If the defendant recovers judgment against the plaintiff and no timely motion for vacation of judgment or for judgment notwithstanding the verdict or for a new trial is filed and served and is pending and no appeal is perfected and undertaking executed and filed as provided in Section 921, any undertaking received from the defendant in the action, all the proceeds of sales and money collected by the levying officer, and all the property attached remaining in the levying officer's hands shall be delivered to the person from whom it was collected or taken, unless otherwise ordered by the court; and the court shall order the discharge of any attachment made in the action and the release of any property held thereunder.
§ 488.740.Delivery of Money and Property to Person From Whom Collected Or Taken
Title 6.5. Attachment · Chapter 8. Levy Procedures; Lien of Attachment; Management and Disposition of Attached Property · Article 5. Management and Disposition of Attached Property · Enacted 1982 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 488.740 requires that, once the defendant wins judgment and no timely post-trial motion or perfected appeal is pending, all attached property, sale proceeds, and money collected by the levying officer be delivered to the person from whom it was taken, with the court discharging the attachment.
Full Text of § 488.740
Plain-English Summary
If the case ends with the defendant winning rather than the plaintiff, the attachment has no further reason to exist. Section 488.740 requires that outcome to be carried through once it is truly final: no timely motion to vacate the judgment, for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, or for a new trial is pending, and no appeal has been perfected with the undertaking required by § 921. At that point, any undertaking received from the defendant, all sale proceeds and money the levying officer collected, and all attached property still in the officer's hands must be delivered to the person from whom it was collected or taken, unless the court orders otherwise — and the court must order the attachment discharged and any property held under it released.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens to attached property if the defendant wins the case?
Section 488.740 requires the levying officer to deliver all attached property, sale proceeds, and collected money back to the person from whom it was taken, once the defendant's judgment is final and unappealed, and the court discharges the attachment.
Does a pending appeal delay the release of attached property after a defense judgment?
Yes. Section 488.740 applies once no timely post-trial motion is pending and no appeal has been perfected with the undertaking required under § 921; a properly perfected appeal keeps the attachment in place.
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
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