Art. 2336.1.Determination of Superior Encumbrances Or Privileges
Book IV. Execution of Judgments · Title II. Money Judgments · Chapter 2. Judicial Sale Under Fieri Facias · Enacted 2022 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 30, 2026
Full Text of Art. 2336.1
Amendment History
Added by Acts 2022, No. 91, §1, eff. 8/1/2022.
Plain-English Summary
Articles 2335 through 2338 all depend on knowing the precise dollar amount owed on any mortgage, security interest, lien, or privilege that outranks the seizing creditor, whether to calculate the two-thirds floor net of that superior debt, to determine whether a bid clears the costs-plus-superior-encumbrance line under Article 2337, or to figure out what a purchaser is taking on. Article 2336.1 supplies a formal tool for pinning that figure down before the sale happens, rather than leaving the sheriff or the creditor to rely on informal requests to the superior lienholder.
The mechanism is a subpoena duces tecum, a court-issued demand for documents, served through the clerk of court on the owner or servicer of the superior encumbrance. It requires that party to produce a written statement of the total amount due as of the scheduled sale date, itemized by principal, accrued interest, any escrow balance, other charges, and any attorney fees, court costs, and sheriff's costs tied to enforcing that superior debt. The subpoena has to be served at least fourteen calendar days before the response is due, and the response itself is due at least seven calendar days before the sale; if the lienholder has a registered agent in the state, service goes through that agent.
The article builds in flexibility for a process that does not always run on schedule. More than one subpoena can be issued on the same superior encumbrance, and if the sale gets postponed or stopped and later rescheduled, the seizing creditor can request an updated figure on a similar timetable. A lienholder can also volunteer the payoff information without waiting for a subpoena, or correct an earlier response, so long as the update reaches the sheriff or creditor at least twenty-four hours before the sale.
Where the lienholder is a bank or an affiliate of one, it may charge a modest fee, capped at twenty-five dollars, each time it supplies or updates this information. That fee is payable only after the information has been delivered, and it gets taxed as a cost of the proceeding rather than absorbed by the party who requested it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why would the sheriff need a subpoena to find out what's owed on someone else's mortgage?
Because the sale's price floors and disclosure rules under Articles 2335 through 2338 depend on knowing the exact amount owed on any superior encumbrance, and Article 2336.1 provides a formal way to compel that accounting from the lienholder or its servicer.
How long before the sale must a superior lienholder respond to the subpoena?
The response is due at least seven calendar days before the scheduled sheriff's sale, and the subpoena itself must be served at least fourteen calendar days before the response is due.
Can a superior lienholder just volunteer the payoff figure without being subpoenaed?
Yes. Article 2336.1(F) allows the owner or servicer to provide the information voluntarily, or to waive or accept service of the subpoena, without requiring the formal process.
What happens if the sale date changes after the payoff figure was already provided?
The seizing creditor can request an updated figure from the lienholder on a similar notice-and-response timetable, and the lienholder can also update or correct its earlier response up to twenty-four hours before the sale.
Can a lender charge a fee for supplying this payoff information?
If the lienholder is a bank or bank affiliate, it can charge up to twenty-five dollars each time information is requested or updated, payable once the information is delivered and taxed as a cost.