COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 4
(By Senators Hunter and Minard)
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[Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary;
reported January 17, 2003.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section one, article six, chapter fifty
of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred
thirty-one, as amended, relating to civil judgments in
magistrate court; and requiring notice of judgment by mail.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section one, article six, chapter fifty of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 6. ENFORCEMENT OF CIVIL JUDGMENTS.
§50-6-1. Enforcement of judgments.
(a) The provisions of articles three, four, five, five-a,
five-b and six, chapter thirty-eight of this code, except as the
same are in conflict with the provisions of this chapter or are
clearly applicable only to courts of record, shall apply to the
enforcement of judgments rendered in magistrate court and process therefor shall issue from magistrate court. Process issued in
violation of such these provisions shall be void. The form of such
the process shall be in accord with the rules of the supreme court
of appeals. No such process shall issue until after twenty days
after the judgment is rendered or, if a motion to set aside such
the judgment is then pending, until after twenty days after the
determination of such the motion.
(b) A magistrate court clerk, deputy clerk or magistrate
assistant before whom a suggestion of salary and wages is
instituted pursuant to the provisions of articles five-a and
five-b, chapter thirty-eight of this code shall forward all post
judgment process directly to the sheriff of any county in the same
manner and with the same authority as has been given to circuit
clerks, pursuant to section five, article three, chapter fifty-six
of said code.
(c) Upon entry of a default judgment against any defendant,
the magistrate court clerk shall forward a certified transcript of
judgment to the last known address of the defendant. The
transcript shall be sent by regular mail with a certificate of
mailing, in an envelope marked "Please Forward". The costs of the
certified mailing shall be taxed as costs of the proceeding.
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(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require notice of
judgments acquired in magistrate court to be made by mail.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.)