Legal Definitions - SCI. FA.

SCI. FA. is an abbreviation for SCIRE FACIAS.

Scire facias is a legal term, historically referring to a type of writ (a formal written order from a court) that required a person to appear in court and "show cause" (explain why) a particular legal action should not proceed or why a judgment should not be enforced.

Its primary use was to revive a judgment that had become "dormant" or inactive due to the passage of time, or to determine why a party should not be held accountable for a previous judgment. While the specific writ of scire facias is less common in modern legal practice, the underlying principle of needing to reactivate old judgments or provide formal notice to a party before enforcing a long-standing legal obligation still exists through various procedural motions.

Here are some examples illustrating the concept of scire facias:

• Dormant Financial Judgment:

  Imagine a small business, "Tech Solutions Inc.," won a court judgment against a former client, Mr. Henderson, for unpaid services eight years ago. Tech Solutions Inc. never pursued collection at the time, and the judgment has since become dormant under state law. Now, Tech Solutions Inc. learns that Mr. Henderson has received a significant inheritance and wants to collect the original debt.

  How it illustrates the term: To enforce this old, dormant judgment, Tech Solutions Inc. would need to initiate a legal process, similar in function to a scire facias. This would involve formally notifying Mr. Henderson and requiring him to appear in court to "show cause" why the eight-year-old judgment should *not* be reactivated and enforced against him now.

• Enforcing Old Child Support Arrears:

  Ms. Rodriguez was awarded child support from her ex-husband, Mr. Davies, twenty years ago. Mr. Davies made payments for a few years but then stopped, accumulating a substantial amount of unpaid child support (arrears). Ms. Rodriguez now wishes to collect these long-overdue amounts.

  How it illustrates the term: To enforce such an old judgment for child support arrears, Ms. Rodriguez would typically file a legal motion or petition. This process serves a similar purpose to a scire facias: it formally notifies Mr. Davies that she is seeking to enforce the old judgment and requires him to appear in court to "show cause" why he should not be compelled to pay the outstanding balance.

• Reviving an Old Mortgage Foreclosure Judgment:

  A bank obtained a judgment of foreclosure against a property owner, Ms. Chen, fifteen years ago due to an unpaid mortgage. However, for various reasons, the bank never completed the foreclosure process, and the judgment has become inactive. Now, the bank wants to proceed with the sale of the property to satisfy the old debt.

  How it illustrates the term: Before the bank can proceed with the foreclosure sale based on such an old, dormant judgment, it would likely need to go through a legal procedure akin to a scire facias. This would involve formally notifying Ms. Chen (or her current heirs/estate if she is deceased) and any other interested parties, requiring them to appear in court and "show cause" why the fifteen-year-old judgment of foreclosure should not be reactivated and enforced.