If the petition for a hearing was made by the third person, neither the petition nor the proceedings pursuant thereto may be dismissed without the consent of the creditor. If the petition for a hearing was made by the creditor, neither the petition nor the proceedings pursuant thereto may be dismissed without the consent of the third person.
§ 720.370.Consent Required to Dismiss Proceedings
Title 9. Enforcement of Judgments · Division 4 · Chapter 4. Hearing on Third-Party Claim · Enacted 1982 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 720.370 prevents either side from unilaterally walking away from a third-party claim proceeding once a hearing has been petitioned for, requiring the creditor's consent to dismiss a petition the third person filed and the third person's consent to dismiss a petition the creditor filed.
Full Text of § 720.370
Plain-English Summary
Once someone petitions for a hearing under § 720.310, this section makes sure that petition can't disappear on one side's say-so alone. If the third person filed the petition, neither the petition nor the proceedings that follow it can be dismissed without the creditor's consent. If the creditor filed the petition instead, the roles flip -- dismissal requires the third person's consent.
The rule protects whichever party didn't control the decision to seek a hearing in the first place. A creditor who petitioned for a hearing to resolve a lienholder's claim, for instance, can't have the third person walk away from the proceeding once it's underway and leave the underlying dispute unresolved -- and the same protection runs the other way if the third person was the one who petitioned.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the party who petitioned for a hearing dismiss it alone?
No. Section 720.370 requires the consent of the other side -- the creditor if the third person petitioned, or the third person if the creditor petitioned.
Why does this section require mutual consent to dismiss?
It keeps whichever party didn't choose to seek the hearing from having the proceeding pulled out from under them before the dispute is resolved.
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: dismissing third party claim hearing californiaconsent required to dismiss lien claim petition