A surety is exonerated, except so far as he or she may be indemnified by the principal, if by any act of the creditor, without the consent of the surety the original obligation of the principal is altered in any respect, or the remedies or rights of the creditor against the principal, in respect thereto, in any way impaired or suspended. However, nothing in this section shall be construed to supersede subdivision (b) of Section 2822.
SuretyshipExoneration of Sureties
Section § 2819
If a creditor changes the terms of the original agreement or affects the rights they have against the person who owes the debt (the principal) without getting the surety's approval, the surety is released from their responsibility, unless they have been compensated by the principal. However, this does not override another specific legal provision.
surety exoneration creditor actions principal obligation
Section § 2820
Even if a creditor's promise can be declared invalid or canceled, it can still change or pause the debtor's obligations or affect how the creditor can seek remedies.
That a promise by a creditor is for any cause void, or voidable by him at his option, shall not prevent it from altering the obligation or suspending or impairing the remedy within the meaning of the last section.
creditor promise void promise voidable promise
Section § 2821
If an agreement changes a debtor's original obligation or limits a creditor's options, and later that agreement is canceled, a guarantor or cosigner who was released because of the agreement is not held responsible again.
The rescission of an agreement altering the original obligation of a debtor, or impairing the remedy of a creditor, does not restore the liability of a surety who has been exonerated by such agreement.
rescission of agreement original obligation debtor
Section § 2822
If a creditor accepts a partial payment to settle a debt, this reduces the amount the surety (a person who has guaranteed the debt) owes by the same amount as the main debtor. However, this doesn't change any other terms of their agreement. Also, if the creditor agrees with the debtor to accept a smaller amount without the surety's consent, the surety is still responsible for the full original amount that was owed.
(a)CA Civil Law Code § 2822(a) The acceptance, by a creditor, of anything in partial satisfaction of an obligation, reduces the obligation of a surety thereof, in the same measure as that of the principal, but does not otherwise affect it. However, if the surety is liable upon only a portion of an obligation and the principal provides partial satisfaction of the obligation, the principal may designate the portion of the obligation that is to be satisfied.
(b)CA Civil Law Code § 2822(b) For purposes of this section and Section
2819, an agreement by a creditor to accept from the principal debtor a sum less than the balance owed on the original obligation, without the prior consent of the surety and without any other change to the underlying agreement between the creditor and principal debtor, shall not exonerate the surety for the lesser sum agreed upon by the creditor and principal debtor.
partial satisfaction surety obligation creditor acceptance
Section § 2823
This law means that if a creditor takes their time before acting against the main debtor or using any other way to get their money back, it doesn't let a surety off the hook. A surety is someone who promises to be responsible for someone else's debt.
Mere delay on the part of a creditor to proceed against the principal, or to enforce any other remedy, does not exonerate a surety.
creditor delay principal debtor exonerate surety
Section § 2824
If someone acts as a guarantor (or surety) and they've been secured or protected by the person who owes the debt (the principal), they are still responsible for the debt up to the amount they've been secured, even if the lender changes the original contract or lets the debtor off the hook without the guarantor's approval.
A surety, who has been indemnified by the principal, is liable to the creditor to the extent of the indemnity, notwithstanding that the creditor, without the assent of the surety, may have modified the contract or released the principal.
surety liability indemnified surety creditor rights
Section § 2825
This law means that if the person who is primarily responsible for a debt is released from their obligation due to a legal reason, this does not also release the person who guaranteed the debt (the surety) from their responsibility, unless the creditor did something or failed to do something that led to the principal's release.
A surety is not exonerated by the discharge of his principal by operation of law, without the intervention or omission of the creditor.
surety exonerated discharge of principal
