The judgment shall determine all estates, rights, titles, interests, and claims in and to such property and every part thereof, whether legal or equitable, present or future, vested or contingent, or whether they consist of mortgages or liens of any description. It shall be conclusive upon every person who at the commencement of the action had or claimed any estate, right, title, or interest in or to all or any part of such property and upon every person claiming under him by title subsequent to the commencement of the action.
§ 751.15.Judgment
Title 10. Actions In Particular Cases · Chapter 3.5. Actions to Re-establish Destroyed Land Records · Enacted 1953 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 751.15 requires the judgment to determine every estate, right, title, interest, and claim in the property, legal or equitable, present or future, vested or contingent, and makes it conclusive on everyone who had or claimed an interest when the action began and on anyone claiming under them afterward.
Full Text of § 751.15
Plain-English Summary
This is the payoff of the entire procedure: a single judgment that stands in for the destroyed records. It has to resolve every estate, right, title, interest, and claim in the property and in every part of it — whether legal or equitable, present or future, vested or contingent, and whether the claim rests on a mortgage, another kind of lien, or an outright ownership interest.
The judgment's binding effect matches its scope. It's conclusive on everyone who, at the time the action began, had or claimed any estate, right, title, or interest in all or part of the property, and on anyone who later claims under that person by a title obtained after the action started. That's the practical value of the in rem structure established back in § 751.02 — a single judgment forecloses future disputes rather than resolving one claimant's rights at a time.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the judgment in this kind of action resolve?
Every estate, right, title, interest, and claim in the property, whether legal or equitable, present or future, vested or contingent, including mortgages and other liens.
Who is bound by the judgment?
Everyone who, when the action commenced, had or claimed any interest in the property, and anyone claiming under such a person by a title obtained after the action began.
Does the judgment bind people who never appeared in the case?
Yes, so long as they had or claimed an interest at the time the action began — that's the effect of the in rem jurisdiction established under § 751.11.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1953, Ch. 52.
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 destroyed land records action california