At the conclusion of the hearing, the court shall give judgment determining the validity of the third-party claim and may order the disposition of the property or its proceeds in accordance with the respective interests of the parties. Subject to Section 720.420, the judgment is conclusive between the parties to the proceeding.
§ 720.390.Judgment of Court
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 720.390 requires the court, at the close of the hearing, to enter judgment determining the validity of the third-party claim and may order the property or its proceeds distributed according to each party's interest, with that judgment conclusive between the parties subject only to the right of appeal under § 720.420.
Full Text of § 720.390
Plain-English Summary
This section is the payoff of the whole hearing process. At the hearing's conclusion, the court has to give judgment resolving the validity of the third-party claim -- deciding, in a lienholder's case, whether the claimed security interest or lien exists and whether it outranks the creditor's own lien. The court may go further and order how the property, or its proceeds, should be divided consistent with what it finds about each party's interest.
That judgment isn't a tentative ruling. It's conclusive between the parties to the proceeding -- meaning the same dispute over the same property doesn't get relitigated later -- subject only to whatever an appeal under § 720.420 might change.
Frequently Asked Questions
What must the court decide at the end of a third-party claim hearing?
The validity of the third-party claim, and it may order how the property or its proceeds should be distributed based on the parties' respective interests.
Is the court's judgment final?
Yes, § 720.390 makes it conclusive between the parties to the proceeding, subject to the right of appeal preserved by § 720.420.
Can the parties relitigate the same claim later?
Not absent a successful appeal -- the judgment is conclusive between the parties on the claim decided at the hearing.
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: judgment third party claim hearing californiafinal decision lienholder claim california