Eviction

questions & answers

Question: Are there penalties assessed for landlords who do not file a Satisfaction of Judgment when the Judgment has, in fact, been satisfied?

Answer: As a general rule, judgment creditors here in Arizona are required to record a satisfaction of judgment once the judgment itself has been recorded (A.R.S. 33-961), and failing to do so may result in sanctions. Under the Arizona Rules of Procedure for Eviction Actions (17B A.R.S. Rules Proc. Evic. Act.), for example, “Once a judgment has been satisfied by the payment of the monetary award, or the parties have entered into a new rental agreement or created a novation of the prior rental agreement, the party in whose favor the judgment was entered shall file a Satisfaction of Judgment with the court that entered it and serve a copy on the judgment debtor. The duty to file the satisfaction of judgment is on the prevailing party and not on the attorney who represented the party. In the event that a prevailing party fails to satisfy a judgment rendered and cannot be located with a showing of reasonable diligence, the judgment debtor may file a motion to compel satisfaction of judgment and the court may, after an opportunity for a hearing, order that the judgment shall be deemed satisfied” (Rule 4(d)) and “The court may impose sanctions against a party or attorney found to have violated these duties after notice and opportunity to be heard (Rule 4(c)).