Service of Post – Judgment Process-Special Civil Part

Service of Post – Judgment Process-Special Civil Part 

Special Civil Part Officers who serve post-judgment process shall comply with the following: 

A. Communication with Judgment Creditors/Attorneys and Court Officer Execution Returns 

Special Civil Part Officers must notify the judgment creditor or the judgment creditor’s attorney within five business days when an execution has been received for his/her case. Requests from judgment creditors or their attorneys for information regarding the status of an execution should be responded to within 15 calendar days. 

At the end of two years, a good and chattel execution (writ) is considered invalid and void, under N.J.S.A. 2A:18-27, and must be returned to the Special Civil Part Clerk’s Office marked “satisfied,” “partially satisfied,” or “unsatisfied,” with a notation of the exact amount collected by the Officer. 

In the rare instance when a levy was made by the Officer within 30 days of the writ’s expiration, the Officer is permitted to retain this writ and levy for an additional 60 days from the date of the writ’s expiration, for the purpose to allow the judgment creditor to file the applicable motion to turnover. If during this time the Officer is notified that a motion to turnover has been filed with the court regarding this writ, then the Officer shall retain this writ further upon resolution of that motion. However, once the writ expires after two years, the Officer cannot levy upon any other of the judgment debtor’s assets or collect any money from the judgment debtor directly. Upon receipt of the expired writ register, the Officer shall advise the Assistant Civil Division Manager or designee, and provide a copy of each Certification of Levy previously submitted to the judgment creditor or their attorney, on those writs thereon wherein an asset was levied upon by the Officer within 30 days of that writ’s expiration. 

Wage executions have no such time limit but also require a return to be marked “satisfied,” “partially satisfied,” or “unsatisfied,” with a notation of the exact amount collected by the Special Civil Part Officer. An Officer can mark an execution return “fully satisfied” only if the entire judgment amount and the officer’s entire commission were collected by the Officer personally and the return must provide the dollar amounts collected. The Officer can only reflect on an execution’s return how much money they collected personally; they cannot reflect the amount that the judgment creditor or the judgment creditor’s attorney may have received from a judgment debtor. 

The Special Civil Part Officer must give the judgment creditor or judgment creditor’s attorney 30 days’ written notice of intent before they return every goods and chattel or wage execution. This is not required if the judgment creditor or judgment creditor’s attorney requests the officer to return the execution. The creditor can submit, prior to the writ or wage execution’s expiration or prior to an Officer’s execution return, a certification stating how much additional or accrued interest must be collected before the execution is returned. However, an accrued interest request on a writ does not permit the officer to continue to collect beyond the two year expiration date of the aforesaid writ. The judgment creditor may also request the issuance of an additional goods and chattel execution (writ) to be reserved by the same Officer upon that same asset, if that Officer previously levied on that asset and/or is otherwise collecting upon that prior writ. 

The 30-day notice of intent to return an execution shall state that all personal property will be returned and/or all levies will be released by the Special Civil Part Officer upon the return of the writ unless the writ is extended by order of the court, the judgment creditor obtains an additional writ (alias or pluries writ) that is timely served by the Officer upon the same asset or as otherwise provided herein. See Attachment A to this Appendix, “Special Civil Part Officer’s 30 Day Notice of Intention to Return a Chattel or Wage Execution.” Executions must be returned to the Special Civil Part Clerk’s Office within two weeks of a request by the judgment creditor, judgment creditor’s attorney or by the Special Civil Part Clerk’s Office. The return of the execution is without prejudice to the Special Civil Part Officer’s right to collect fees and dollarage that may be due.