For your clients? Assuming they actually collect on them, a blessing.
For lawyers? In terms of giving rise to potential claims – a curse. Because of two issues we commonly see:
1. failing to search for them; and
2. failing to renew them.
Happily, the curse can be lifted with simple, careful practices.
First, search the Judgment Roll for judgments
Yes, you know this. And, yes, you’ve heard this from us before. But there remains a misperception among practitioners that judgments are automatically recorded in a Parcel Register if the named judgment debtor owns an LR Parcel. They are not.
LRA s.65(2) provides that “A judgment creditor may record a judgment for recovery of money in the judgment roll for a registration district.”
LRA s.65(4) provides that “A judgment recorded in a judgment roll binds and is a charge upon any registered interests of the judgment debtor within the registration district, whether acquired before or after the judgment is recorded, from the date the judgment is recorded until the judgment is removed from the roll.”
However, the LRA does not permit a creditor to record a judgment in a specific Parcel Register. Judgments are only brought into a Parcel Register on a subsequent revision that triggers that requirement.
If you are dealing with property or a client and you need to determine whether there are any judgments on record that might be relevant to your matter, in addition to checking the Parcel Register, you must search the Judgment Roll.
See also Real Estate Standard 3.5 – Judgments [.http://www.lians.ca/standards/real-estate-standards/part-iii-essential-elements-respecting-title/35-judgments]
Second, don’t take on the responsibility of renewing the recording of judgments.
LRA s. 66(4)(e) states that the recording of a judgment expires five years from the date of the judgment or the date of the recording of the latest renewal of the judgment. Section 66(5) states that the recording of a judgment can be renewed up to three times by recording a certificate of renewal.
The problem – the curse – arises on renewal. If the renewal date has not been properly diarized and a renewal is not recorded within the renewal period, the recording expires and the judgment is removed from the Judgment Roll.
You should consider telling your judgment creditor clients of the renewal date for a recorded judgment and recommend to the client that they initiate contact with a lawyer (including yourself if they so desire) – perhaps 30-60 days in advance of the renewal date – to renew the recording prior to its expiry. Put the onus on your client to keep track of their judgment(s) and the applicable renewal dates. Afterall, though the person or entity is a client now, they may not be in the future. Or their contact information might change. In either case, if you cannot contact them for instructions five years into the future, how can you do something in the future on their behalf? How are you to know if the judgment was satisfied? The person who would know this – your client – should be the person who has the onus to renew.
Third, if you do take on the responsibility of renewing the recording of judgments, have a strong judgment diary system in place.
If you are going to assume the responsibility of renewing judgments, ensure you have a solid, reliable system for tracking judgment renewal dates and bringing the file forward for action well in advance of the expiry date. This includes having properly trained staff to look after the system, and ensuring there is a transition process in place if and when other staff member assumes responsibility for this.