A NEW WAY TO RENEW A JUDGMENT
October 6, 2010 § Leave a comment
MCA § 15-1-43, has long provided that a judgment is enforceable for seven years from the date of rendition. The only method to extend the judgment lien beyond seven years was to file another suit to renew the judgment within the seven-year period in the couty where the original judgment was entered or where venue would otherwise be proper. Lloyd v. Bank of the South, 796 So.2d 985 (Miss. 2001).
The legislature amended MCA § 15-1-43, effective July 1, 2010, to create a more streamlined procedure that eliminates the need for a renewal lawsuit. H.B. 277. It is one of several new laws that affect your Chancery practice, most of which went into effect July 1, 2010, and are listed here.
To renew a judgment under the new procedure, one files a notice with the clerk of the court that rendered the judgment. The notice should be in substantially the following form:
NOTICE OF RENEWAL OF JUDGMENT OR DECREE
(a) Notice is given of renewal of judgment that was rendered and filed in this action as follows:
(i) [Date that the original judgment was filed];
(ii) [Case number of such judgment];
(iii) [Judgment was taken against];
(iv) [Judgment was taken in favor of];
(v) [Current holder of such judgment];
(vi) [Current amount owing of such judgment].
(b) If applicable, that a Notice of Renewal of Judgment or Decree has been previously filed with the clerk of the court on [date].
The clerk enrolls the renewal in the same manner as an original judgment, and the renewal is effective as of the date of filing with the clerk. The right to file suit to extend a judgment continues unimpaired.
At the time of filing notice, the judgment creditor or attorney must file an affidavit setting out the name and last known post office address of the judgment debtor and judgment creditor. The clerk shall “promptly” mail a copy of the notice to the judgment debtor at the address provided, and shall make a notation of mailing on the docket. The notice shall include the name and address of the judgment creditor and attorney, if any. The judgment creditor may mail a copy and proof of mailing with the clerk. Lack of mailing by the clerk does not affect the validity of the renewal if the judgment creditor files its own proof of mailing.
The renewed judgment is enforceable for seven years from the date of filing, and may be renewed in successive terms in like manner.
JUDGE LACKEY RETIRES
October 5, 2010 § Leave a comment
This from Tom Freeland’s NMissCommentor Blog …
Judge Lackey Retirement Dinner, & request for donations
A retirement party for Hon. Henry Lackey, Circuit Judge of the Third Circuit Court District is being held by the Third Circuit Bar in Oxford on November 4th at the Oxford Conference Center. I’m one of the lawyers collecting contributions toward this dinner, which will also include a retirement gift to Judge Lackey.
Please send any contributions you are willing to make with the check made out to:
Judge Lackey Retirement Party Fund
Send them to me at:
Box 269
Oxford, MS 38655If you send a check, it would be useful to my effort to keep track of donations if you sent me an email telling me you did and how much it was. Send the email to tom (at) freelandlawfirm.com
Invitations to this event will be sent out later this month to members of the Third Circuit Bar and to judges all over the state; if you wish to attend the event and aren’t in the counties of the Third Circuit, send me an email to the address just mentioned and I will see that the information gets to the appropriate person.
Thanks!
[Tom Freeland]
I don’t know how many Twelfth District lawyers have had the privilege to know or practice before Judge Lackey. If you do know him or tried cases in his court, you may want to try to make the event or send a contribution.
I met Judge Lackey back in the 1980’s at a CLE program in New Orleans during Mardi Gras. I had recently finished trying a case before Chancellor Woodrow Brand, sitting as Special Chancellor in Meridian in a trial involving lots of money and a world-renowned manufacturer. At the conclusion of the trial Judge Brand complimented the attorneys on a job well done and took the case under advisement. When he heard that, Judge Lackey raised his bushy eyebrows and remarked with humor and some irony that that sort of compliment was something that lawyers in Judge Brand’s district were simply not accustomed to. We laughed together and swapped tales about practice in our different parts of the state. He knew some Meridian lawyers and judges and asked about them. He was kind, soft-spoken, attentive and humorous, and I enjoyed the little time I spent with him — so much so that I remembered it down through the years.
I ran into Judge Lackey last year at a Judges’ meeting in Tunica, and he remembered the New Orleans seminar and was kind enough to say that he did remember sitting next to me and visiting. He reminded me that there had been an ice storm that Sunday that closed the bridges out of the city so that he and his wife were stranded there an extra day. I had forgotten that. My wife and I had made it out of the city an hour before the bridges were closed.
If Judge Lackey’s long service as a lawyer and as a Circuit Judge were all he accomplished in his career, he would be remembered as a successful public servant. His role in the Scruggs scandal, however, in which he hewed strictly to judicial and legal ethics, and would not deviate an inch from the proper path, elevates him to a higher level of esteem. Not because he did what professional standards required of him, but because of his courage in facing down the beast and bringing it to destruction.
Judge Lackey is a beacon of right shining through the ashy pall that Scruggs and his minions cast over the legal profession and the judiciary. For that let us ever remember him and esteem his memory.
God bless you in your retirement, Judge Lackey.
MAKING YOUR JUDGMENT STICK
October 5, 2010 § Leave a comment
So you got your client a judgment for $10,000 lump sum alimony in her divorce. Pretty good for a 5-year marriage. You’ve gotten quite a few pats on the back for your good work, and your client was so pleased with your performance that she wrote a check for the balance of her fee the day you handed her a copy of the judgment. You are so glad to be done with the case that you go and cash the check and take the weekend off in the French Quarter.
Only problem is that your client calls you on your cell at Pat O’Brien’s complaining that her ex has sold the farm and claims he has spent all of the proceeds. She says that the farm was his only asset, and wants to know how she is going to collect her $10,000. You call the closing attorney, who advises you that there were no liens of record, and that the sale was perfectly legitimate.
Where did you go wrong?
A judgment is not a lien against the real property unless it is recorded in the Circuit Clerk’s office. Had you gotten an abstract of judgment from the Chancery Clerk, taken it to the Circuit Clerk’s office, and asked that it be recorded, the sale of the farm could not have been closed without the judgment being paid in full. The unrecorded judgment is not binding notice to the closing lawyer or the purchaser, so they have no liability to your client.
THE BALDUCCI FILES
October 4, 2010 § 1 Comment
If you’re familiar with the story of Dickie Scruggs’ downfall, you know that the final, climactic act in his Greek tragedy began in the Calhoun City offices of Circuit Judge Henry Lackey, who met with Scruggs operative Tim Balducci and recorded Balducci’s offer to bribe him.
Patsy Brumfield of the Tupelo Daily Journal, has obtained copies of the FBI recordings and has posted them online here. There are four video and three audio recordings. Six are in Lackey’s office, and one is in Scruggs’ office after Balducci has been arrested and has agreed to cooperate with he FBI.
What is most remarkable about them is the prosaic, almost ho-hum nature of the conversations. The tone is business as usual, which is chilling, considering how far-flung were Scruggs’ conflicts with other lawyers similar to the one that led to the Lackey bribe attempt.
Another compelling feature of the recordings is how they show the banal nature of evil. It seldom manifests itself with the dramatic flair we see on tv and in the cinema. It is a handshake, a wink and a nod, an exchange of consideration.
Thanks to Tom Freeland at NMissCommentor for posting about this.
Tom also has a great post today about whether Curtis Wilkie’s upcoming book, FALL OF THE HOUSE OF ZEUS answers some questions about the handling of the Scruggs trial.
FULL FAITH AND CREDIT AND SAME-GENDER COUPLE ADOPTIONS
October 1, 2010 § 1 Comment
In order to adopt a child under Mississippi law, the adoptive parent(s) must be either an unmarried individual or a married couple with both partners joining. MCA § 93-17-3 specifically states that “Adoption by couples of the same gender is prohibited.”
What about the situation where a same-gender couple adopt a Mississippi child in a state where it is legal for them to do so, and they ask Mississippi to alter the birth certificate? Is Mississippi required to recognize the legality of that adoption and enforce their rights here?
In the case of Adar v. Smith, 597 F.2d 697 (5th Cir. 2010), a New York same-gender couple in a New York proceeding adopted a Louisiana child. They applied to Louisiana to change the child’s birth certificate to reflect the adoption. Louisiana objected and took the position that the New York judgment was not entitled to full faith and credit because it was repugnant to Louisiana public policy embodied in its laws that prohibited adoption by unmarried couples.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that the full faith and credit clause of the U.S. Constitution requires states to recognize the valid judgments of other states, even where the judgment of the other state violates public policy in the state where it is sought to be enforced; there is no public policy exception.
Some may ask how this impacts Mississippi law that our state will not recognize same-gender marriages performed in other states. The distinction for now, until the courts address the question, is that marriage is a bureaucratic, administrative act, as opposed to a judgment entitled to full faith and credit.
THE PRE-ADOPTION CONFERENCE
September 30, 2010 § 1 Comment
In the 12th District, we have long had a practice of requiring the attorney to appear personally to confer with the judge in a pre-adoption conference without the adoptive parent(s) in uncontested adoptions.
Some out-of-district lawyers question why we deem this necessary.
Imagine getting your client and spouse to take a day off of work, perhaps take the other children out of school, to travel to the courthouse for the long-anticipated day. Spirits are high and festive. A new member of the family is about to be welcomed in. Or maybe not.
The judge calls you into chambers and points out that you have failed to obtain a statement from a physician, as required by the statute. Or your pleading is inadequate under the new jurisdiction statute.
So your clients’ happy day turns to ashes and you are embarassed.
With a pre-adoption conference, you get the chance to learn what you need to do to get your case in shape so that your clients’ happy occasion can truly be happy. When you file for an adoption that you know will be uncontested, call the court administrator and set up an appointment for a pre-adoption conference as soon as possible. When the judge gives you the green light, you can set it for final presentation to the court.
If you’re filing for adoption in another district, it would not hurt to ask the Chancellor for an appointment to look over your filing in advance of presenting it with your clients present.
HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW ABOUT OTHER RELIGIONS?
September 29, 2010 § Leave a comment
An item on the national news yesterday piqued my interest.
The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life has sponsored a quiz testing people’s awareness of and knowledge about other religions. You can take the quiz yourself here. It’s only 15 questions and has no political content. The questions are exclusively about the beliefs and practices of various religions. After you take the quiz, you can compare your results with others by religion, education, socio-economic group, etc.
What fascinates me about the results is how uninformed so many people are. The median score is only around 50%. In other words, most Americans are unaware of the majority religion in India, or what exactly is it that Catholics believe about the Eucharist that might be different from their own religion, or even whose writing sparked the Protestant Reformation.
Religion plays such an important role in American culture, and is even a crucial factor for many in making poiltical decisions and voting. You would think that people would make it their business to be better informed about other religions so they could make better decisions.
Understanding world religions is also critical to understanding the rest of the world. We make a serious error in thinking that people in Pakistan or Egypt or France or Argentina think and believe like we do when we have no idea what their belief systems are. No wonder there is so much misunderstanding and suspicion among the nations.
As a lawyer, you need to comprehend the forces that shape your clients’ lives and influence their thinking, and religion is one of the most powerful of those forces. The more you know about what is behind what your client is thinking and being guided by, the better you will be able to communicate and advise. And that’s what you’re there for, after all.
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