(a) If the creditor files with the levying officer an undertaking that satisfies the requirements of this section within the time allowed under subdivision (b) of Section 720.140:
(1) The levying officer shall execute the writ in the manner provided by law unless the third person files an undertaking to release the property pursuant to Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 720.610).
(2) After sale, payment, or delivery of the property pursuant to the writ, the property is free of all claims of the third person for which the creditor has given the undertaking.
(b) Subject to Sections 720.770 and 996.010, unless the creditor elects to file an undertaking in a larger amount, the amount of the undertaking filed by the creditor under this section shall be in the amount of ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or twice the amount of the execution lien as of the date of levy or other enforcement lien as of the date it was created, whichever is the lesser amount.
(c) An undertaking given by the creditor under this chapter shall:
(1) Be made in favor of the third person.
(2) Indemnify the third person against any loss, liability, damages, costs, and attorney’s fees, incurred by reason of the enforcement proceedings.
(3) Be conditioned on a final judgment that the third person owns or has the right of possession of the property.
(d) If the creditor is a public entity exempt from giving an undertaking, the public entity shall, in lieu of filing the undertaking, file with the levying officer a notice stating that the public entity opposes the claim of the third person. When so filed, the notice is deemed to satisfy the requirement of this section that an undertaking be filed.
(Amended by Stats. 2001, Ch. 812, Sec. 5. Effective January 1, 2002.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018