§ 720.380.Staying Sale Or Enjoining Transfer Or Other Disposition of Property

A third-party claim can take weeks to resolve, and property sitting under a writ doesn't always wait patiently. Subdivision (a) gives the court broad authority -- notwithstanding any other provision of this title -- to stay a sale under a writ, or enjoin any transfer or other disposition of the levied property, until the third person's rights can be determined, and to condition that order on whatever undertaking the court considers necessary.

Subdivision (b) tells the creditor, debtor, or third person how to ask for that protection: apply to the court, notwithstanding the undertaking provisions of §§ 720.160 and 720.260, for an order staying the sale or enjoining the transfer until the Chapter 4 proceedings run their course. That application is a noticed motion only if the court directs it or a court rule requires it -- otherwise, it can be made ex parte, without advance notice to anyone.

Nothing about an order made this way is set in stone. Subdivision (c) lets the court modify or vacate it at any time before the proceedings terminate, on whatever terms are just -- useful if circumstances change while the third-party claim works its way toward a § 720.390 judgment.