Objecting to execution of a bill against the bank: the deadline, what to attach, what happens to the file

In short: when a bank opens an execution file on a bill — a promissory note signed with the loan agreement, or a cheque — the way to stop it is an objection to execution of the bill. The deadline is thirty days from the day the warning was served, the objection is filed at the execution office with an affidavit, and once filed the Registrar of Execution orders the execution of the bill stayed and transfers the file to the court. The provisions below are quoted from the text of the regulations.

What “execution of a bill” is, and why it differs from a claim

In a bill file the creditor files no statement of claim. He lodges the bill with the execution office and the file opens. The burden is reversed: it is the debtor who must act, and if he does not act in time the proceedings continue as though judgment had been given. That is why the deadline matters here more than in most proceedings.

Many loan and leasing agreements include a promissory note signed at the outset, sometimes with guarantors. That note is what allows a bill file to be opened without first going through a court.

The deadline: thirty days

Regulation 106(a) of the Execution Regulations, 1979 provides that an objection under section 81A(c) of the Execution Law shall be filed within thirty days of the day the warning was served.

The clock runs from service, not from the opening of the file and not from the day you heard about it. If the warning was not duly served on you, that is a point in itself, and any evidence about how it was delivered is worth keeping.

Where it is filed

Under the same regulation, the objection is filed at the office where the execution application was filed, or at the office attached to the court having local jurisdiction over a claim on the bill.

The regulation requires the objection to set out the names and addresses of the objector and the applicant, the execution file number, the grounds of objection, the amount objected to, the name of the objector’s lawyer or a statement that he will appear for himself, the grounds for local jurisdiction, and an address for service.

What is attached

Regulation 106(b) lists what accompanies the objection, filed in one copy:

1. An affidavit, in one copy, verifying the facts it contains.
2. A copy or photocopy of every document the objector relies on.
3. Copies of the objection and its attachments, enough for service on every applicant.
4. A copy of the application to execute the bill with its annexes, if any were filed.
5. A power of attorney, where the objector is represented.

The affidavit is not a formality. It is the evidence against which the objection is judged, and a fact not pleaded in it is hard to raise later.

What happens to the file the moment an objection is filed

Regulation 108(a): where an objection under regulation 106 has been filed, the Registrar of Execution shall order the execution of the bill against the objector stayed, and shall transfer to the competent court the application for execution, the objection and all its attachments.

Regulation 108(b): once the objection has been transferred to the court, the application to execute the bill shall be treated as a statement of claim under the summary procedure. The proceeding becomes an ordinary claim, with the bank as plaintiff.

Regulation 108(c) provides that the stay has the effect of a stay under section 17 of the Law, and that steps already taken before the stay order was served — including interim relief — stand until the court decides otherwise. An attachment already imposed therefore does not lapse by itself on the filing of an objection.

If the deadline has passed

Regulation 109 distinguishes two situations:

• An application for extension filed within 30 days of service (reg. 109(a)): in writing, with an affidavit, the substance of the grounds of objection and the grounds for local jurisdiction, transferred to the competent court.
• An application filed after 30 days (reg. 109(a1)): the same requirements, and in addition the Registrar of Execution shall give directions as to interest under section 81A3 of the Law, and transfer the application to the court. Within thirty days of filing it, the objector must add the objection itself.

In practice: a late application brings no automatic stay, and it carries a possible price in interest.

The fee

Regulation 107(a): the party applying to execute a bill pays the fee under the First Schedule to the Execution (Fees, Remuneration and Expenses) Regulations, 1968. Regulation 107(b): where an objection has been filed and the court allowed it, the applicant for execution pays the fee under regulation 4 of the Courts (Fees) Regulations, 2007.

Before objecting: check the balance

An objection is judged against a figure. Before drafting it, break the file balance into its components — principal, interest, fees and costs — and check what was approved and what was added. This archive holds decisions on inflated balances and late reporting to the execution office, and on charging legal costs that no court had approved.

What the courts held against Mizrahi Tefahot in execution matters

What this page is not

This page summarises the language of the regulations and is not legal advice. Deadlines, the text of the regulations and the case law change, and every file has its own documents. An objection filed late or without an affidavit may be struck out, so if in doubt consult a lawyer or legal aid.

Sources

1. תקנות ההוצאה לפועל, תש"ם-1979 — נוסח מלא ומעודכן (PDF)