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Analysis: A recent Tennessee Court of Appeals case
discussed the length of time that a judgment lasts in Tennessee. The recent Tennessee Court of Appeals
decision of Hilda
Porter v. Larry Melton, 2013 WL 440575 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2013) also discussed
how a judgment can be extended beyond the 10 years. T.C.A.
§ 28-3-110(2) provides that an action on a judgment must be commenced
within ten (10) years following accrual of the cause of action (this is
basically a statute of limitations for enforcing judgments). The full text of the statute is as follows:
The following actions shall be commenced within ten (10) years after the
cause of action accrued:
(1) Actions against guardians, executors, administrators, sheriffs,
clerks, and other public officers on their bonds;
(2) Actions on judgments and decrees of courts of record of this or any
other state or government; and
(3) All other cases not expressly provided for.
Additionally, there is a Tennessee Rule of
Civil Procedure that allows for an extension of the ten (10) year time period
for an action on a judgment.
Specifically, Tennessee Rule
of Civil Procedure 69.04 provides as follows:
Within ten years from entry of a judgment, the judgment creditor whose
judgment remains unsatisfied may move the court for an order requiring the
judgment debtor to show cause why the judgment should not be extended for an
additional ten years. A copy of the order shall be mailed by the judgment
creditor to the last known address of the judgment debtor. If sufficient cause
is not shown within thirty days of mailing, another order shall be entered
extending the judgment for an additional ten years. The same procedure can be
repeated within any additional ten-year period until the judgment is satisfied.
As a result, if you
have a judgment against a party that is not satisfied within a ten (10) year
time period, Tennessee
Rule of Civil Procedure 69.04 provides an easy way to extend the judgment
by moving the court for an order. The
judgment can be extended an unlimited amount of times assuming the motion is
made to extend the judgment is made within each 10 year period (and assuming
the debtor does not establish sufficient cause to establish why the judgment
should not be extended).
In the Porter
case, the motion to renew the judgment was filed exactly ten years, to the day,
of the date of the original judgment. Tennessee Rule
of Civil Procedure 69.04 specifically provides that the party attempting to
renew the judgment is only required to move the court for an order requiring
judgment, not actually have the amendment accomplished within the ten (10) year
period. Porter at
4, 5.
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blog.
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