ARTICLE 3 - RECORDING AND INDEXING OF JUDGMENTS; RELEASE

(a) When a judgment or order is made determining any matter affecting the title to real property, a certified copy of the judgment or order shall be recorded in the office of the county clerk of the county in which the property is situated.

(b) Repealed by Laws 2019, ch. 24, 2.

The clerk shall make a complete record of every cause as soon as it is finally determined, unless such record or part thereof is waived.

The record shall contain the complaint, the process, the return, pleadings subsequent thereto and all material acts and proceedings of the court. If the items of an account or the copies of papers attached to the pleadings are voluminous, the court may order the record to be made by abbreviating the same or inserting a pertinent description thereof, or by omitting them entirely. Evidence will not be recorded.

A court by order on the journal, may direct its clerk to transcribe any book in his office into a new volume, and the transcripts made are as valid as the original.

(a) W.S. 1-16-302 does not apply:

(i) In criminal prosecutions when the indictment has been quashed, or when the district attorney has entered a nolle prosequi on the indictment;

(ii) When the action has been dismissed without prejudice to a future action, as provided in W.S. 1-16-306;

(iii) In all actions in which, in open court, at the term at which the final order or judgment is made, both parties agree that no record shall be made.

When an action has been dismissed without prejudice to a future action, the clerk shall make a complete record of the proceedings upon being paid therefor by the party requesting it.

(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, the clerk shall keep and make available for public inspection an index of all civil judgments containing the following information:

(i) The name of the judgment debtor or, for orders establishing or modifying a child support obligation, the obligor;

(ii) Repealed by Laws 2019, ch. 24, 2.

(iii) The amount of the original judgment and the year when it was rendered;

(iv) Repealed by Laws 2019, ch. 24, 2.

(v) Repealed by Laws 2019, ch. 24, 2.

(vi) Repealed by Laws 2019, ch. 24, 2.

(vii) Whether the notice of satisfaction has been filed and the date the notice was filed.

(b) No index shall be made of a judgment by operation of law arising under W.S. 14-2-204, and no index shall be made of a judgment by operation of law arising under W.S. 7-9-103(d) until execution is issued upon request of the victim, the division of victim services or the district attorney pursuant to W.S. 7-9-103(d). Judgments whose access are restricted by law or court rule shall not be included in the index required under subsection (a) of this section.

(c) The clerk shall include in the index required by subsection (a) of this section all judgments, decrees and orders establishing or modifying a child support obligation.

(i) Repealed by Laws 2019, ch. 24, 2.

(ii) Repealed by Laws 2019, ch. 24, 2.

(iii) Repealed by Laws 2019, ch. 24, 2.

(d) The procedures for compiling and maintaining the judgment index required by subsection (a) of this section may be modified by the court to permit the compilation and maintenance by any manual, mechanical, electronic or other means calculated to ensure the accuracy of the index.

(a) Any action pending or judgment rendered in the district courts of this state which has been settled or satisfied shall be released or dismissed in writing upon the face of the docket or by written release by the attorney of record or the person in whose favor the judgment was rendered, who shall date and sign the release. If neither the attorney of record nor the judgment creditor can be found in the county, the judgment debtor may pay the amount due upon the judgment to the clerk of court. Upon proper showing to the court that the judgment has been paid in full, the court shall order the judgment released and satisfied.

(b) Subsection (a) of this section does not apply to judgments arising by operation of law under W.S. 14-2-204.

(a) If the attorney of record or other proper person fails to release any action pending or judgment rendered within fifteen (15) days after settlement or satisfaction, the person in whose favor the judgment was rendered is liable for damages sustained.