H. B. 2046
(By Delegates Manchin and Caputo)
[Introduced January 13, 2010; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated §38-3-20, relating to
execution of judgments.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new section, designated §38-3-20, to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 3. JUDGMENT LIENS.
§38-3-20. Access to information for execution of judgment.
(a) The holder of any judgment obtained through valid judicial
process of any court in this state shall first take the following
reasonable actions to collect upon their judgment:
(1) Access all available Internet resources to ascertain the
residential address, employer, and any other information available
that will lead to location of the judgment debtor;
(2) Provide such information to the sheriff of the county
where the judgment debtor was last known to reside or be employed
along with a copy of the judgment and allow the sheriff time to
attempt to execute the judgment; and
(3) Attempt to collect the judgment by making demand through
United States certified mail return receipt prepaid to the last
known address of the judgment debtor.
(b) If these methods fail to bring about execution of the
judgment, then the judgment creditor holding a valid judgment from
any West Virginia court shall provide a valid affidavit stating
that the judgment creditor has exhausted each of the methods in
subsection (a) of this section, along with payment of a fee set by
the agency from whom the information is requested of not less than
$25.00 or more than $50.00. Upon providing the affidavit and
payment of the fee, the judgment creditor shall have access to the
information that is not protected by any privacy laws, about the
judgment debtor in order to execute their judgment, which may
include:
(1) State tax and revenue data;
(2) Employment information;
(3) Real estate transactions;
(4) Motor vehicle registrations;
(5) Drivers license information;
(c) A person whose privacy protected by any court order from domestic abuse or violence, or taken into any witness protection
program or other court initiated program for their own safety,
irregardless of the judgment against them, may not have their
identity or location revealed in violation of any privacy
protection order or other document issued by the court.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to enable creditors to
collect upon their judgments from debtors who often attempt to
defeat such judgments by disappearing. It also protects a certain
class of persons whose identity and location must not be revealed
due to court orders.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
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