§ 1268.020.Failure to Timely Pay Full Amount Required By Judgment
Title 7. Eminent Domain Law · Chapter 11. Postjudgment Procedure · Article 1. Payment of Judgment; Final Order of Condemnation · Last amended 1980 · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 1268.020 lets a defendant enforce an unpaid eminent domain judgment as any civil judgment would be enforced, or instead move to dismiss the entire proceeding after giving the agency written notice and 20 more days to pay.
(a)If the plaintiff fails to pay the full amount required by the judgment within the time specified in Section 1268.010, the defendant may:
(1)If the plaintiff is a public entity, enforce the judgment as provided in Division 3.6 (commencing with Section 810) of Title 1 of the Government Code.
(2)If the plaintiff is not a public entity, enforce the judgment as in a civil case.
(b)Upon noticed motion of the defendant, the court shall enter judgment dismissing the eminent domain proceeding if all of the following are established:
(1)The plaintiff failed to pay the full amount required by the judgment within the time specified in Section 1268.010.
(2)The defendant has filed in court and served upon the plaintiff, by registered or certified mail, a written notice of the plaintiff's failure to pay the full amount required by the judgment within the time specified in Section 1268.010.
(3)The plaintiff has failed for 20 days after service of the notice under paragraph (2) to pay the full amount required by the judgment in the manner provided in subdivision (b) of Section 1268.010.
(c)The defendant may elect to exercise the remedy provided by subdivision (b) without attempting to use the remedy provided by subdivision (a).
(d)As used in this section, "public entity" does not include the Regents of the University of California.
Plain-English Summary
When the condemning agency misses the 30-day payment deadline in § 1268.010, this section gives the defendant two independent paths forward, and the defendant gets to pick either one without having to try the other first.
The first path is ordinary enforcement. If the agency is a public entity, the defendant enforces the judgment the way any judgment against a government body gets enforced under the Government Code. If the agency isn't a public entity, the defendant enforces it the way any civil judgment gets enforced.
The second path is more drastic: killing the proceeding outright. To get there, the defendant files and serves a written notice, by registered or certified mail, telling the agency it missed the deadline. If the agency still hasn't paid in full 20 days after that notice, the defendant can move the court to dismiss the eminent domain proceeding entirely. Notably, the University of California's governing board doesn't count as a public entity for this section, so a defendant facing the Regents follows the ordinary civil-judgment path rather than the government-enforcement one.
Frequently Asked Questions
What can a defendant do if the agency doesn't pay the judgment on time?
Enforce the judgment as the defendant would enforce any judgment against that type of party, or move to dismiss the proceeding after giving the required notice.
What has to happen before a defendant can move to dismiss for nonpayment?
The defendant must file and serve, by registered or certified mail, written notice of the failure to pay, and the agency must then fail to pay in full for 20 more days.
Does the defendant have to try enforcement before seeking dismissal?
No. The defendant may elect to pursue dismissal without first attempting to enforce the judgment.
Does the Regents of the University of California count as a public entity for this section?
No. Subdivision (d) excludes the Regents from the definition of public entity used here.
Amendment History
Amended by Stats. 1980, Ch. 215, Sec. 1.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 29, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as:dismiss eminent domain nonpayment californiaenforce unpaid condemnation judgment