If a third person has possession or control of property in which the judgment debtor has an interest or is indebted to the judgment debtor, the judgment creditor may bring an action against the third person to have the interest or debt applied to the satisfaction of the money judgment.
§ 708.210.Action Against Third Person
Title 9. Enforcement of Judgments · Division 2 · Chapter 6. Miscellaneous Creditors' Remedies · Article 3. Creditor's Suit · Enacted 1982 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 708.210 lets a judgment creditor sue a third person who holds property in which the judgment debtor has an interest, or who owes the debtor a debt, to have that interest or debt applied toward satisfying the creditor's own money judgment.
Full Text of § 708.210
Plain-English Summary
This section opens Article 3's creditor's suit, a remedy for the case where an examination proceeding isn't enough — where the third person's claim needs to be tried on the merits rather than summarily decided. The creditor essentially steps into the debtor's shoes, suing the third person directly to have the debtor's property interest or the third person's debt to the debtor applied to the creditor's own judgment.
This is a distinct remedy from the debtor's examination process in Article 2. Where §§ 708.120 and 708.180 let a court resolve a third person's adverse claim informally as part of an examination proceeding when the circumstances allow, a creditor's suit under this article is a full civil action, complete with pleadings, discovery, and — as § 708.270 makes clear — no right to a jury.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a creditor's suit under this article let a creditor do?
Sue a third person who holds property in which the debtor has an interest, or who owes the debtor a debt, to have that interest or debt applied to the creditor's own judgment.
How is this different from the third-party examination procedure in Article 2?
A creditor's suit is a full civil action rather than a summary determination inside an examination proceeding, and it's the route the court can require under § 708.180(b) when the third person's claim isn't suited to quick resolution.
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
Also known as: creditor's suit californiasuing a third party to collect a judgment california