25 P.2d 5 | Cal. | 1933
This is an appeal by the plaintiff from a judgment for the defendants in an action to enjoin the sale of certain real property under execution. The cause was submitted to the trial court on a stipulation of facts and the appeal is on the judgment-roll alone.
In June, 1926, in the Superior Court in and for the County of Imperial, the Union Oil Company of California recovered a judgment against Frank P. Hovley in the sum of $546.54. That judgment was docketed on June 16, 1926, and no appeal was taken. On that date Hovley was the owner of the real property situate in Imperial County sought to be sold under execution, and he continued to be such owner until may, 1928, when for a valuable consideration he deeded it to the plaintiff, Jones.
In April, 1930, execution was issued and the defendant sheriff was instructed to levy the same and to proceed to sell said property. The plaintiff then commenced the present action to enjoin the defendants from so proceeding. Judgment went for the defendants.
[1] The sole question presented is whether the judgment lien which attached to said real property when the judgment was docketed, under section
When the judgment was docketed in June, 1926, section
It is the position of the plaintiff that the judgment lien involved herein was discharged by said amendments by operation of law. It is urged that the judgment lien is purely statutory; that it is merely a remedy provided for the enforcement of the judgment; that the effect of the code amendments was to repeal the remedy, and that the failure of the plaintiff to record an abstract of the judgment after the effective date of the amendment resulted in loss to him of the benefit of the lien.
The plaintiff relies on People v. Bank of San Luis Obispo,
The amendments did not purport to abolish the right to judgment liens on land owned by the judgment debtor situate in the county in which the judgment was rendered and docketed. They merely changed the method by which such lien might come into being. Since the right to the judgment lien was continued and the method of perfecting it merely changed, and assuming that the subject matter of the amendments might have been made retroactive in operation, it is of importance to discover whether they were so made. [2] It is settled that every statute will be construed to operate prospectively unless the legislative intent to the contrary is clearly expressed. (Krause v. Rarity,
The rule that a statute is presumed to operate prospectively only, unless an intent to the contrary clearly appears, is especially applicable to cases where retroactive operation of the statute would impair the obligations of contracts or interfere with vested rights. (Hoyt Metal Co. v. Atwood, 289 Fed. 453.)[3] It is well established in this state that a judgment is a contract as contemplated by the Constitution. (Scarborough v.Dugan,
From any angle of the present controversy the conclusion is inescapable that the code amendments in 1927 did not destroy the judgment lien asserted by the defendants herein. This conclusion renders it unnecessary to pass upon other points discussed in the briefs.
The judgment is affirmed.
Seawell, J., Waste, C.J., Langdon, J., Thompson, J., and Curtis, J., concurred. *779