Institutional Lien

Today I received a judgment search showing a judgment against my client from a state mental institution which was entered in 2002. The judgment was for $17,000 and was characterized as an “institutional lien.” The New Jersey legislature passed NJSA 30:4-27.2 which states that “all liens filed against a person treated at a psychiatric facility prior to the effective date (2005) are hereby extinguished and shall have no legal effect. No new liens shall be filed… on or after the effective date.” For this reason, the title company must remove the lien and my client does not have to pay $17,000 to the State of New Jersey.