(a) Subject to subdivision (b), if a third person examined pursuant to Section 708.120 claims an interest in the property adverse to the judgment debtor or denies the debt, the court may, if the judgment creditor so requests, determine the interests in the property or the existence of the debt. The determination is conclusive as to the parties to the proceeding and the third person, but an appeal may be taken from the determination. The court may grant a continuance for a reasonable time for discovery proceedings, the production of evidence, or other preparation for the hearing.
§ 708.180.Determination By Court When Third Person Claim Interest Adverse to Debtor Or Denies Debt
Title 9. Enforcement of Judgments · Division 2 · Chapter 6. Miscellaneous Creditors' Remedies · Article 2. Examination Proceedings · Last amended 1998 · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 708.180 lets a court resolve a third person's adverse property claim or debt denial raised at a debtor's examination, unless good faith and venue, a pending creditor's suit, or the court's own judgment favor a separate creditor's suit instead, meanwhile letting the court bar transfer or payment by ex parte or noticed order.
Full Text of § 708.180
(b) The court may not make the determination provided in subdivision (a) if the third person's claim is made in good faith and any of the following conditions is satisfied:
(1) The court would not be a proper court for the trial of an independent civil action (including a creditor's suit) for the determination of the interests in the property or the existence of the debt, and the third person objects to the determination of the matter under subdivision (a).
(2) At the time an order for examination pursuant to Section 708.120 is served on the third person a civil action (including a creditor's suit) is pending with respect to the interests in the property or the existence of the debt.
(3) The court determines that the interests in the property or the existence of the debt should be determined in a creditor's suit.
(c) Upon application of the judgment creditor made ex parte, the court may make an order forbidding transfer of the property to the judgment debtor or payment of the debt to the judgment debtor until the interests in the property or the existence of the debt is determined pursuant to subdivision (a) or until a creditor's suit may be commenced and an order obtained pursuant to Section 708.240. An undertaking may be required in the discretion of the court. The court may modify or vacate the order at any time with or without a hearing on such terms as are just.
(d) Upon application of the judgment creditor upon noticed motion, the court may, if it determines that the judgment debtor probably owns an interest in the property or that the debt probably is owed to the judgment debtor, make an order forbidding the transfer or other disposition of the property to any person or forbidding payment of the debt until the interests in the property or the existence of the debt is determined pursuant to subdivision (a) or until a creditor's suit may be commenced and an order obtained pursuant to Section 708.240. The court shall require the judgment creditor to furnish an undertaking as provided in Section 529. The court may modify or vacate the order at any time after notice and hearing on such terms as are just.
Plain-English Summary
Not every third-party examination under § 708.120 goes smoothly — the third person may claim to own the property outright, or deny owing any debt at all. This section lets the court resolve that dispute right there, if the creditor asks, with a determination that binds the parties and the third person and remains appealable, and with room for a continuance to let discovery or evidence catch up.
But the court can't decide the dispute on the spot if the third person's claim is genuine and good faith and any of three conditions applies: the court wouldn't be a proper venue for an independent creditor's suit over the same property or debt and the third person objects to a summary determination; a creditor's suit over the same interests was already pending when the order was served; or the court itself decides the matter belongs in a creditor's suit rather than in the examination proceeding. In those situations, the parties get pushed toward Article 3's fuller creditor's-suit procedure instead.
While that larger question gets sorted out, the creditor isn't left exposed. On an ex parte application, the court can forbid the third person from transferring the property or paying the debt to the debtor until the interests are determined here or until a creditor's suit is filed and a § 708.240 order obtained, with an undertaking left to the court's discretion and the order modifiable or revocable at any time. On a noticed motion, if the court finds the debtor probably does own the interest or is probably owed the debt, it can go further — forbidding transfer to anyone, not just the debtor — but only after requiring the creditor to post the undertaking § 529 describes, and only modifiable after notice and a hearing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a court decide whether a third person really owes the debtor's asset during an examination?
Yes, if the creditor requests it, unless the third person's good-faith claim triggers one of the exceptions in § 708.180(b) that push the matter to a creditor's suit instead.
What are those exceptions?
The court isn't a proper venue for an independent creditor's suit and the third person objects, a creditor's suit over the same property or debt was already pending, or the court determines the matter should be resolved in a creditor's suit.
Can the creditor stop the third person from transferring the property in the meantime?
Yes, through an ex parte order under subdivision (c) or, with stronger findings and a mandatory undertaking, a noticed-motion order under subdivision (d) that can reach transfers to anyone, not just the debtor.
Is the court's determination under this section final?
It's conclusive as to the parties and the third person, but it can be appealed.
Amendment History
Amended by Stats. 1998, Ch. 931, Sec. 95. Effective September 28, 1998.
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: third party adverse claim debtor examination californiaforbidding transfer order debtor examination