Also known as: revival of judgment · revived judgment · judgment revival · revival
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A statutory procedure that restores a dormant judgment to active status so that it can be enforced or executed. Revival requires the judgment to be final, for a definite sum, and unsatisfied. An action to revive must be brought before the limitations period in the governing statute expires.
Ryan Roberts held a money judgment against Regal Apparel arising from a parking easement dispute. After the parcels merged in common ownership the judgment went unexecuted and became dormant. When Ryan later sought revival following severance of the parcels the court denied the request because the underlying servitude had terminated and could not be revived without new creation.
Raymond Ramos obtained a judgment against Ruby Rivera for property damage. Before execution could occur Ruby died. Raymond moved to revive the judgment under the survival statute. The court allowed revival because the statute preserved the damage award for harms suffered before death and did not terminate liability upon the tortfeasor's passing.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Raphael Rivera secured a judgment against a corporate defendant. The judgment became dormant during prolonged appeals involving additional parties. Raphael filed a revival action before the limitations period ran. The court granted revival because the judgment remained final and unsatisfied despite the ongoing related claims.
Roland Rhodes obtained a Texas judgment that went dormant. He sought enforcement in another state after the revival period had expired under that state's statute. The court refused revival because the action was brought after the limitations period and the foreign judgment could not be revived once dormant.
Rowan Russell held a judgment declaring a statute unconstitutional. The judgment remained unsatisfied when the legislature reenacted similar provisions. Rowan moved to revive the original judgment. The court denied revival because the new statute presented a distinct controversy requiring fresh adjudication rather than enforcement of the prior ruling.
The judgment must be final, for a definite sum, and unsatisfied. Revival is available only if the action is commenced before the statutory limitations period expires.
Supporting sources
Merger terminates the underlying servitude. A later severance does not revive the servitude or any judgment dependent on it without a new grant satisfying creation rules.
Under survival statutes the death of either party does not affect damages for pre-death harms. Punitive damages liability ends with the tortfeasor's death.
…test. These two conceptions of the commerce power, plenary and categorically limited, are in fact old rivals, and today's revival of their competition summons up familiar history, a brief reprise of which may be helpful in posing what I take to be the key question going to the legitimacy of the majority's decision to…