The court shall examine into and determine the plaintiff's title against the claims of all the defendants. The court shall not enter judgment by default but shall in all cases require evidence of plaintiff's title and hear such evidence as may be offered respecting the claims of any of the defendants, other than claims the validity of which is admitted by the plaintiff in the complaint. The court shall render judgment in accordance with the evidence and the law.
§ 764.010.Judgment By Default Not Entered
Title 10. Actions In Particular Cases · Chapter 4. Quiet Title · Article 5. Judgment · Enacted 1980 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 764.010 bars default judgments in a quiet title action, requiring the court in every case to examine the plaintiff's title, hear any evidence offered on the defendants' claims except those the plaintiff admits are valid, and render judgment based on that evidence and the law.
Full Text of § 764.010
Plain-English Summary
This is the section that makes quiet title actions different from most civil cases where an unanswering defendant risks losing by default. Here, the court can never treat a defendant's silence as an automatic win for the plaintiff. It must examine and determine the plaintiff's title against every defendant's claims, and it must require evidence of that title in every case.
The court also has to hear whatever evidence is offered respecting any defendant's claims — with one exception: claims whose validity the plaintiff has already admitted in the complaint, as § 762.060(c) contemplates, don't need to be relitigated. Once the evidence is in, the court renders judgment based on that evidence and the law, not on the fact that some defendant never showed up.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a plaintiff win a California quiet title action just because the defendant never answered?
No. Section 764.010 bars default judgments in quiet title actions; the court must still examine the evidence of the plaintiff's title before entering judgment.
Does the court have to hear evidence on every defendant's claim?
Yes, except for claims whose validity the plaintiff has already admitted in the complaint.
What must the plaintiff prove even against a defendant who defaults?
The plaintiff still has to present evidence of title, which the court examines before rendering judgment in accordance with the evidence and the law.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1980, Ch. 44, Sec. 15.
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: no default judgment quiet title californiawhat does a quiet title judgment establish california