NATIONAL COMMERCIAL RECOVERY, INC. VS JOSE REYES

Tentative Rulings

Case Number: VC053761    Hearing Date: October 24, 2019    Dept: SEC

NATIONAL COMMERCIAL RECOVERY, INC. v. REYES

CASE NO.: VC053761

HEARING: 10/24/19

JUDGE: RAUL A. SAHAGUN

#8

TENTATIVE RULING

Plaintiff/Judgement Creditor NATIONAL COMMERCIAL RECOVERY, INC.’s motion to amend judgment is DENIED.

Moving Party to give Notice.

Judgment Creditor National Commercial Recovery moves to amend the judgment pursuant to CCP 187.

Trial courts are permitted to modify or amend judgments as prescribed by statute. (Worth v. Asiatic Transpacific, Inc. (1979) 93 Cal.App.3d 849, 856; McCellan v. Northridge Park Townhomes Owners Ass’n, Inc. (2001) 89 Cal.App.4^th 746; Wolf Metals Inc. v. Rand Pacific Sales, Inc. (2016) 4 Cal.App.5^th 698, 709.) CCP §187 confers such authority on the courts. The general rule is that a court may amend its judgment at any time so that the judgment will properly designate the real defendants. (Dow Jones Co., Inc. v. Avenal (1984) 151 Cal.App.3d 144, 148 – 149.)

Judgment in this matter was entered in favor of Plaintiff and against Defendant Jose Octavio Reyes. After Plaintiff recorded abstracts of judgment against Reyes’s properties, Defendant transferred the properties to trusts. Property of a judgment debtor held in a revocable inter vivos trust is subject to claims of his or her creditors during the debtor’s lifetime. (Prob. Code §18200; Keitel v. Heubel (2002) 103 Cal.App.4^th 324, 337.)

The court is in receipt of Judgment Debtor’s late opposition, filed on 9/24/19. Judgment Debtor claims that the subject debt was discharged in bankruptcy, and that the parties entered into a settlement of claims on 3/22/17.

In Reply, Judgement Creditor argues that it’s Judgment Lien was secured against the Judgement Debtor’s real property prior to his Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, and was not avoided by the Bankruptcy Court.

“A discharge…(1) voids any judgment at any time obtained, to the extent that such judgment is a determination of the personal liability of the debtor with respect to any debt discharged under section 727, 944, 1141, 1228, or 1328 of this title, whether or not discharge of such debt is waived; (2) operates as an injunction against the commencement or continuation of an action, the employment of process, or an act, to collect, recover or offset any such debt as a personal liability of the debtor, whether or not discharge of such debt is waived”.” (Bankruptcy Code §524(a)(1-2).) Here, the Judgment Debtor received a discharge of his debts on October 20, 2014. (Gonzalez Decl., ¶10, Ex. 4.) This Discharge includes the debt identified by Judgment Creditor. (Id. at ¶9, Ex. 3.)

The Motion is denied.