| Judgments and
Enforcement:
Executions upon a
judgment may be issued at any time within ten (10) years
after the rendition of such judgment (Section 513.020)
and may be revived upon the filing of an action with the
Court at any time within (10) years. (Section 511.370.)
A judgment rendered
by any Circuit Court may become a lien on the real
property of the judgment debtor upon the recording of an
abstract of judgment in the county in which the real
property is situated. (Section 511.350(1), Section
511.500.) A judgment rendered by the Associate
Circuit Court may become a lien on a judgment debtor's
real property only if a transcript of the judgment is
filed with the Clerk of the Circuit Court.
(Section 511.350(2).) A judgment rendered in the
Small Claims Court does not become a lien against the
real estate of the judgment debtor. (Section
511.350(3).)
All non-exempt
goods and chattels, rights and shares in stocks,
gold and silver coin, bills or other evidence of debt
and real property of the judgment debtor are generally
liable to be seized and sold upon attachment and
execution. (Section 513.090.) The wages of a
judgment debtor may be garnished, however, the maximum
amount of his aggregate earnings for any workweek which
is subject to garnishment, after deduction from those
earning all amounts required to be withheld by law, may
not exceed 25% or thirty times the federal minimum
hourly wage prescribed by section 6(a)(1) of the Fair
Labor Standards Act of 1938 in effect at the time the
earnings are payable, or, if the employee is the
head of a family and a resident of the State of
Missouri, 10%, whichever is less. (Section
525.030.) Wages earned by a judgment debtor
outside the State of Missouri generally are exempt from
attachment. (Section 525.300.)
A judgment by
confession may be entered without action, either for
money due or to become due, or to secure any person
against contingent liability on behalf of the defendant,
or both. (Section 511.070.) A defendant, or his
attorney in fact, may file with the appropriate court a
statement in writing, signed by him and verified by
affidavit, stating the amount for which the judgment may
be rendered, the concise facts out of which the
liability arose, the sum confessed to be due or to
become due, and authorizing the entry of a judgment by
confession.( Section 511.080, Section 511.100.)
The Court generally will render judgment for the amount
confessed after first being satisfied of the identity of
the defendant, if present, or, if not present, that he
executed the statement in writing, and made the
affidavit required. (Section 511.090.)
Foreign Judgment:
The State of
Missouri generally adopts the Uniform Enforcement of
Foreign Judgments Act. Any judgment, decree or
order of a court of the United States or of any other
court is entitled to full faith and credit in the State
of Missouri. (Rule 74.14, Missouri Rules of Civil
Procedure.)
A judgment creditor seeking to enforce a foreign judgment may file with the appropriate court, a certified copy of the foreign judgment and an affidavit showing the name and last known post office address of the judgment debtor and the judgment creditor. The clerk of the court and the creditor are required to mail a written notice of the filing of the foreign judgment to the judgment debtor at the address given. The notice must include the name and post office address of the judgment creditor and, if the judgment creditor has an attorney in this state, the attorney's name and address. Lack of mailing notice of filing by the clerk does not affect the enforcement proceedings if proof of mailing by the judgment creditor has been filed.
Interest:
Legal rate:
9% per annum (Section 408.020.) 9% per annum (Section 408.020.)
Written Contract rate:
Parties to a written contract for money may agree to a
rate of interest not exceeding 10% per annum, except
that, when the "market rate" exceeds 10% per annum,
the parties may agree, in writing, to a rate of
interest not exceeding the "market rate". (Section
408.030.) Notwithstanding this limitation, it is
lawful for parties to agree in writing to any rate of
interest, fees, and other terms and conditions in
connection with loan to a corporation, general
partnership, limited partnership or limited liability
company; business loan of $5,000.00 or more; real
estate loan, other than residential real estate loans
and loans of less than $5,000.00 secured by real
estate used for an agricultural activity; or loan of
$5,000.00 or more secured solely by certificates of
stock, bonds, bills of exchange, certificates of
deposit, warehouse receipts, or bills of lading
pledged as collateral for the repayment of such loans.
Judgment rate: Interest allowed on all money due upon a money judgment is 9%, or the rate which is agreed to by the parties in the contract upon which it is sued. (Section 408.040.)
Exemptions:
In general, a
debtor may claim exemption of his homestead and
certain personal property from attachment and
execution of a judgment, or in a bankruptcy
proceeding.
The homestead of every person, consisting of a dwelling house and appurtenances, and the land used in connection
therewith, not exceeding the value of $8,000.00, is generally exempt from attachment and execution. This homestead exemption
shall not be allowed for more
than one owner if one owner claims the entire amount
allowed but, if more than one owner claims an
exemption of the same property, , the exemption
allowed to each of such owners shall not exceed, in
the aggregate, the total exemption allowed as to any
one homestead. (Section 513.475.)
Personal property of a debtor which are exempt from attachment and execution may include household furnishings, household goods, wearing apparel, appliances, books, animals, crops or musical instruments that are held primarily the use of the debtor and his dependent not to exceed $1,000 in value in aggregate; jewelry not to exceed $500.00 in value in aggregate; any other property of any kind, not to exceed in value $400.00 in the aggregate; any implements, professional books or tools of the trade not to
exceed
$2,000.00 in value in the aggregate; any motor
vehicle, not to exceed $1,000.00 in value; any mobile
home used as the principal residence, not to exceed
$1,000.00 in value; any one or more unmatured life
insurance contracts owned by the debtor, other
than a credit life insurance contract; the amount of
any accrued dividend or interest under, or loan value
of, any one or more unmatured life insurance contracts
owned by the debtor under which the insured is the
debtor or or an individual of whom the debtor is a
dependent; provided, however, that if proceedings
under Title 11 of the United States Code are commenced
by or against such person, the amount exempt in such
proceedings shall not exceed in value $5,000.00 in the
aggregate less any amount of property of the debtor
transferred by the life insurance company to itself,
not to be exempt from claim for child support;
professional heath aids for the debtor or his
dependent; social security benefit, unemployment
compensation or a local public assistance benefit;
veteran's benefit; disability, illness or unemployment
benefit; and alimony, support or separate maintenance,
not to exceed $500.00 a month. In addition,
payments made under certain pension or annuity plans
and spendthrift trusts created for the benefit of
employees may also be exempt. (Section 513.430.)
If the debtor is
the head of a family, he may select and hold, exempt
from execution, any other property, real, personal or
mixed, or debts and wages, not exceeding in value the
amount of $850.00 plus $250.00 for each of such
person's unmarried dependent children under the age of
eighteen years, except 10% of any debt, income, salary
or wages due such head of a family. (Section 513.440.)
In a bankruptcy
proceeding, a debtor who is a resident of the State of
Missouri, is permitted to exempt from property of the
estate any property that is exempt from attachment and
execution under the law of the state of Missouri or
under federal law, other than Title 11, United States
Code, Section 522(d), and no such person is authorized
to claim as exempt the property that is specified
under Title 11, United States Code, Section
522(d). (Section 513.427.)
| Statutes of Limitations
Civil actions
generally can be commenced only within certain
time limitations. The time generally runs
from the date a cause of action accrues or from
the date injury or damages are discovered or
should have been discovered. For the
purposes of sections 516.100 to 516.370 of the
Missouri Revised Statutes which governs
limitations of action, a cause of action is not be
deemed to accrue when the wrong is done or the
technical breach of contract or duty occurs, but
when the damage resulting therefrom is sustained
and is capable of ascertainment. If there
are more than one item of damage, then the time
runs from the last item so that all resulting
damage may be recovered, and full and complete
relief obtained. (Section 516.100.)
In an action
brought to recover a balance due on a mutual, open
and current account, where there have been
reciprocal demands between the parties, the cause
of action generally is deemed to have accrued from
the time of the last item in the account on the
adverse side. (Section 516.160.)
When a cause of action accrues is a critical issue and may be different on a case by case basis. A creditor should always consult actual legal counsel to determine its right to action under the applicable statutes. Some of the time limitations relevant to credit and collection matters are as follows:
| Written
contract |
10
years |
Section
516.110(1) |
| Oral
contract |
5
years |
Section
516.120(1) |
| Sale of
goods |
4
years |
Section
400.2-725(1) |
| Fraud |
5
years |
Section
516.120(5) |
| Injury to
personal property |
5
years |
Section
516.120(4) |
| Actions
for relief, not otherwise provided for under the
statutes. |
10 years
|
Section 516.110(3)
|
|
|
