Gamles Corp. v. Gibson

939 A.2d 1269, 2007 Del. LEXIS 355, 2007 WL 3378569
CourtSupreme Court of Delaware
DecidedAugust 7, 2007
Docket96, 2007
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 939 A.2d 1269 (Gamles Corp. v. Gibson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Delaware primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Gamles Corp. v. Gibson, 939 A.2d 1269, 2007 Del. LEXIS 355, 2007 WL 3378569 (Del. 2007).

Opinion

JACOBS, Justice:

Gamles Corp. (“Gamles”), the Appellant, appeals from a Superior Court order granting the “Motion to Remove Judgment” of the Appellees, Donald Gibson, Sr. (“Gibson, Sr.”) and his (now-deceased) son, Donald Gibson, Jr. (“Gibson, Jr.”) (collectively, the “Gibsons”). Gamles claims that the Superior Court erred in four distinct respects. For the reasons discussed herein, we conclude that the Superior Court committed legal error and reverse.

FACTS 1

On September 11, 1990, the property that is disputed in this case, 5 Center Street, New Castle, Delaware, was sold at Sheriffs Sale to Selma Goldstein, who then assigned her interest in the property to Gibson, Jr. for $7,500. On February 20, 1991, both Gibson, Jr. and his father, Gibson, Sr., executed a $40,000 Note in favor of Selma Goldstein, who later assigned her interest in that note to Gamles.

As a result of their failure to make payments on the Note, Gamles obtained a judgment against the Gibsons on January 14, 1994. On October 21, 1996, a jfi fa attachment was issued to Gibson, Sr.’s employer, attaching Gibson, Sr.’s wages. On February 19, 2002, Gibson, Jr. died intestate, resulting in Gibson Sr. being the sole owner of the subject property, 5 Center Street.

The writ of attachment recited that Gibson, Jr. owes a debt in the principal amount of $38,110.80, plus accrued interest of $4,335.11; and directs the employer to “continue this attachment until the amounts that the defendants owe have been paid.” The record indicates that Gibson, Sr.’s employer garnished $38,536.66 of Gibson, Sr.’s wages, and that no other payment has been made since September 17, 2000.

On October 18, 2006, Gibson, Sr. filed a “Motion to Remove” the 1994 judgment on the ground that the judgment had expired, or, alternatively, had been paid in full. In response, Gamles acknowledged that the judgment hen had lapsed because Gamles did not renew the judgment lien within 10 years of its entry. Gamles argued, nonetheless, that the underlying judgment had not expired, and cited case law to support its contention.

The Gibsons also argued, in the alternative, that the judgment “has been paid in full.” Gibson, Sr. contends that as a result of his wages being garnished in 1996, the judgment was paid in full by 2005. Gibson, Sr.’s September 2000 earnings discloses garnishments totaling $38,536.66.

In response, Gamles claimed that there remains an unpaid balance due of approximately $32,000. Gamles relied on an Account Statement, which discloses that payments received from Gibson, Sr. between September 14, 1991 and October 1, 1999 were insufficient to cover both interest and principal. As a consequence (Gamles claimed), the balance on the account grew *1271 to $52,504.38 before being reduced to $32,294.65 as of July 28, 2006.

The parties dispute how much has been paid, and what amount remains to be paid, to satisfy the judgment. Gamles claims that as of July 28, 2006, Gibson, Sr. still owes $32,294.65. Gibson, Sr. claims that from 1991 to 2007 he paid a total of $94,123.74 on Gamles’ Note, and that therefore, the January 14, 1994 judgment was paid in full. 2 Gamles responded that the only sworn evidence before the trial court on this issue was the Statement of Account provided by Gamles, showing receipt of $70,657.47 — $23,466.27 less than the sum claimed to have been paid by Gibson, Sr. No evidentiary hearing was held to determine whether the judgment was satisfied by way of payment, nor did the Superior Court rule on that issue.

By Order dated January 29, 2007, the Gibsons’ Motion To Remove Judgment was granted, and Gamles’ wage attachment was terminated. The basis of that Order was the Superior Court’s ruling that the judgment had expired, and as a consequence, so had the wage attachment. On February 5, 2007, the Superior Court amended its Order to direct Gibson, Sr.’s employer to “return all monies that came into [its] possession after the judgment expired on January 14, 2004....” 3 On February 5, 2007, the trial judge directed Gamles to return to Gibson, Sr., or place in escrow with the Prothonotary, all monies collected since January 14, 2004.

Gamles has appealed from the foregoing Superior Court’s orders. Gamles claims that the Superior Court erred in: (1) concluding that the judgment expired in January 14, 2004 under 10 Del. C. § 4711; (2) holding that the wage attachment did not survive the expiration of the underlying judgment; (3) finding that Gibson, Sr. had made no payment since 2000; and (4) ordering the return of wage attachment proceeds received after January 14, 2004. Those contentions generate the four issues that are next addressed.

ANALYSIS

I. The 199Judgment Expiration Claim

Gamles first claims that the Superior Court erred as a matter of law by holding that the judgment had expired on January 14, 2004 under 10 Del. C. § 4711. We review questions of law de novo. 4

The Superior Court determined that “because [Gamles] did not renew the judgment within 10 years of entry, the January 13, 1994 judgment has, therefore, expired by force of 10 Del. C. § 4711.” 5 Gamles does not dispute that it did not renew, or seek to enforce, its lien of judgment upon the Gibsons’ real estate. Gamles also acknowledges that its lien of judgment expired under 10 Del. C. § 4711. What Gamles claims, however, is that the underlying judgment itself did not expire under that provision.

10 Del. C. § 4711 provides, in pertinent part, that:

No judgment for the recovery of money entered or recorded in the Superior Court ... shall continue a lien upon real estate for a longer term than 10 years next following the day of entry or recording of such judgment ... unless, *1272 within the term of 10 years, the lien of such judgment is renewed and continued .... 6

Gamles claims that 10 Del. C. § 4711 does not apply because Gamles is not pursuing a lien upon real estate. Rather, it is pursuing an action to collect on a judgment by way of wage attachment. Therefore (Gamles argues), the Superior Court misinterpreted a “lien of judgment upon real estate” as being the legal equivalent of a “judgment,” thereby leading to an erroneous conclusion that, absent a renewal, Section 4711 limits the duration of a judgment to 10 years.

Section 4711 is part of the “10 year lien” law that was originally enacted in 1893 and is now codified at Title 10, Subchapter I, Lien of Judgments. Under 25 Del. C.

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Bluebook (online)
939 A.2d 1269, 2007 Del. LEXIS 355, 2007 WL 3378569, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gamles-corp-v-gibson-del-2007.