(a) At any time after entry of judgment in favor of the defendant and before perfection of an appeal under Section 921, upon motion of the defendant, the trial court may order an increase in the amount of the original undertaking on attachment in such amount, if any, as is justified by the detriment reasonably to be anticipated by continuing the attachment. Unless such undertaking is filed within 10 days after such order, the attachment shall be set aside and the property released therefrom.
§ 489.410.Generally
Title 6.5. Attachment · Chapter 9. Undertakings · Article 4. Undertaking on Appeal · Enacted 1974 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 489.410 lets a trial court, after judgment for the defendant and before an appeal is perfected, order the attachment undertaking increased to cover the harm expected from keeping the attachment alive, and specifies that a plaintiff's post-trial motions do not keep an attachment in force unless the plaintiff posts an undertaking to cover the resulting costs and damages.
Full Text of § 489.410
(c) Neither the pendency nor granting of a motion timely filed and served by the plaintiff for vacation of judgment or for judgment notwithstanding the verdict or for new trial shall continue an attachment in force unless an undertaking is given by the plaintiff to pay all costs and damages sustained by continuing the attachment. The undertaking may be included in the undertaking specified in Section 921. If not so included, the same procedure shall apply as in case of an undertaking pursuant to Section 921.
Plain-English Summary
Winning at trial does not automatically free a defendant's attached property, because the plaintiff may still appeal. Section 489.410(a) addresses the gap between judgment and a perfected appeal: on the defendant's motion, the trial court may increase the original attachment undertaking by whatever amount is justified by the harm the defendant can reasonably expect from the attachment continuing. If the plaintiff does not file that increased undertaking within ten days, the attachment is set aside and the property released.
Subdivision (b) ties that increased figure to the undertaking on appeal required by § 921 -- once the trial court sets the higher amount, that becomes the appeal-undertaking amount too, so the defendant is not asked to calculate a second number.
Subdivision (c) closes a different gap. A plaintiff's own post-trial motions -- to vacate the judgment, for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, or for a new trial -- do not by themselves keep the attachment alive. The attachment stays in force only if the plaintiff gives an undertaking to pay all costs and damages caused by continuing it, and that undertaking can be the same one required under § 921 or a separate one following the same procedure.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a defendant's trial win automatically release attached property?
Not immediately. Section 489.410(a) lets the trial court order the original undertaking increased to cover the harm expected from the attachment continuing, and if the plaintiff doesn't file that increased undertaking within 10 days, the attachment is set aside and the property released.
Does filing a motion for a new trial keep the attachment going after the defendant wins?
No, not by itself. Section 489.410(c) states that neither the pendency nor the granting of the plaintiff's motion to vacate judgment, for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, or for a new trial continues the attachment unless the plaintiff gives an undertaking to pay the resulting costs and damages.
How does the increased trial-court undertaking relate to the undertaking on appeal?
Section 489.410(b) makes them the same figure -- if the trial court orders the undertaking increased, that becomes the amount required for the undertaking on appeal under § 921.
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: increase attachment undertaking after judgment californiaattachment pending appeal californiaundertaking on appeal attachment