§ 708.010.Stay of Proceedings

Title 9. Enforcement of Judgments · Division 2 · Chapter 6. Miscellaneous Creditors' Remedies · Article 1. Written Interrogatories to Judgment Debtor · Enacted 1982 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026

In one sentenceSection 708.010 lets a judgment creditor use the written-interrogatories procedure of this article at any time a money judgment is enforceable, but automatically pauses that procedure if enforcement of the judgment itself is stayed.

Full Text of § 708.010

Text sizeJump to: (a) (b)

(a) Except as provided in this section and in subdivision (b) of Section 708.020, the procedure in this article may be used at any time a money judgment is enforceable.

(b) If enforcement of the judgment is stayed on appeal by the giving of a sufficient undertaking under Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 916) of Title 13, all proceedings under this article are stayed. In any other case where the enforcement of the judgment is stayed, all proceedings under this article are stayed unless the court otherwise expressly orders.

Plain-English Summary

This section opens Article 1 by setting the timing rule for the whole chapter's written-interrogatories tool: a creditor can send interrogatories to a debtor whenever the underlying money judgment can be enforced, with no separate waiting period built into this article.

That timing rule bends when the judgment itself is on hold. If the debtor has stayed enforcement on appeal by posting a sufficient undertaking under the appellate-bond chapter beginning at § 916, every proceeding under this article stops automatically. Any other kind of stay on the judgment also pauses this article's proceedings, unless the court expressly says otherwise.

The practical effect is that interrogatories under § 708.020 and inspection demands under § 708.030 ride on the same enforceability clock as the judgment they support. Once that clock stops for one of these reasons, the discovery tools stop with it until the stay lifts or the court orders around it.

Frequently Asked Questions

When can a judgment creditor send written interrogatories to a debtor?

At any time the money judgment is enforceable, under § 708.010(a), subject to the stay rules in subdivision (b).

Does an appeal automatically stop interrogatories to the debtor?

Only if the debtor has stayed enforcement of the judgment by posting a sufficient undertaking under the appellate-bond provisions beginning at § 916. In that situation, all Article 1 proceedings are stayed.

What about other kinds of stays that aren't tied to an appeal bond?

Any other stay of enforcement also pauses proceedings under this article, unless the court expressly orders otherwise.

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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