Judgment Liens

A judgment lien, securing the unpaid amount of any money judgment, including interest and costs, may be placed on any real property by recording, in the town clerk's office in the town where the real property lies, a judgment lien certificate, signed by the judgment creditor or his attorney or personal representative, containing: A statement of the names and last-known addresses of the judgment creditor and judgment debtor, the court in which and the date on which the judgment was rendered, and the original amount of the money judgment and the amount due thereon; and a description, which need not be by metes and bounds, of the real property on which a lien is to be placed, and a statement that the lien has been placed on such property. (C.G.S.A. § 52-380a)

A judgment lien, securing the unpaid amount of any money judgment, including interest and costs, may be placed on any nonexempt personal property in which, by a filing in the office of the Secretary of the State, a security interest could be perfected. The judgment lien shall be created by filing a judgment lien certificate in the office of the Secretary of the State. For purposes of this section, the judgment lien shall be filed as if the debtor were located in this state. However, in the case of a debtor who is not located in this state, the judgment lien shall be effective only as to the debtor's tangible personal property that is located in the state. The judgment lien certificate shall: Be signed by the judgment creditor or his attorney or personal representative; state the names and last-known addresses of the judgment creditor and judgment debtor, the court in which and the date on which the judgment was rendered, and the original amount of the money judgment and the amount due thereon; and describe the personal property on which the lien is to be placed. Any such judgment lien shall be effective, in the same manner and to the same extent as a similar security interest or five years from the date of filing, provided the filing shall not give the judgment creditor any right to take possession of the personal property on which the lien has been placed other than by writ of execution or other judicial process. The lien may be extended for additional five-year periods in the same manner as a financing statement may be extended but shall not be extended beyond the period of enforceability of the judgment. (C.G.S.A. § 52-355a)

When a lien is placed on any property or when any postjudgment paper, other than a wage execution or property execution levied against property of a natural person, is served on a third person, the judgment creditor shall send a copy of the lien, or of the papers so served, together with a statement as to where the lien was filed or on whom the papers were served, to the judgment debtor at his last-known address by first class mail, postage prepaid. (C.G.S.A. § 52-351a)

Property that is exempt from liens can be found at C.G.S.A. § 52-352b.

Failure to ""substantially comply"" with the mandates of this section is likely to render a judgment lien unenforceable. See Dent & Pfluger, P.A. v. Kalivas, 8 Conn. App. 512.

To meet the requirements of this statute, care should be taken to describe specific property with ""requisite particularity"" in a judgment lien certificate. See In re Flanagan, 293 B.R. 102 (Bankr. Conn. 2003).