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§ 488.355.To Attach Personal Property In Custody of Levying Officer

Title 6.5. Attachment · Chapter 8. Levy Procedures; Lien of Attachment; Management and Disposition of Attached Property · Article 2. Methods of Levy · Enacted 1982 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026

In one sentenceSection 488.355 governs personal property already in a levying officer's custody from an earlier levy: the plaintiff or officer follows § 700.050(a), and the officer honors multiple writs in the order received, without going through the third-person duties in Article 4.

Full Text of § 488.355

Text sizeJump to: (a) (b)

(a) To attach personal property in the custody of a levying officer, the plaintiff or levying officer shall comply with subdivision (a) of Section 700.050.
(b) The levying officer having custody of the property shall comply with the writs in the order they are received and is not subject to the provisions of Article 4 (commencing with Section 488.600).

Plain-English Summary

Sometimes the property a plaintiff wants to reach is already sitting with a levying officer because of an earlier levy. Section 488.355 handles that overlap. The plaintiff or the officer complies with § 700.050(a) to attach the property, and the officer holding custody processes competing writs strictly in the order they are received, rather than under the garnishee's-memorandum and third-person-duty rules of Article 4 (§ 488.600 and following) that would otherwise apply.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens if two different writs try to reach property already in a levying officer's custody?

Section 488.355(b) requires the officer to comply with the writs in the order they are received, and this situation is not subject to the third-person duties in Article 4 (commencing with § 488.600).

Does the garnishee's memorandum procedure apply when a levying officer already holds the property?

No. Section 488.355(b) exempts this situation from the third-person duties in Article 4, since the officer already has the property in hand rather than a third person.

Amendment History

Added by Stats. 1982, Ch. 1198, Sec. 50. Operative July 1, 1983, by Sec. 70 of Ch. 1198.

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: attaching property already in officers custody californiaccp 488.355 order of writs received