Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

8 year lein that was paid but bank only goes back 7 years

my father sold his video rental business in 1990. he carried the new owner, in which she was to lease the building for 3 years. well she never paid him or her rent. therefore it became his liability. in oct 1993 the property management put a lein on his property. he then phoned the owner and they agreed on a lesser amount of $33,000. he sent the check to him. I remember this and so does my brother. he recently went to sell his property & found the lein was never released. the banks only keep info for 7 years. we couldn't find any of his previous statements. is there anything we can do at this point other than have him file bankrupcy? my father is not well & living with me now. I sincerely feel that he did send the check (because for 2 months)he's been going through his paperwork. I also feel that a certain

person got a hold of that ck and kept it. please e-mail me with any solution's. thank-you


Asked on 2/12/02, 3:25 am

2 Answers from Attorneys

Victor Hobbs Victor E. Hobbs

Re: 8 year lein that was paid but bank only goes back 7 years

To have a lien placed on the property there had to have been a law suit and a judgment. That judgment should be in the court (probably superior court) of the county in which the property was located. Go to the records department of the clerk's office to see the file. It'll be on microfiche by now. There is a plaintiffs' and defendants' name index(s). Go there and look up you Dad's name under the defendants' index. Fill out the forms to have the clerk pull the court file. Get certified true copies of the judgment. If the judgment is over ten years old, and was never renewed then it has expired. What I don't know is how long liens are good for if the judgment has expired. However, there is a legal proceeding that can be brought to extinguish a lien. When the judgment creditor doesn't take the appropriate action when the judgment is paid. This is where you should start. Then once you have all that information get back to me or re-ask your question.

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Answered on 2/12/02, 10:29 am
Larry Rothman Larry Rothman & Associates

Re: 8 year lein that was paid but bank only goes back 7 years

Mr. Hobbs has given you good advise. If money was paid, a partial satisfaction of judgment may have been filed. Everything depends on what the court hss. A judgment may be renewed for 10 years if the renewl is filed before the initial 10 years is up.

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Answered on 2/12/02, 6:04 pm


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