Judge Holly J. Fujie, Case 18STCV06106 2023-04-05 Tentative Ruling

DEPARTMENT 56 JUDGE HOLLY J. FUJIE, LAW AND MOTION RULINGS. The court makes every effort to post tentative rulings by 5.00 pm of the court day before the hearing. The tentative ruling will not become the final ruling until the hearing [see CRC 3.1308(a)(2)], and are also available in the courtroom on the day of the hearing [see CRC 3.1308(b)]. If the parties wish to submit on the tentative ruling and avoid a court appearance, all counsel must agree and choose which counsel will give notice. That counsel must 1) call Dept 56 by 8:30 a.m. on the day of the hearing (213/633-0656) and state that all parties will submit on the tentative ruling, and 2) serve notice of the ruling on all parties. If any party declines to submit on the tentative ruling, then no telephone call is necessary and all parties should appear at the hearing in person or by Court Call. Court reporters are not provided, and parties who want a record of motions and other proceedings must hire a privately retained certified court reporter.

The Court has considered the moving papers. No opposition papers were filed. Any opposition papers were required to have been filed and served at least nine court days before the hearing under California Code of Civil Procedure (“CCP”) section 1005, subdivision (b).

On December 15, 2020, the Court entered judgment in favor of Plaintiff against Defendant in the amount of $40,678.70. On March 1, 2023, third party Xue Li Zeng (“Claimant”), who is Defendant’s spouse, served a claim of exemption (the “Exemption”) in the amount of $1,480.27. Plaintiff opposes the Exemption and filed a motion in opposition to the Exemption on March 13, 2023 (the “Motion”).

Within 15 days after service of the notice of claim of exemption, a judgment creditor who opposes the claim of exemption shall file with the court a notice of opposition to the claim of exemption and a notice of motion for an order determining the claim of exemption and shall file with the levying officer a copy of the notice of opposition and a copy of the notice of motion. (CCP § 703.550, subd. (a).) Upon the filing of the copies of the notice of opposition and notice of motion, the levying officer shall promptly file the claim of exemption with the court. (Id.)

The Court finds that Plaintiff has satisfied the procedural requirements to oppose the Exemption.

California's Enforcement of Judgments Law (“EJL”) which is codified in CCP sections 680.010 through 724.260, is a comprehensive and precisely detailed scheme governing enforcement of money judgments in California. (O’Brien v. AMBS Diagnostics, LLC (2016) 246 Cal.App.4th 942, 947.) As a general rule, the EJL authorizes a creditor holding a “money judgment” to “enforce” that judgment against “all property of the judgment debtor” through a “writ of execution.” (Id.) To effectuate the California Constitution's command that “a certain portion of the homestead and other property of all heads of families” be “protect[ed], by law, from forced sale” (Cal. Const., art. XX, § 1.5), our Legislature exempted certain items of property from levy by creditors with money judgments; those exemptions are set forth in sections 704.010 through 704.210. (Id. at 947-48.) The debtor bears the burden of proving that his property fits within one or more of these exemptions. (Id. at 948.)

Under CCP section 704.220 subdivision (a), money in the judgment debtor’s deposit account in an amount equal to or less than the minimum basic standard of adequate care for a family of four for Region 1, established by Section 11452 of the Welfare and Institutions Code and as annually adjusted by the State Department of Social Services pursuant to Section 11453 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, is exempt without making a claim. (CCP § 704.220, subd. (a).) The minimum exemption is currently at $1,788.00. (Form EJ-156.)

Under Family Code section 910, the community estate is liable for a debt incurred by either spouse before or during a marriage regardless of whether one or both spouses are parties to the debt or to a judgment for the debt. Probate Code section 5305 creates a presumption that if parties to an account are married, net contribution to the account is presumed to be and remain their community property. (Prob Code § 5305, subd. (a).)

In the Exemption, Claimant provides that $1,480.27 is exempt from a Bank of America account that she shares with Defendant pursuant to CCP section 704.220. (See Declaration of Frank C. Lin (“Lin Decl.”), Exhibit A.) The Exemption states that this amount is exempt because this case was litigated before her marriage to Defendant. (See id.) The Exemption does not include information concerning the date of Claimant’s marriage to Defendant, any agreements regarding personal and community property, proof of Claimant’s income, or bank statements.

There is no evidence on the record demonstrating that the amounts that Claimant claims are exempt from collection are personal property rather than community property or her household structure which would justify the Exemption. The Court therefore GRANTS the Motion.

In consideration of the current COVID-19 pandemic situation, the Court¿strongly¿encourages that appearances on all proceedings, including this one, be made by LACourtConnect if the parties do not submit on the tentative.¿¿If you instead intend to make an appearance in person at Court on this matter, you must send an email by 2 p.m. on the last Court day before the scheduled date of the hearing to¿SMC_DEPT56@lacourt.org¿stating your intention to appear in person.¿ The Court will then inform you by close of business that day of the time your hearing will be held. The time set for the hearing may be at any time during that scheduled hearing day, or it may be necessary to schedule the hearing for another date if the Court is unable to accommodate all personal appearances set on that date.¿ This rule is necessary to ensure that adequate precautions can be taken for proper social distancing.

Parties who intend to submit on this tentative must send an email to the Court at SMC_DEPT56@lacourt.org as directed by the instructions provided on the court website at www.lacourt.org. If the department does not receive an email and there are no appearances at the hearing, the motion will be placed off calendar.

Hon. Holly J. Fujie

Judge of the Superior Court