§ 484.070.Claim of Exemption

This section draws a line between two kinds of exemption claims. If the defendant wants to claim that personal property described in the plaintiff's own application is exempt, subdivision (a) requires making that claim now, under this section — miss it or fail to prove it, and the claim is barred later except as § 482.100 allows for changed circumstances. If instead the defendant wants to claim that other property (or real property described in the application) is exempt, subdivision (b) is more forgiving: not raising it now doesn't forfeit the claim later, though losing it now does bar a repeat claim absent § 482.100 relief.

Either way, the claim itself has to describe the exempt property and cite the statute supporting the exemption, come with a supporting affidavit and authorities, and be filed and served on the plaintiff at least five court days before the hearing.

What happens next depends on whether the plaintiff responds. If the plaintiff wants to contest the claim, subdivision (f) requires a notice of opposition, with its own affidavit and authorities, filed and served at least two days before the hearing. If the plaintiff doesn't oppose, no writ issues as to the property claimed exempt — and if every item of property in the application is claimed exempt and the plaintiff stays silent, there's no hearing at all, no right to attach order, no writ, and any temporary protective order already in place expires immediately. Once the plaintiff does oppose, subdivision (g) puts the burden on the defendant to prove the property is exempt.