Liability For Wrongful Attachment - Attachment - Civil Procedure - CA

Section § 490.010

This section explains what qualifies as a wrongful attachment, which is when someone's property is seized improperly through a legal process called attachment. It occurs if attachment is used in cases where it's not allowed, unless the person involved reasonably thought the property wasn't for personal use. A wrongful attachment also happens if the case ends without a judgment for the plaintiff or if exempt property is wrongly seized, unless the plaintiff had a valid reason to think it wasn’t exempt.

A wrongful attachment consists of any of the following:

(a) The levy under a writ of attachment or the service of a temporary protective order in an action in which attachment is not authorized, except that it is not a wrongful attachment if both of the following are established:

(1) The levy was not authorized solely because of the prohibition of subdivision (c) of Section 483.010.

(2) The person who sold or leased, or licensed for use, the property, furnished the services, or loaned the money reasonably believed that it would not be used primarily for personal, family, or household purposes.

(b) The levy under a writ of attachment or the service of a temporary protective order in an action in which the plaintiff does not recover judgment.

(c) The levy under writ of attachment obtained pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 484.510) of Chapter 4 or Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 485.010) on property exempt from attachment except where the plaintiff shows that the plaintiff reasonably believed that the property attached was not exempt from attachment.

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Section § 490.020

If someone wrongly seizes another person's property, they must pay for all the damage this causes. They also have to cover any costs the person faced to fight this seizure, including lawyer fees. However, the maximum they have to pay is limited to a specific amount called the undertaking.

(a) The liability of a plaintiff for causing a wrongful attachment under Section 490.010 includes both of the following:

(1) All damages proximately caused to the defendant by the wrongful attachment.

(2) All costs and expenses, including attorney’s fees, reasonably expended in defeating the attachment.

(b) The liability of a plaintiff for wrongful attachment pursuant to Section 490.010 is limited by the amount of the undertaking.

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Section § 490.040

If someone wins money because they were wrongly subjected to a legal hold on their property (a wrongful attachment), this amount can be reduced or balanced against any money they still owe to the person who won the original lawsuit.

The amount of any recovery for wrongful attachment shall be offset insofar as possible against any unsatisfied amounts owed to the plaintiff by the defendant on the judgment in the action for which wrongful attachment damages are awarded.

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Section § 490.060

This section makes clear that individuals can still seek compensation for damages caused by an attachment or protective order using common law principles, even if there are other provisions in the chapter.

Nothing in this chapter limits the right to recover for damages caused by an attachment or protective order on any common law theory of recovery.

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