§5175. Order of discharge in bankruptcy; effect
A.(1) A judgment debtor in whose favor a United States Bankruptcy Court has
entered an order of discharge, or any person whose rights are or may be affected by the order,
may bring an action in accordance with the provisions of R.S. 44:114 against the recorder
of mortgages of a parish in which the judgment is recorded to declare the judicial mortgage
created by its recordation extinguished and order the recordation of the judgment cancelled
from the records of the parish and any other parish in which the judgment is recorded.
(2) Upon proof of the order of discharge, and that the judgment upon which a judicial
mortgage is based is for a claim that was scheduled or disclosed in the bankruptcy
proceeding, the court shall declare extinguished the judicial mortgage evidenced by the
recordation of the judgment and order the recordation of the judgment cancelled unless the
judgment creditor, or any other party to the action whose rights are or may be adversely
affected by the cancellation, proves that the judgment creditor or such other person possesses
equity in property as a result of the judicial mortgage over and above superior liens, in which
case the order of cancellation shall expressly exclude any property encumbered by the
judicial mortgage in which there is equity.
B.(1) A judgment debtor may obtain a partial cancellation of the inscription of a
judgment as it affects property not owned by the judgment debtor on the date of the filing of
a petition or at any time prior to the discharge order under the United States Bankruptcy
Code upon the filing of an affidavit in accordance with this Subsection.
(2) The affidavit shall contain all of the following:
(a) A statement that the judgment debtor filed a petition under the United States
Bankruptcy Code.
(b) The name of the court where the bankruptcy proceeding was filed.
(c) The date on which the petition was filed.
(d) A statement that the debt or debts upon which the judgment is based were listed
in the bankruptcy proceeding and that the debtor was subsequently released from personal
liability on the debt or debts by virtue of a discharge in bankruptcy.
(e) A description of any particular property to be partially released and a statement
that the property was not owned by the debtor at the time of filing the bankruptcy proceeding.
(f) A statement that the affiant is liable to and shall indemnify the clerk or recorder
and any of his or her employees or agents relying on the affidavit for any damages that they
may suffer as a consequence of such reliance.
(g) A copy of the schedule or schedules listing the debt.
(h) A copy of the discharge order.
(3) Upon the filing of an affidavit in compliance with this Subsection, the recorder
shall partially cancel the judgment insofar as it affects the property described in the affidavit
and any property that may have been acquired after the date stated in Subparagraph (2)(c) of
this Subsection that the debtor filed the petition for bankruptcy.
(4) For purposes of this Subsection, a debtor is deemed to own inherited property as
of the date of death of the decedent from whom he inherited the property.
Acts 2005, No. 169, §6, eff. July 1, 2006; Acts 2005, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 13, §1, eff.
Nov. 29, 2005; Redesignated from R.S. 44:111 by Acts 2010, No. 284, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2011;
Acts 2012, No. 179, §1; Acts 2016, No. 88, §1; Acts 2024, No. 383, §1, eff. May 28, 2024.