Enforcement of judgments: renewal and interest.

(1) Existing law provides that a judgment is enforceable upon entry, except as specified, and generally permits a judgment creditor to bring an action on a judgment, provided that it is brought within ten years. Existing law provides that the period of enforceability of a money judgment or a judgment for possession or sale of property may be extended by renewal of the judgment upon application by the judgment creditor filed with the court in which the judgment was entered. Existing law allows a judgment debtor to make a motion to vacate or modify the renewal within 30 days of service of a notice of renewal of the judgment. This bill would increase the amount of days after service of the notice of renewal that a judgment debtor may make a motion to vacate or modify a renewal to 60 days. The bill would allow a judgment creditor to renew the period of enforceability in cases of a money judgment of under $200,000 that remains unsatisfied for a claim relating to medical expenses and for a money judgment of under $50,000 that remains unsatisfied for a claim related to personal debt, as specified, only once and for a period of 5 years from the date the application is filed. The bill would prohibit a judgment creditor from bringing an action on those types of money judgments. The bill would prohibit an application for renewal of a judgment from being filed if the judgment was renewed on or before December 31, 2022. (2) Existing law provides that interest accrues at the rate of 10% per annum on the principal amount of a money judgment remaining unsatisfied in a civil action. This bill would, for judgments entered on or after January 1, 2023, or where an application for renewal of judgment is filed on or after January 1, 2023, create the exception that interest accrues at the rate of 5% per annum for a money judgment of under $200,000 that remains unsatisfied for a claim related to medical expenses and for a money judgment of under $50,000 that remains unsatisfied for a claim related to personal debt, as specified.