If a third person has possession or control of property in which the defendant has an interest or is indebted to the defendant and the property or debt has been subjected to an attachment lien, the plaintiff may bring an action against the third person to enforce the third person's liability under this title.
§ 491.310.Action to Enforce Third Person Liability
Title 6.5. Attachment · Chapter 11. Attaching Plaintiff's Miscellaneous Remedies · Article 2. Creditor's Suit · Enacted 1982 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 491.310 lets a plaintiff bring an action against a third person to enforce that third person's liability when the third person's possession of the defendant's property, or debt owed to the defendant, has been subjected to an attachment lien.
Full Text of § 491.310
Plain-English Summary
Examination alone does not always force a reluctant or disputing third person to pay up. Section 491.310 gives the plaintiff a further remedy: once the property or debt has been subjected to an attachment lien, the plaintiff can sue the third person directly to enforce that person's liability under this title.
This is the creditor's suit the rest of Article 2 builds on. It turns an attachment lien on someone else's obligation into an actual lawsuit against that person, rather than leaving the plaintiff to rely on examination proceedings and enforcement orders alone.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a plaintiff sue a third person directly to collect on an attachment lien?
Yes. Section 491.310 lets the plaintiff bring an action against the third person to enforce that person's liability once the property or debt has been subjected to an attachment lien.
Is a prior examination proceeding required before filing this kind of action?
Section 491.310 conditions the action on the property or debt having been subjected to an attachment lien, which typically arises from the examination process under Article 1, but the section itself focuses on the lien's existence rather than requiring a completed examination.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1982, Ch. 1198, Sec. 57. 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: creditor's suit california attachmentsue third person to enforce attachment lien