(a) In any case where the plaintiff has applied for a right to attach order and writ of attachment under Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 485.010), the court may in its discretion deny the application for the order and writ and issue instead a temporary protective order under this chapter if it determines that the requirements of Section 485.220 are satisfied but that the issuance of the temporary protective order instead of the right to attach order and writ would be in the interest of justice and equity to the parties, taking into account the effect on the defendant of issuing a writ of attachment ex parte, the effect on the plaintiff of issuing the temporary protective order instead of the writ, and other factors that bear on equity and justice under the circumstances of the particular case.
§ 486.030.Issuance of Temporary Order Instead of Right to Attach Order
Title 6.5. Attachment · Chapter 6. Temporary Protective Order · Enacted 1974 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 486.030 lets a court, when a plaintiff has applied ex parte for a writ of attachment, deny that ex parte relief and issue a temporary protective order instead if doing so serves justice and equity between the parties.
Full Text of § 486.030
(b) If the court issues a temporary protective order under this section, the plaintiff's application for a right to attach order and writ shall be treated as an application for a right to attach order and writ under Article 1 (commencing with Section 484.010) of Chapter 4 and the plaintiff shall comply with the requirements of service provided in Section 484.040.
Plain-English Summary
Chapter 5's ex parte procedure lets a plaintiff obtain a writ of attachment without notice to the defendant, a powerful remedy reserved for cases of real urgency. Section 486.030 gives the court a middle path. If the plaintiff has applied for a right to attach order and writ under that ex parte procedure, the court can find that the § 485.220 requirements for the writ are met and still choose not to issue it, substituting a temporary protective order instead — weighing the effect on the defendant of an ex parte writ, the effect on the plaintiff of getting only the milder order, and any other factor that bears on equity and justice in the particular case.
Choosing this path has a procedural consequence. The plaintiff's original ex parte application does not disappear; it is treated instead as an application for a right to attach order and writ under Article 1 (§ 484.010 and following) of Chapter 4, the noticed-hearing track. The plaintiff then has to comply with the service requirements in § 484.040, giving the defendant the notice the ex parte route would have skipped.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a California court give a plaintiff a temporary protective order instead of the ex parte writ requested?
Yes. Section 486.030 lets the court do this when it finds the § 485.220 requirements for the writ are met but decides the temporary protective order better serves justice and equity given the case's circumstances.
What happens to the plaintiff's original ex parte application once a temporary protective order issues instead?
What does the court weigh in deciding whether to make this substitution?
The effect on the defendant of an ex parte writ, the effect on the plaintiff of getting a temporary protective order instead, and any other factor bearing on equity and justice in the case.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1974, Ch. 1516.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 28, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: court substitutes temporary protective order for writ of attachmentex parte writ denied temporary protective order issued instead