806.19.Satisfaction of judgments.

A judgment may be satisfied in whole, in part, or as to any judgment debtor by an instrument signed and acknowledged by the owner, or by the owner’s attorney of record if no assignment has been filed, or by an acknowledgment of satisfaction signed and entered directly on the judgment and lien docket in the county where the judgment was first entered, witnessed by the clerk. Any satisfaction covering only part of the judgment, or releasing only some of the debtors, must state the amount paid or the debtors released. An attorney’s satisfaction is not conclusive against the judgment creditor as to anyone who had notice that the attorney’s authority was revoked before making a payment or purchasing property relying on it. Once a satisfaction is filed, the clerk enters it on the court record of the case and enters a summary, including the amount paid, on the judgment and lien docket.

A judgment is also considered satisfied to the extent an execution is returned satisfied, unless that return is later vacated, and the clerk enters the amount collected in the judgment and lien docket accordingly.

Section 806.19 also gives a debtor a way to pay when the judgment owner is not readily reachable: the debtor may deposit the amount owed with the clerk of the court where the judgment was entered, receive a certificate showing the date and amount, and the clerk notes the deposit on the docket. The debtor must give written notice to the judgment owner and the owner’s attorney of record, and ten days after that notice, on proof of service, the clerk satisfies the judgment of record unless the trial court orders otherwise. Acceptance of the deposited funds by the owner has the same legal effect as direct payment.

Finally, the section provides a detailed application procedure for satisfying a judgment discharged in bankruptcy. A person who obtained a bankruptcy discharge, or a person interested in real property the judgment attaches to, may submit an application, with an attached proposed order, listing the discharged judgments and identifying how each judgment creditor was notified of the bankruptcy. The applicant must serve a copy of the completed application and proposed order on each judgment creditor within five business days of submission. Once the clerk receives a completed application, the clerk submits the proposed order for a judge’s signature and then satisfies each listed judgment of record, at which point the judgment ceases to be a lien on any real property the discharged person owns or later acquires.