What happens if I file a judgment lien on a piece of property that does not belong to my debtor?
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What happens if I file a judgment lien on a piece of property that does not belong to my debtor?
I have a judgment. According to Parish records, my debtor, or someone with his same name, owns 3 pieces of property. I cannot prove that the person is the same, if I file a lien and I am wrong what are the penalties?
Asked on September 22, 2011 under Bankruptcy Law, Louisiana
Answers:
M.T.G., Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
I need to rephrase this question for you: can I knowingly place a judgement lien on a piece of property that does not belong to my debtor? The answer to this question is obviously no. Although I am not familiar with the specific laws in the state of Louisiana, I can probably generalize that the state would require that you made a good faith effort to ascertain if in fact the parcels of land belong to the debtor in question (your debtor as you call him or her) and if you make that effort and come up still unsure but file anyway, I doubt that you would get in to trouble or have a penalty assessed against you. The debtor with the lien would - I am sure - come up screaming and with proof that they are not your debtor and then you could release the lien. Good luck.
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