1-16-605. Effects of transfer of structured settlement payment rights.
(a) Following a transfer of structured settlement payment rights under this act:
(i) The structured settlement obligor and the annuity issuer shall, as to all parties except the transferee, be discharged and released from any and all liability for the transferred payments;
(ii) The transferee shall be liable to the structured settlement obligor and the annuity issuer:
(A) If the transfer contravenes the terms of the structured settlement, for any taxes incurred by such parties as a consequence of the transfer; and
(B) For any other liabilities or costs, including reasonable costs and attorneys' fees arising from compliance by such parties with the order of the court or arising as a consequence of the transferee's failure to comply with this act.
(iii) Neither the annuity issuer nor the structured settlement obligor may be required to divide any periodic payment between the payee and any transferee or assignee or between two (2) or more transferees or assignees; and
(iv) Any further transfer of structured settlement payment rights by the payee may be made only after compliance with all requirements of this act.
(a) An application under this act for approval of a transfer of structured settlement payment rights shall be made by the transferee and may be brought in the Wyoming district court that approved the structured settlement payment rights, or the Wyoming district court in the county where the payee resides without regard to where the structured settlement payment rights may have accrued.
(b) Not less than twenty (20) days prior to the scheduled hearing on an application for approval of a transfer of structured settlement payment rights under W.S. 1-16-604, the transferee shall file with the court and serve all interested parties a notice of the proposed transfer and application for its authorization, including with the notice:
(i) A copy of the transferee's application for transfer;
(ii) A copy of the transfer agreement;
(iii) A copy of the disclosure statement required under W.S. 1-16-603;
(iv) A listing of each of the payee's dependents, together with each dependent's age and date of birth;
(v) Notification that any interested party may support, oppose or otherwise respond to the transferee's application, either in person or by counsel, by submitting written comments to the court or by participating in the hearing; and
(vi) Notification of the time and place of the hearing and notification of the manner in which and the time by which written responses to the application shall be filed, which time shall be not less than fifteen (15) days after service of the transferee's notice, in order to be considered by the court.
(a) The provisions of this act may not be waived by any payee.
(b) Any transfer agreement entered into on or after July 1, 2006 by a payee who resides in this state shall provide that disputes under the transfer agreement, including any claim that the payee has breached the agreement, shall be determined in and under the laws of this state. No transfer agreement shall authorize the transferee or any other party to confess judgment or consent to entry of judgment against the payee.
(c) No transfer of structured settlement payment rights shall extend to any payments that are life-contingent unless, prior to the date on which the payee signs the transfer agreement, the transferee has established and has agreed to maintain procedures reasonably satisfactory to the annuity issuer and the structured settlement obligor for:
(i) Periodically confirming the payee's survival; and
(ii) Giving the annuity issuer and the structured settlement obligor prompt written notice in the event of the payee's death.
(d) No payee who proposes to make a transfer of structured settlement payment rights shall incur any penalty, forfeit any application fee or other payment, or otherwise incur any liability to the proposed transferee or any assignee based on any failure of the transfer to satisfy the requirements of this act.
(e) Nothing contained in this act shall be construed to authorize any transfer of structured settlement payment rights in contravention of any law or to imply that any transfer under a transfer agreement entered into prior to July 1, 2006 is valid or invalid.
(f) Compliance with the requirements of W.S. 1-16-603 and fulfillment of the conditions set forth in W.S. 1-16-604 shall be solely the responsibility of the transferee in any transfer of structured settlement payment rights, and neither the structured settlement obligor nor the annuity issuer shall bear any responsibility for, or any liability arising from, noncompliance with the requirements of W.S. 1-16-603 or failure to fulfill the conditions set forth in W.S. 1-16-604.
(a) An execution is a process of the court issued by the clerk and directed to the sheriff of the county. Executions may be issued to the sheriffs of different counties at the same time.
(b) Executions are of two (2) kinds:
(i) Against the property of the judgment debtor, including orders of sale; and
(ii) For the delivery of the possession of real property in which case the writ shall contain a specific description of the property and a command to the officer to whom the writ is delivered to deliver the property to the person entitled to it. The writ may also require the officer to recover damages for withholding possession and costs, or costs alone, out of the property of the person who withholds possession.
1-17-102. Request for hearing when property seized under execution.
(a) Except as provided in subsection (e) of this section, a person, other than a corporate entity, against whom a money judgment has been entered and whose property is seized under execution is entitled to a hearing within five (5) days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, after the court receives the person's written request for a hearing to determine if the property seized is exempt from execution. The person whose property is seized shall file a written request for a hearing with the clerk of court within ten (10) days after seizure of his property.
(b) Except where the judgment is solely against corporate entities, the court shall attach to every money judgment a notice containing the following information: "You are informed that since the judgment is entered the prevailing party may proceed to seize your property, funds or wages by execution or garnishment. In that event you may be entitled to the following exemptions:
(i) Social security benefits pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 407 and supplemental security income;
(ii) Veteran's benefits;
(iii) Black lung benefits;
(iv) Personal opportunities with employment responsibilities (POWER) payments;
(v) Federal civil service and state retirement system benefits as provided in 5 U.S.C. 8346 and W.S. 9-3-426, 9-3-620, 9-3-712 and 15-5-313;
(vi) Worker's compensation benefits;
(vii) Unemployment compensation benefits;
(viii) A portion of wages as provided in W.S. 1-15-408, or in the case of consumer credit sales, leases or loans, as provided by W.S. 40-14-505;
(ix) Homestead, personal articles and articles used for carrying on a trade or business to the extent provided by W.S. 1-20-101 through 1-20-111;
(x) Other exemptions as provided by law. To assert your right to any of the foregoing exemptions you shall file a written request with the clerk of court within ten (10) days after seizure of your property, funds or wages. If you fail to make a written request for a hearing and claim one (1) or more of the foregoing exemptions within ten (10) days after seizure of your property, funds or wages, you may waive or lose your right to claim the exemptions."
(c) The notice provided in this section shall be sent to the last known address of the judgment debtor by the clerk of court upon the request of any person before any property of the judgment debtor is seized by execution or garnishment.
(d) A copy of the money judgment together with the exemption information shall be transmitted by the court by first class United States mail, with the postage prepaid in envelopes furnished and properly addressed by the prevailing party.
(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, a judgment debtor who is served with a writ of continuing garnishment under W.S. 1-15-506 shall file objections to the continuing garnishment and receive a hearing on his objections as provided by W.S. 1-15-507 and 1-15-508.
(a) When judgment has been rendered in any district court against any person for the recovery of money or sale of property he may have a stay of execution as provided by the Wyoming Rules of Civil Procedure, except that a supersedeas bond to be furnished in order to stay the execution of any judgment under this section or under W.S. 1-17-210 during the entire course of appellate review shall not, regardless of amount of the judgment, exceed two million dollars ($2,000,000.00) in any action in which all appellants are either individuals or have fifty (50) or fewer employees, or twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000.00) in any other action; provided, however:
(i) That if an appellee proves by a preponderance of the evidence that an appellant is dissipating assets which may affect the ultimate payment of all or any portion of the judgment, the district court, upon motion and hearing, may require the appellant to post a bond in an amount up to the amount of the judgment; or
(ii) That an appellee of a judgment to pay taxes or liens to the state of Wyoming shall post a bond in an amount not less than the full amount of the judgment plus interest and costs of the appeal, unless otherwise ordered, as provided in Rule 4.02(b) of the Wyoming Rules of Appellate Procedure.
1-17-202. Notice to sheriff; relinquishment of property.
(a) When the bond is entered after execution is issued, the clerk shall immediately notify the sheriff and he shall forthwith return the execution, noting his actions thereon.
(b) All property levied on before the stay of execution and all written undertakings for the delivery of personal property to the sheriff shall be relinquished by the officer upon bond for the stay of execution being entered.
Every recognizance of surety taken as provided shall have the effect of a judgment confessed from the date taken against the person and property of the surety.
At the expiration of the stay the clerk shall issue a joint execution against the property of all the judgment debtors and sureties, but the sheriff shall first levy upon the property of the judgment defendant if sufficient property can be found. If not found, he shall without delay levy the execution upon the property of the original judgment debtor subject to the execution which can be found in the county.
A stay of execution shall not be allowed upon any judgment recovered against any person or surety for money received in a fiduciary capacity or for a breach of any official duty. The clerk shall issue executions upon the judgments immediately, returnable in ninety (90) days, endorsed "Not repleviable" and the judgment shall so order.
1-17-206. No stay where sureties object; exception.
When a court renders judgment against two (2) or more persons, any of whom are sureties for another in the contract on which the judgment is founded, there shall be no stay of execution on the judgment if the sureties object at the time of rendering the judgment unless the surety for the stay of execution will undertake specially to pay the judgment in case the amount cannot be levied of the principal defendant.
1-17-207. Execution upon affidavit of surety; generally.
Any surety for the stay of execution may file with the clerk an affidavit stating that he believes he will be liable for the judgment with interest and costs thereon unless execution issues immediately, and the clerk shall issue execution immediately unless other sufficient surety is entered before the clerk or sheriff as in other cases.
1-17-208. Execution upon affidavit of surety; effect of new surety.
If other sufficient surety is entered, it shall have the force of the original surety entered before the filing of the affidavit and shall discharge the original surety.
The time during which any judgment is stayed shall not be included in the period during which the judgment creditor shall cause execution to be issued and levied in order to preserve his lien on the property of the debtor as against other judgment creditors.
Execution of a judgment or final order, other than those enumerated in W.S. 1-17-201, of any judicial tribunal, or the levy or collection of any tax or assessment therein litigated, may be stayed on such terms as may be prescribed by the court in which the appeal is filed.
Except for property exempt by law, all property of the judgment debtor, both real and personal or any legal or equitable interest therein including any interest of the judgment debtor in mortgaged property or property being sold under an executory land contract, is subject to execution.
1-17-302. When lien attaches to property; generally.
The lands and tenements within the county in which judgment is entered are bound for the satisfaction thereof from the day the judgment is filed with the county clerk. Whenever a judgment is required to be filed with the county clerk, it shall be recorded in the real estate records. Goods and chattels of the debtor are bound from the time they are seized in execution.
1-17-303. When lien attaches to property; judgment of supreme court.
A judgment of the supreme court for money binds the lands and tenements of the debtor within the county in which the suit originated from the day the judgment is filed with the county clerk. Whenever a judgment is required to be filed with the county clerk, it shall be recorded in the real estate records. Goods and chattels of the debtor are bound from the time they are seized in execution. The lien of a judgment of the district court which is appealed to the supreme court shall not be divested or vacated, but shall continue until the final determination of the action in the supreme court.
1-17-304. Recording lien on real estate in other counties.
The judgment creditor in any judgment rendered by any district court in this state, or in any judgment rendered in a circuit court of this state and filed in the judgment record of the district court, may file a transcript of the judgment record of the district court with the clerk of the district court and the county clerk in any other counties within this state where the judgment debtor owns real estate. The judgment is a lien upon all real estate of the judgment debtor in any county in which the transcript is filed with the clerk of district court and the county clerk from the date of filing with the county clerk. The clerk of the district court of any county in which the transcript is filed shall enter the judgment upon the judgment records of the court in the same manner as judgments are rendered in that court.
(a) Judgments and decrees entered in any United States district court or circuit court held within this state are a lien against the lands and tenements of the person against whom the judgment or decree is rendered, situated within the county where the judgment or decree is entered, from the day the judgment is filed with the county clerk.
(b) The judgment creditor in any judgment or decree rendered in any United States district court within this state may file a transcript of the judgment record in the office of the clerk of any Wyoming district court and the county clerk in any counties in the state of Wyoming where the judgment debtor owns real estate.
(c) The clerk of the district court of any county in which the transcript is filed shall enter the judgment upon the judgment records of the court in the same manner as judgments rendered in that court.
(d) The judgment or decree is a lien upon all the real estate of the judgment debtor in the county or counties where the transcript is filed with the clerk of district court and the county clerk from the date of filing with the county clerk.
(a) The party in whose favor a judgment is rendered by a circuit court if the judgment is not appealed or stayed, may file with the clerk of the district court and the county clerk of the county in which the judgment was rendered a transcript thereof, certifying therein the amount paid thereon, if any. The clerk of court shall enter the case on the execution docket, together with the amount of the judgment and the time of filing the transcript with the county clerk. If within ten (10) days after the judgment was rendered, the judgment debtor pays the same or gives bond for stay of execution, the justice shall immediately certify that fact to the clerk of the district court and the county clerk. The district court clerk shall enter a memorandum thereof upon the docket. The cost of the transcript, the filing, recording and the entry on the docket shall be paid by the party who files and records the transcript and not be taxed to the other party.
(b) The judgment shall be a lien on the real estate of the judgment debtor within the county from the day the transcript is filed with the county clerk provided the transcript has also been filed previously or that same day with the clerk of district court.
(c) Execution may be issued on the judgment at any time after filing the transcript as if the judgment had been rendered in the district court.
If execution on a judgment rendered in any court of record in this state or a transcript of which has been filed as provided in W.S. 1-17-306(a) is not issued within five (5) years from date of the judgment or if five (5) years intervene between the date the last execution issued on the judgment and the time of issuing another execution thereon, the judgment is dormant and ceases to operate as a lien on the estate of the judgment debtor.
(a) The writ of execution against the property of the judgment debtor issuing from any court of record shall command the officer to whom it is directed that he shall collect the money specified in the writ from the real and personal property of the debtor.
(b) An execution issued on a judgment rendered against a partnership by its firm name shall operate only on the partnership property.
(c) The amount of the debt, damages and costs for which the judgment is entered shall be endorsed on the execution.
The officer shall endorse on every writ of execution the time when he received it. When two (2) or more writs of execution against the same debtor are delivered to the officer on the same day, no preference shall be given to either of the writs. If a sufficient sum of money is not made to satisfy all executions, the amount made shall be distributed to the several creditors in proportion to the amount of their respective demands. In all other cases the writ of execution first delivered to the officer shall be first satisfied. This section shall not affect any preferable lien which a judgment on execution issued has on the lands of the judgment debtor.
1-17-311. Bond for future delivery of property; failure to perform.
When an officer levies an execution upon any goods and chattels which afterwards remain unsold for any reasonable cause, the officer may for his own security, take a bond from the defendant, with security he deems sufficient to the effect that the property shall be delivered to the officer holding the execution for the sale of same at the time and place appointed by the officer, either by notice given in writing to the defendant in execution or by advertisement printed in a newspaper published in the county, naming the day and place of sale. If the defendant fails to deliver the goods and chattels at the time and place mentioned in the notice or to pay to the officer holding the execution the full value of the goods and chattels or the amount of the debt and costs, the bond shall be considered broken and may be proceeded on as in other cases.
Unless a private sale is ordered as provided in W.S. 1-17-314, the officer who levies execution upon goods and chattels, shall cause public notice to be given of the time and place of sale at least ten (10) days before the day of sale. The notice shall be given by advertisement in a newspaper published in the county or, if no newspaper is published therein, then in a newspaper of general circulation in the county.
When goods and chattels levied upon by execution cannot be sold for want of bidders or want of time, the officer who makes the return shall annex to the execution a true inventory of the goods and chattels remaining unsold. The plaintiff in execution may have another execution issued, directing the sale of the property levied upon, but the goods and chattels shall not be sold unless the time and place of sale is advertised as directed in W.S. 1-17-312.
1-17-314. Sale to be at public auction; when private sale authorized.
The court from which an execution or order of sale issues, on application of either party with due notice to the adverse party and for good cause, may order the officer holding the process to sell the goods and chattels at private sale for cash, specifying the time during which the sale will continue but not extending beyond the return day of the process. Before a private sale is made, the court shall order the personal property appraised by three (3) disinterested persons or a qualified appraiser and the property shall not be sold for less than two-thirds (2/3) of the appraised value. Except when a private sale is ordered for good cause, all sales of goods and chattels shall be at public auction.
When a writ is issued directing the sale of property previously taken in execution, the officer who issues the writ, if requested, shall add thereto a command to the officer to whom the writ is directed that if the unsold property remaining in his hands is insufficient to satisfy the judgment, he shall levy the same upon lands and tenements or goods and chattels of the judgment debtor, as the law permits, sufficient to satisfy the debt.
1-17-316. Appraisement of real property required; exception.
(a) The officer who levies execution upon real property shall designate a qualified appraiser or three (3) disinterested property owners who are residents of the county where the lands taken in execution are situate and administer to the appraiser or to the property owners an oath to view and impartially appraise the value of the property levied upon or any interest of the judgment debtor. The appraiser or the property owners shall return to the officer as soon as possible a signed estimate of the appraised value.
(b) When the officer receives the return, he shall promptly deposit a copy with the clerk of the court from which the writ issued and immediately advertise and sell the real estate or the judgment debtor's interest as provided by law.
(c) If upon the return it appears that two-thirds (2/3) of the appraised value of the judgment debtor's interest in the real estate levied upon is sufficient to satisfy the execution with costs, the judgment on which the execution is issued shall not operate as a lien on the residue of the debtor's estate to the prejudice of any other judgment creditor. Except as expressly authorized by law, no real estate shall be sold for less than two-thirds (2/3) of the appraised value of the judgment debtor's interest in the property.
(d) All lands the property of persons indebted to the state for any debt or taxes, except for loans authorized by the legislature, shall be sold without appraisal notwithstanding any other provision of law.
1-17-317. Official property sold without valuation.
The property of any state, county or municipal officer levied on for or on account of any money collected or received by him in his official capacity may be sold without valuation.
The sheriff shall endorse his actions on the writ. Immediately upon return of the writ, the clerk shall record at length in the execution docket or other docket provided for the purpose all such endorsements and the record shall be a part of the court record.
If the sheriff collects any part of a judgment by virtue of an execution without the sale of real estate, he shall pay the same to the judgment creditor or his attorney. If the execution is fully satisfied, he shall return it within three (3) days after he has collected the money.
Upon notice and motion of the officer who makes the sale or of an interested party, the court from which any execution or order of sale issues shall punish as for contempt any purchaser of real property who willfully fails to pay the purchase money.
1-17-321. Confirmation of sale of realty and order for deed; disposition of proceeds.
If upon return of any writ of execution for the satisfaction of which lands and tenements have been sold, it is found by the court that the sale was made in all respects in conformity with the code of civil procedure [this title], the clerk shall be directed to make an entry in the journal that the court is satisfied with the legality of the sale and that the officer, upon expiration of the period of redemption, shall make a deed to the purchaser for the lands and tenements. The officer may retain the purchase money until the court examines his proceedings. He shall then pay the money to the persons entitled as the court may order.
1-17-322. Conveyance of realty by master commissioner.
A master commissioner, upon order by the court, may convey real property when a party to a proceeding has been ordered to convey the property to another and fails or refuses to obey the order. The master commissioner may also execute a conveyance when specific real property is sold by him under an order or judgment of the court.
1-17-323. Administering of oaths; sheriff as commissioner; sales by master.
A master commissioner or special master who sells real property has the same power to administer oaths as the sheriff. A sheriff may act as a master commissioner and, upon notice and for reasonable compensation to be paid by the master commissioner out of his fees, may attend and make sale for any commissioner who, by reason of sickness is unable to attend. Sales made by a master shall conform in all respects to the laws regulating sales of lands upon execution.
The deed is prima facie evidence of the legality and regularity of the sale and the entire estate and interest of the person whose property the officer sells and conveys shall thereby rest in the purchaser, whether that interest existed at the time the property became liable to satisfy the judgment, or was acquired subsequently.
The officer who makes a levy or holds an order of sale may demand of the plaintiff the fees of the printer for publishing the notice and the officer is not required to make publication until the fees are paid.