We have a group that has filed multiple liens against the City and the City asked for an injunction to prohibit continued filing. In the trial court's order it included an order to remove and expunge all filings, specifically naming the filings, from the clerks records. Can the judge do this? The Clerk says no - cannot remove any filing. Is the alternative to enter an order that the filing is fraudelent in the open file and declare it closed?

Check out Government Code section 51.902 and 51.903. They have the appropriate court order forms and instructions.

Janette Ansolabehere

Thanks - the problem is that the court already ordered that the lien was fraudulent in 2004, now the City wants to have the file removed from the clerk's records. There was an order in 2004 which authorized the removal of the fraudulent lien but it is still in the clerk's records. not has moved to have it permanently removed. It looks like under those sections that it cannot be removed, just the orders filed with the same index. Am I reading this correct?

I'm not expert on this one, but surely some DAs and CAs have dealt with this issue. There was an absolute rash of this stuff back a few years ago before the Leg passed laws criminalizing the intentional filing of false liens. I just scanned 51.902 and 51.903, but it looks like they only authorize the filing of the court's judgment with the lien so that someone checking knows there has been a court finding that the lien is invalid or false. It seems reasonable to me that a lien which has been found fraudulent should be removed, but.....

By the way, how is Abilene these days. I miss the city and the people alot.

Janette Ansolabehere

Thanks - that was the way I thought the code read. The lien was for over 1 billion dollars for the condemnation of some property (believe it was just one house) -- House of Yaweh people. The original fraudulent lien order was signed in 2004, but apparently still on the docket, so trying to get final order in the case correct.

Abilene is great - just dry, as usual!! The people are great, too.