Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 77.djvu/555

 77

STAT. ]

PUBLIC L W 88-241-DEC. 23, 1963 A

§ 15-102. Lien of judgment, decree, or forfeited recognizance (a) Every: (1) final judgment or unconditional final decree for the payment of money, from the date when it is rendered; (2) judgment or decree rendered in the civil division of the District of Columbia Court of General Sessions, when docketed in the clerk's office of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia; and (3) recognizance taken by the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, or judge thereof, from the time when it is declared forfeited— is a lien on all the freehold and leasehold estates, legal and equitable, of the defendants bound by the judgment, decree, or recognizance, in any land, tenements, or hereditaments in the District of Columbia, whether the estates are in possession or are reversions or remainders, vested or contingent. (b) A recognizance taken in the criminal division of the Court of General Sessions, after being forfeited, may be transmitted to the clerk's office of the District Court and docketed therein in the same manner as judgments rendered in the civil division of that court, with the same effect as if taken in the District Court. (c) Liens created as provided by this section continue as long as the judgment, decree, or recognizance is in force or until it is satisfied or discharged. § 15-103. Effect of revival An order of revival issued upon a judgment or decree during the period of twelve years from the rendition or from the date of an order reviving the judgment or decree, extends the effect and operation of the judgment or decree with the lien thereby created and all the remedies for its enforcement for the period of twelve years from the date of the order. § 15-104. Priority of liens The lien of a mortgage or deed of trust upon real property, given by the purchaser to secure the payment of the whole or any part of the purchase-money, is superior to that of a previous judgment or decree against the purchaser. §15-105. Decree confirming sale of property; effect; ordering conv^ance A decree confirming the sale of real or personal property sold pursuant to a decree, divests the right, title, or interest sold out of the former owner, party to the action, and vests it in the purchaser, without any conveyance by the officer or agent of the court conducting the sale. The decree constitutes notice to all persons of the transfer of title when a copy thereof is registered among the land-records of the District. In particular cases, the court may order its officer or agent to make a conveyance, if that mode is deemed preferable. § 15-106. Judgment and damages assessed in actions on bonds or penal sums (a) In a civil action on a bond or on a penal sum for the nonperformance of covenants or agreements contained in an indenture, deed, or writing, the plaintiff may assign as many breaches as he chooses. Damages shall be assessed for such breaches as he proves and judgment rendered for the whole penalty, but execution shall issue for as much only as is found in damages, with costs. (b) In an action brought under subsection (a) of this section, upon judgment for the plaintiff on motion, default, or confession, the plaintiff may assign as many breaches as he chooses, the truth

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