http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview/id/732080.html

Note: the blue color text is the legal terms.

.........The judgment creditor then brought a NEW action to enforce the judgment, which is
allowed under California law as long as it is brought within 10 years
of the time that the judgment was made "final" .

Definition of FINAL:

A judgment is not "final" when it is entered.  

It is "final" when the time to appeal the judgment has expired.  

Time to appeal expired:

After entry of judgment, you have an absolute maximum of 180 days to appeal it, 

IF no party has filed a "Notice of Entry of Judgment." 

 If a party files a Notice of Entry of Judgment, then you only have 60 days 

from service of that Notice to file a Notice of Appeal. 

If there was a Notice of Entry of Judgment, then
the judgment became "final"  60 days after it was served. 

And under Section 683.180, the only way to maintain your lien is by
recording a certified copy of the application for renewal of the
judgment.  Otherwise the lien simply expires.
"If a judgment lien on an interest in real property has 
been created pursuant to a money judgment and the judgment is
renewed pursuant to this article, the duration of the judgment lien
is extended until 10 years from the date of the filing of the
application for renewal if, before the expiration of the  judgment
lien, a certified copy of the application for renewal is recorded
with the county recorder of the county where the real property
subject to the judgment lien is located."