§ 1908.Judgment or final order; effect; conclusiveness; nonparty
Title 2. Of the Kinds and Degrees of Evidence · Chapter 3. Writings · Article 2. Public Writings · Last amended 1975 · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 1908 sets out when a judgment or final order is conclusive: binding on the title to a specific thing or on a person's status when the judgment addresses those directly, binding between litigating parties and their successors on matters directly adjudged, and binding a nonparty who controlled the litigation with a financial or proprietary stake in it.
(a)The effect of a judgment or final order in an action or special proceeding before a court or judge of this state, or of the United States, having jurisdiction to pronounce the judgment or order, is as follows:
(1)In case of a judgment or order against a specific thing, or in respect to the probate of a will, or the administration of the estate of a decedent, or in respect to the personal, political, or legal condition or relation of a particular person, the judgment or order is conclusive upon the title to the thing, the will, or administration, or the condition or relation of the person.
(2)In other cases, the judgment or order is, in respect to the matter directly adjudged, conclusive between the parties and their successors in interest by title subsequent to the commencement of the action or special proceeding, litigating for the same thing under the same title and in the same capacity, provided they have notice, actual or constructive, of the pendency of the action or proceeding.
(b)A person who is not a party but who controls an action, individually or in cooperation with others, is bound by the adjudications of litigated matters as if he were a party if he has a proprietary or financial interest in the judgment or in the determination of a question of fact or of a question of law with reference to the same subject matter or transaction; if the other party has notice of his participation, the other party is equally bound.
At any time prior to a final judgment, as defined in Section 577, a determination of whether the judgment, verdict upon which it was entered, or a finding upon which it was entered is to be binding upon a nonparty pursuant to this subdivision or whether such nonparty is entitled to the benefit of this subdivision may, on the noticed motion of any party or any nonparty that may be affected by this subdivision, be made in the court in which the action was tried or in which the action is pending on appeal. If no such motion is made before the judgment becomes final, the determination may be made in a separate action. If appropriate, a judgment may be entered or ordered to be entered pursuant to such determination.
Plain-English Summary
This section is the backbone of California's law of claim and issue preclusion within the Code of Civil Procedure, and it works in layers. The first layer covers judgments in rem or status judgments, a judgment or order against a specific thing, or one touching the probate of a will, the administration of an estate, or a person's personal, political, or legal condition, is conclusive as to the title to that thing, the will or administration, or the condition or relation decided. Anyone dealing with that thing or that person's status afterward has to reckon with what the judgment settled.
The second layer covers ordinary two-party litigation: as to what was directly adjudged, the judgment or order binds the parties and their successors in interest whose title arose after the action began, so long as they were litigating the same thing under the same title and capacity and had actual or constructive notice of the proceeding.
The third layer reaches beyond the named parties. A nonparty who controls the litigation, alone or with others, and who has a proprietary or financial stake in the judgment or in how a disputed fact or legal question comes out, is bound by the outcome as if that person had been a party, provided the other side knew of that nonparty's involvement. The section closes by giving courts a mechanism to sort out, before a judgment becomes final, whether this nonparty-binding rule applies to a particular person, on a noticed motion in the trial court or the court where an appeal is pending, or, if no one raised it in time, in a later separate action.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is a judgment conclusive as to a specific thing rather than just between the parties?
When the judgment or order is against a specific thing, or concerns probate of a will, estate administration, or a person's personal, political, or legal condition, it is conclusive on the title to that thing or on that status.
What does a party need to be bound by a judgment on a matter directly adjudged?
The party, or a successor in interest whose title arose after the action began, must have been litigating for the same thing under the same title and capacity, with actual or constructive notice of the proceeding.
Can someone who was never a named party be bound by a judgment?
Yes, if that person controlled the litigation and had a proprietary or financial interest in the outcome, and the other party had notice of that person's participation.
How does a court decide whether the nonparty-preclusion rule applies to a particular person?
On a noticed motion in the trial court, or the court where the case is pending on appeal, made before the judgment becomes final; if no such motion is made in time, the question can be decided in a later separate action.
Amendment History
(Enacted in 1872. Amended by Code Am.1873-74, c. 383, p. 382, § 222; Stats.1975, c. 225, p. 607, § 1.)
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the West's Annotated California Codes / Thomson Reuters. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 29, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as:res judicata judgment conclusive effect californianonparty bound by judgment control of litigation