2007 California Code of Civil Procedure Article 3. Judgment Lien On Personal Property

CA Codes (ccp:697.510-697.670)

697.510.  (a) A judgment lien on personal property described in
Section 697.530 is created by filing a notice of judgment lien in the
office of the Secretary of State pursuant to this article.  A
judgment lien may be created under this article only if the judgment
is a money judgment that was first entered in this state after June
30, 1983.  Except as provided in subdivision (b) of Section 697.540,
a judgment lien may not be created under this article if the money
judgment is payable in installments unless all of the installments
under the judgment have become due and payable at the time the notice
of judgment lien is filed.
   (b) Unless the money judgment is satisfied or the judgment lien is
terminated or released, the judgment lien continues for five years
from the date of filing.
   (c) Notwithstanding Section 697.020, the priority of a judgment
lien created under this article does not relate back to the date an
earlier judgment lien was created under this article.



697.520.  A judgment lien on personal property may be created
pursuant to this article as an alternative or in addition to a lien
created by levy under a writ of execution pursuant to Chapter 3
(commencing with Section 699.010) or by use of an enforcement
procedure provided by Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 708.010).




697.530.  (a) A judgment lien on personal property is a lien on all
interests in the following personal property that are subject to
enforcement of the money judgment against the judgment debtor
pursuant to Article 1 (commencing with Section 695.010) of Chapter 1
at the time the lien is created if a security interest in the
property could be perfected under the Commercial Code by filing a
financing statement at that time with the Secretary of State:
   (1) Accounts receivable.
   (2) Chattel paper.
   (3) Equipment.
   (4) Farm products.
   (5) Inventory.
   (6) Negotiable documents of title.
   (b) If any interest in personal property on which a judgment lien
could be created under subdivision (a) is acquired after the judgment
lien was created, the judgment lien attaches to the interest at the
time it is acquired.
   (c) To the extent provided by Section 697.620, a judgment lien on
personal property continues on the proceeds received upon the sale,
collection, or other disposition of the property subject to the
judgment lien.
   (d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the
judgment lien does not attach to:
   (1) A vehicle or vessel required to be registered with the
Department of Motor Vehicles or a mobilehome or commercial coach
required to be registered pursuant to the Health and Safety Code.
   (2) The inventory of a retail merchant held for sale except to the
extent that the inventory of the retail merchant consists of durable
goods having a unit retail value of at least five hundred dollars
(0).  For the purposes of this paragraph, "retail merchant" does
not include (A) a person whose sales for resale exceeded 75 percent
in dollar volume of the person's total sales of all goods during the
12 months preceding the filing of the notice of judgment lien on
personal property or (B) a cooperative association organized pursuant
to Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 54001) of Division 20 of the
Food and Agricultural Code (agricultural cooperative associations) or
Part 3 (commencing with Section 13200) of Division 3 of Title 1 of
the Corporations Code (Fish Marketing Act).
   (e) If property subject to a lien under this article becomes a
fixture (as defined in paragraph (41) of subdivision (a) of Section
9102 of the Commercial Code), the judgment lien on such property is
extinguished.
   (f) Notwithstanding the filing of a notice of judgment lien,
subject to the provisions of Chapter 6 (commencing with Section
708.010), a person obligated on an account receivable or chattel
paper is authorized to pay or compromise the amount without notice to
or consent of the judgment creditor unless and until there is a levy
pursuant to Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 699.010).



697.540.  (a) Except as otherwise provided by statute, a judgment
lien on personal property is a lien for the amount required to
satisfy the money judgment.
   (b) A judgment lien on personal property created under a money
judgment payable in installments pursuant to Section 117 or 582.5 of
this code or pursuant to Section 16380 of the Vehicle Code is in the
full amount required to satisfy the judgment, but the judgment lien
may not be enforced for the amount of unmatured installments unless
the court so orders.



697.550.  The notice of judgment lien on personal property shall be
executed under oath by the judgment creditor's attorney if the
judgment creditor has an attorney of record or, if the judgment
creditor does not have an attorney of record, by the judgment
creditor and shall contain the following information:
   (a) The name and mailing address of the judgment creditor.
   (b) The name and last known mailing address of the judgment
debtor.
   (c) A statement that:  "All property subject to enforcement of a
money judgment against the judgment debtor to which a judgment lien
on personal property may attach under Section 697.530 of the Code of
Civil Procedure is subject to this  judgment lien."
   (d) The title of the court where the judgment is entered and the
cause and number of the action.
   (e) The date of entry of the judgment and of any subsequent
renewals and where entered in the records of the court.
   (f) The amount required to satisfy the judgment at the date of the
notice.
   (g) The date of the notice.



697.560.  At the time of filing the notice of judgment lien on
personal property or promptly thereafter, the judgment creditor shall
serve a copy of the notice of judgment lien on the judgment debtor.
Service shall be made personally or by mail.  The failure to comply
with this requirement does not affect the validity of the judgment
lien.



697.570.  Upon presentation of a notice of judgment lien on personal
property for filing and tender of the filing fee to the office of
the Secretary of State, the notice of judgment lien shall be filed,
marked, and indexed in the same manner as a financing statement.  The
fee for filing in the office of the Secretary of State is the same
as the fee for filing a financing statement in the standard form.  A
notice shall not be filed if it is presented for filing more than 10
days after the date of the notice.



697.580.  (a) Upon the request of any person, the Secretary of State
shall issue a certificate showing whether there is on file in that
office on the date and hour stated therein any notice of judgment
lien on personal property filed against the property of a particular
person named in the request.  If a notice of judgment lien is on
file, the certificate shall state the date and hour of filing of each
such notice and any notice affecting any such notice of judgment
lien and the name and address of the judgment creditor.
   (b) Upon request, the Secretary of State shall furnish a copy of
any notice of judgment lien or notice affecting a notice of judgment
lien.  The certificate shall be issued as part of a combined
certificate pursuant to Section 9528 of the Commercial Code, and the
fee for the certificate and copies shall be in accordance with that
section.


697.590.  (a) As used in this section:
   (1) "Filing" means:
   (A) With respect to a judgment lien on personal property, the
filing of a notice of judgment lien in the office of the Secretary of
State to create a judgment lien on personal property under this
article.
   (B) With respect to a security interest, the filing of a financing
statement pursuant to Division 9 (commencing with Section 9101) of
the Commercial Code.
   (2) "Perfection" means perfection of a security interest pursuant
to Division 9 (commencing with Section 9101) of the Commercial Code.

   (3) "Personal property" means:
   (A) With respect to a judgment lien on personal property, the
property to which a judgment lien has attached pursuant to this
article.
   (B) With respect to a security interest, the collateral subject to
a security interest pursuant to Division 9 (commencing with Section
9101) of the Commercial Code.
   (4) "Purchase money security interest" means "purchase money
security interest" as defined in Section 9103 of the Commercial Code.

   (b) Except as provided in subdivisions (d) and (e), priority
between a judgment lien on personal property and a conflicting
security interest in the same personal property shall be determined
according to this subdivision.  Conflicting interests rank according
to priority in time of filing or perfection.  In the case of a
judgment lien, priority dates from the time filing is first made
covering the personal property.  In the case of a security interest,
priority dates from the time a filing is first made covering the
personal property or the time the security interest is first
perfected, whichever is earlier, provided that there is no period
thereafter when there is neither filing nor perfection.
   (c) For the purposes of subdivision (b), a date of filing or
perfection as to personal property is also a date of filing or
perfection as to proceeds.
   (d) A purchase money security interest has priority over a
conflicting judgment lien on the same personal property or its
proceeds if the purchase money security interest is perfected at the
time the judgment debtor (as a debtor under the security agreement)
receives possession of the personal property or within 20 days
thereafter.
   (e) If a purchase money security interest in inventory has
priority over a judgment lien pursuant to subdivision (d) and a
conflicting security interest has priority over the purchase money
security interest in the same inventory pursuant to Section 9324 of
the Commercial Code, the conflicting security interest also has
priority over the judgment lien on the inventory subject to the
purchase money security interest notwithstanding that the conflicting
security interest would not otherwise have priority over the
judgment lien.
   (f) A judgment lien that has attached to personal property and
that is also subordinate under subdivision (b) to a security interest
in the same personal property is subordinate to the security
interest only to the extent that the security interest secures
advances made before the judgment lien attached or within 45 days
thereafter or made without knowledge of the judgment lien or pursuant
to a commitment entered into without knowledge of the judgment lien.
  For the purpose of this subdivision, a secured party shall be
deemed not to have knowledge of a judgment lien on personal property
until (1) the judgment creditor serves a copy of the notice of
judgment lien on the secured party personally or by mail and (2) the
secured party has knowledge of the judgment lien on personal
property, as "knowledge" is defined in Section 1201 of the Commercial
Code.  If service on the secured party is by mail, it shall be sent
to the secured party at the address shown in the financing statement
or security agreement.


697.600.  (a) A judgment lien on personal property has priority over
any other judgment lien thereafter created on the property.
   (b) For the purpose of this section, if two or more judgment liens
attach to after-acquired property at the same time under subdivision
(b) of Section 697.530, the judgment lien first filed has priority.




697.610.  Except as provided in Sections 9617 and 9622 of the
Commercial Code, a judgment lien on personal property continues
notwithstanding the sale, exchange, or other disposition of the
property, unless the person receiving the property is one of the
following:
   (a) A buyer in ordinary course of business (as defined in Section
1201 of the Commercial Code) who, under Section 9320 of the
Commercial Code, would take free of a security interest created by
the seller.
   (b) A lessee in ordinary course of business (as defined in
paragraph (15) of subdivision (a) of Section 10103 of the Commercial
Code) who, under Section 9321 of the Commercial Code, would take free
of a security interest created by the lessor.
   (c) A holder to whom a negotiable document of title has been duly
negotiated within the meaning of Section 7501 of the Commercial Code.

   (d) A purchaser of chattel paper who, under Section 9330 of the
Commercial Code, would have priority over another security interest
in the chattel paper.


697.620.  (a) As used in this section:
   (1) "Cash proceeds" means money, checks, deposit accounts, and the
like.
   (2) "Proceeds" means identifiable cash proceeds received upon the
sale, exchange, collection, or other disposition of property subject
to a judgment lien on personal property.
   (b) Except as provided in subdivision (c), the judgment lien on
personal property continues in the proceeds with the same priority.
   (c) In the event of insolvency proceedings (as defined in Section
1201 of the Commercial Code) instituted by or against the judgment
debtor, the judgment lien continues under subdivision (b) only in the
following proceeds:
   (1) Proceeds in a separate deposit account containing only
proceeds.
   (2) Proceeds in the form of money which are neither commingled
with other money nor deposited in a deposit account prior to the
insolvency proceedings.
   (3) Proceeds in the form of checks and the like which are not
deposited in a deposit account prior to the insolvency proceedings.



697.640.  (a) The judgment creditor, judgment debtor, owner of
property subject to a judgment lien on personal property created
under the judgment, or a person having a security interest in or a
lien on the property subject to the judgment lien, may file in the
office of the Secretary of State an acknowledgment of satisfaction of
judgment executed as provided in Section 724.060 or a court clerk's
certificate of satisfaction of judgment issued pursuant to Section
724.100, together with a statement containing the name of the
judgment creditor, the name and address of the judgment debtor, and
the file number of the notice of judgment lien.  Upon such filing,
the judgment lien created under the judgment that has been satisfied
is extinguished as a matter of record.  The fee for filing the
acknowledgment or certificate is the same as the fee for filing a
termination statement under Section 9404 of the Commercial Code.
   (b) The filing officer shall treat an acknowledgment of
satisfaction of judgment, or court clerk's certificate of
satisfaction of judgment, and statement filed pursuant to this
section in the same manner as a termination statement filed pursuant
to Section 9525 of the Commercial Code.



697.650.  (a) The judgment creditor may by a writing do any of the
following:
   (1) Release the judgment lien on all the personal property subject
to the lien of a sole judgment debtor or of all the judgment
debtors.
   (2) If the notice of judgment lien names more than one judgment
debtor, release the judgment lien on all the personal property
subject to the lien of one or more but of less than all the judgment
debtors.
   (3) Release the judgment lien on all or a part of the personal
property subject to the lien.
   (4) Subordinate to a security interest or other lien or
encumbrance the judgment lien on all or a part of the personal
property subject to the judgment lien.
   (b) A statement of release or subordination is sufficient if it is
signed by the judgment creditor and contains the name and address of
the judgment debtor, the file number of the notice of judgment lien,
and wording appropriate to bring the statement within one of the
paragraphs of subdivision (a).  In the case of a release under
paragraph (3) of subdivision (a), the statement of release shall also
describe the property being released.  In the case of a
subordination under paragraph (4) of subdivision (a), the statement
of subordination shall also describe the property on which the
judgment lien is being subordinated and describe the security
interest or other lien or encumbrance to which the judgment lien is
being subordinated.
   (c) The filing officer shall treat the filing of a statement of
release pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of this section
in the same manner as a termination statement filed pursuant to
Sections 9513 and 9519 of the Commercial Code.  The filing officer
shall treat the filing of a statement of release pursuant to
paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of this section in the same manner
as a comparable amendment filed pursuant to Sections 9512 and 9519 of
the Commercial Code.  The filing officer shall treat the filing of a
statement of release pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of
this section and the filing of a statement of subordination filed
pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of this section in the
same manner as a statement of release filed pursuant to Sections 9512
and 9519 of the Commercial Code.
   (d) The fee for filing the statement is the same as that provided
in Section 9525 of the Commercial Code.



697.660.  (a)  If a notice of judgment lien on personal property
filed in the office of the Secretary of State appears to create a
judgment lien on personal property of a person who is not the
judgment debtor because the name of the property owner is the same as
or similar to that of the judgment debtor, the erroneously
identified property owner or a person having a security interest in
or a lien on the property may deliver to the judgment creditor a
written demand that the judgment creditor file in the office of the
Secretary of State a statement releasing the lien as to the property
of such owner.  The demand shall be accompanied by proof to the
satisfaction of the judgment creditor that the property owner is not
the judgment debtor and that the property is not subject to
enforcement of the judgment against the judgment debtor.
   (b) Within 15 days after receipt of the demand and proof
satisfactory to the judgment creditor that the property owner is not
the judgment debtor and that the property is not subject to
enforcement of the judgment, the judgment creditor shall file in the
office of the Secretary of State a statement releasing the lien on
the property of such owner.  If the judgment creditor improperly
fails to file the statement of release within the time allowed, the
judgment creditor is liable to the person who made the demand for all
damages sustained by reason of such failure and shall also forfeit
one hundred dollars (0) to such person.
   (c) If the judgment creditor does not file a statement of release
pursuant to subdivision (b), the person who made the demand may apply
to the court on noticed motion for an order releasing the judgment
lien on the property of such owner.  Notice of motion shall be served
on the judgment creditor.  Service shall be made personally or by
mail.  Upon presentation of evidence to the satisfaction of the court
that the property owner is not the judgment debtor and that the
property is not subject to enforcement of the judgment, the court
shall order the judgment creditor to prepare and file the statement
of release or shall itself order the release of the judgment lien on
the property of such owner.  The court order may be filed in the
office of the Secretary of State with the same effect as the
statement of release demanded under subdivision (a).
   (d) The court shall award reasonable attorney's fees to the
prevailing party in any action or proceeding maintained pursuant to
this section.
   (e) The damages provided by this section are not in derogation of
any other damages or penalties to which an aggrieved person may be
entitled by law.
   (f) The fee for filing a statement of release or court order under
this section is the same as that provided in Section 9525 of the
Commercial Code.


697.670.  (a) The Secretary of State may prescribe, provided that a
cost-savings would be achieved thereby:
   (1) The forms for the notice of judgment lien on personal property
and the statement of release or subordination provided for in this
article.
   (2) The form for the statement provided for in Section 697.640 and
the situations when that form is required or is not required.
   (b) A form prescribed by the Secretary of State for a notice or
statement pursuant to subdivision (a) is deemed to comply with this
article and supersedes any requirements specified in this article for
the notice or statement.