such after the entry of such final judgment by the Superior Court upon such scire facias and before the noting upon the record of such final judgment in such scire facias of the taking of such writ of error.
Section 2. Immediately from and after the minuting and certifying upon the record of such original judgment, or of such testatum fieri facias, as the case may be, of such agreement for the extension of the lien thereof, or the entry of final judgment in the Superior Court in favor of the plaintiff or plaintiffs in such writ of scire facias, or the entry of final judgment in the Supreme Court restoring and continuing such lien, such lien shall continue for the further term of ten years next thereafter unless sooner lost by final judgment of the Supreme Court. And in like manner and with like effect such liens so renewed or restored and continued may, by a like agreement filed and minuted and certified upon the record of such original judgment, or of such testatum fieri facias, as the case may be, as aforesaid, before the expiration of the extended term or by final judgment in scire facias as aforesaid, be again renewed or restored and continued for the further term of ten years, and so from time to time as often as shall be found necessary.
Section 3. After the first day of January A. D. nineteen hundred and six, no real estate shall be seized or taken by virtue of execution process upon any judgment for the recovery of money entered or recorded in the Superior Court of this State in either Kent County or Sussex County prior to the first day of January A. D. eighteen hundred and nine-six, and wholly due and payable on or before the day and year last aforesaid, and from and after the said first day of January A.D. nineteen hundred and six, the lien of such judgment upon real estate shall be lost unless prior to that time such lien shall be renewed and continued by agreement filed or by scire facias sued out in manner as provided in the preceding sections of this act.
No real estate shall be seized or taken by virtue of execution process upon any other judgment, for the recovery of money heretofore entered or recorded in said court, after the expiration of the term of ten years next following the day of entry or recording of such judgment; or in case the whole or any part of the money for which such judgment was recovered or rendered was not due or payable at or before the time of its entry or recording, the day on which such money became or shall become wholly due and payable, and at the expiration of said term of ten years the lien of such judgment upon real estate shall be lost, unless within said term of ten years such judgment shall be renewed and continued by agreement filed or by scire facias sued out in manner as provided
in the preceding sections of this Act. All the provisions of the preceding sections not inconsistent with the provisions of this section shall be applicable for the renewal or restoration and continuance and preservation of the lien of the judgments hereinbefore mentioned in this section and as to the force and effect and the loss of such lien.
Section 4. In case the lien upon real estate of any judgment for the recovery of money heretofore or hereafter entered or recorded in the Superior Court of this State in either Kent County or Sussex County shall be lost or interrupted under the provisions of this Act and the said judgment shall thereafter be revived by scire facias, the same when so revived shall be a lien upon the real estate of the defendant or defendants in the original judgment, or in case of judgment upon a mechanic's lien upon the real estate originally bound by such mechanic's lien from the time of such revival, but such lien shall not relate back, nor shall it in any manner affect any prior bona fide purchaser or mortagee from or judgment creditor of such defendant or defendants or terre tenant or terre tenants.
Section 5. In all cases where no agreement for the renewal and extension of the lien of judgments as hereinbefore provided for shall have been minuted and certified the plaintiff or plaintiffs in such judgments or the assignee or assignees thereof or the person or persons to whose use such judgment has been or shall be marked, or his, her, or their executors or administrators, may cause a writ of scire facias to be issued against the defendant or defendants in such judgment and the terre tenant or terre tenants of the real estate bound by such lien or in case of a judgment on a mechanic's lien, the terre tenant or terre tenants directed to the Sheriff of the County in which such writ shall issue, commanding him to make known to the defendant or defendants therein that he, she or they appear before said Court and show cause, if any there be, why the lien of such judgment should not be renewed and continued and execution should not issue on such judgment. And in all respects the practice, pleadings and procedure upon such scire facias shall conform as nearly as may be to the practice, pleadings and procedure on other writs of scire facias sued out of said courts upon judgments under existing law.
If final judgment be rendered for the plaintiff or plaintiffs in such writ, it shall be that the lien of such original judgment shall stand renewed and continued for the term of ten years next following the day of the entry of such judgment in the said action of scire facias, and that the plaintiff or plaintiffs therein have execution thereon as in other cases during said term of ten years.
Section 6. The provisions of the foregoing sections of this act shall not operate to defeat the due enforcement of any writ of execution under any judgment for the recovery of money heretofore or hereafter entered or recorded in the Superior Court of this State, in either Kent County or Sussex County, by virtue of which real estate shall be seized or taken, if such writ of execution shall be issued before the first day of January, A. D. nineteen hundred and six, or before the expiration of the said term of ten years, as the case may be, nor shall they apply to any judgment heretofore, or hereafter entered by virtue of a warrant of attorney or otherwise, by confession in said court in either Kent County or Sussex County upon any bond or obligation of indemnity, or for the faithful discharge of duty, or with conditions other than for the payment of money or to any judgment upon a mortgage or recognizance, nor shall they in any manner apply to or affect the lien of any judgment on a bond accompanied by a mortgage, and to secure which bond such mortgage has been or shall be given, except as to real estate not included in such mortgage, nor shall they in any manner apply to or affect the lien of any judgment on a bond taken by order of any Court of this State, that has heretofore been entered or may hereafter be entered.
Section 7. No judgment hereafter entered by virtue of a warrant of attorney in the Superior Court of this State, in either Kent County or Sussex County, upon any bond or obligation with condition other than for the payment of money, shall be or operate as a lien upon real estate until said bond or obligation and warrant of attorney, or a copy thereof, certified under the hand of the Prothonotary and the seal of said court, shall be filed in the office of such Prothonotary. It shall be the duty of the Prothonotary, at all times thereafter, to safely keep such bond or obligation and warrant of attorney, or certified copy thereof in his office. The provisions of this section shall not apply to any official bond or obligation given by a public officer.
Section 8. That the words terre tenant or terre tenants appearing in this Act shall be construed to mean the grantee or grantees of real estate to whom the same has been conveyed, as appears by the last conveyance of the same of record.
Section 9. The fees of the Prothonotary for services under the provisions of this Act shall, in so far as they are not provided for by existing law, be regulated by the Superior Court of the State in the several counties.
Section 10. That all acts and parts of acts inconsistent with this Act be and the same are hereby repealed, expressly saving and excepting, however, from the effect and operation of this repeal all acts and things which have been clone for the extension or renewal of judgments, which were wholly due on or before the first day of January A. D. 1905, which renewals or continuances are hereby expressly declared to be good and effective in the preservation and continuance of such judgments as liens for the period of ten years from the date of the minuting and certifying of the agreement as hereinbefore provided for. And also expressly saving and excepting from the effect and operation of this repeal all proceedings by scire facias for the continuance and renewal of judgments which have been taken in compliance with the provisions of the act to which this is an amendment, which said proceedings shall be held good and effective.
Approved, March 16, A. D. 1905.