§ 701.020.Liability For Failure Or Refusal to Deliver Property Or Make Payments
Title 9. Enforcement of Judgments · Division 2 · Chapter 3. Execution · Article 5. Duties and Liabilities of Third Persons After Levy · Enacted 1982 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 701.020 makes a third person who fails or refuses without good cause to deliver levied property or make required payments liable to the judgment creditor for the lesser of the property's or payment's value or the amount needed to satisfy the judgment, continuing until delivery, release, or satisfaction, with possible attorney's fees and costs.
(a)If a third person is required by this article to deliver property to the levying officer or to make payments to the levying officer and the third person fails or refuses without good cause to do so, the third person is liable to the judgment creditor for whichever of the following is the lesser amount:
(1)The value of the judgment debtor's interest in the property or the amount of the payments required to be made.
(2)The amount required to satisfy the judgment pursuant to which the levy is made.
(b)The third person's liability continues until the earliest of the following times:
(1)The time when the property levied upon is delivered to the levying officer or the payments are made to the levying officer.
(2)The time when the property levied upon is released pursuant to Section 699. 060.
(3)The time when the judgment is satisfied or discharged.
(c)If the third person's liability is established, the court that determines the liability may, in its discretion, require the third person to pay the costs and reasonable attorney's fees incurred by the judgment creditor in establishing the liability.
Plain-English Summary
The duties § 701.010 creates come with real consequences for ignoring them. Subdivision (a) sets the measure of liability: whichever is less, either the value of the judgment debtor's interest in the withheld property or the amount of payments that should have been made, or the amount still needed to satisfy the judgment. That cap keeps the third person from owing more than the creditor was entitled to collect.
Subdivision (b) tells you how long this exposure lasts. Liability continues until the property is finally delivered or the payments finally made, until the property is released under § 699.060, or until the underlying judgment is satisfied or discharged — whichever comes first ends the third person's exposure.
Subdivision (c) adds a further sting: once a court determines that a third person is liable, the court can, in its discretion, also make that person pay the costs and reasonable attorney's fees the creditor spent proving the liability. That gives a third person real incentive to comply the first time rather than force the creditor into a separate proceeding.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much can a third person owe for failing to comply with levy duties?
Whichever is less: the value of the judgment debtor's interest in the property or the payments required, or the amount needed to satisfy the judgment.
When does a third person's liability under this section end?
At the earliest of delivery of the property or making the payments, release of the property under § 699.060, or satisfaction or discharge of the judgment.
Can a third person be made to pay the creditor's attorney's fees for this?
Yes, subdivision (c) lets the court, in its discretion, require the third person to pay the costs and reasonable attorney's fees the creditor incurred in establishing the liability.
Does good cause for noncompliance under § 701.010 avoid this liability?
Yes. This section only reaches a third person who fails or refuses without good cause, echoing the good-cause standard in § 701.010.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1982, Ch. 1364, Sec. 2. Operative July 1, 1983, by Sec. 3 of Ch. 1364.
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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