Section 697.530.  


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  • (a) A judgment lien on personal property is a lien on all interests in the following personal property that are subject to enforcement of the money judgment against the judgment debtor pursuant to Article 1 (commencing with Section 695.010) of Chapter 1 at the time when the lien is created if the personal property is, at that time, any of the following:

    (1) Accounts receivable, and the judgment debtor is located in this state.

    (2) Tangible chattel paper, as defined in paragraph (78) of subdivision (a) of Section 9102 of the Commercial Code, and the judgment debtor is located in this state.

    (3) Equipment, located within this state.

    (4) Farm products, located within this state.

    (5) Inventory, located within this state.

    (6) Negotiable documents of title, located within this state.

    (b) If any interest in personal property on which a judgment lien could be created under subdivision (a) is acquired after the judgment lien was created, the judgment lien attaches to the interest at the time it is acquired.

    (c) To the extent provided by Section 697.620, a judgment lien on personal property continues on the proceeds received upon the sale, collection, or other disposition of the property subject to the judgment lien.

    (d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the judgment lien does not attach to:

    (1) A vehicle or vessel required to be registered with the Department of Motor Vehicles or a mobilehome or commercial coach required to be registered pursuant to the Health and Safety Code.

    (2) As-extracted collateral, as defined in paragraph (6) of subdivision (a) of Section 9102 of the Commercial Code, and timber to be cut.

    (3) The inventory of a retail merchant held for sale except to the extent that the inventory of the retail merchant consists of durable goods having a unit retail value of at least five hundred dollars ($500). For the purposes of this paragraph, "retail merchant" does not include either of the following:

    (A) A person whose sales for resale exceeded 75 percent in dollar volume of the person's total sales of all goods during the 12 months preceding the filing of the notice of judgment lien on personal property.

    (B) A cooperative association organized pursuant to Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 54001) of Division 20 of the Food and Agricultural Code (agricultural cooperative associations) or Part 3 (commencing with Section 13200) of Division 3 of Title 1 of the Corporations Code (Fish Marketing Act).

    (e) If property subject to a lien under this article becomes a fixture, as defined in paragraph (41) of subdivision (a) of Section 9102 of the Commercial Code, the judgment lien on that property is extinguished.

    (f) Notwithstanding the filing of a notice of judgment lien, subject to the provisions of Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 708.010), a person obligated on an account receivable or chattel paper is authorized to pay or compromise the amount without notice to or consent of the judgment creditor unless and until there is a levy pursuant to Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 699.010).

    (g) For purposes of this section, whether a person is located in this state is determined in accordance with Section 9307 of the Commercial Code, except that the location of a registered organization, as defined in paragraph (70) of subdivision (a) of Section 9102 of the Commercial Code, that is organized under the law of another state is determined without regard to subdivision (e) of Section 9307 of the Commercial Code.

(Amended by Stats. 2009, Ch. 153, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2010.)