TENTATIVE RULING

Intervenor State Farm Fire & Casualty Company’s Motion to Intervene is GRANTED.

Intervenor State Farm Fire & Casualty Company’s Answer in Intervention shall be filed within ten (10) days of entry of this order.

Intervenor State Farm Fire & Casualty Company to give notice. 

REASONING

State Farm Fire & Casualty Company (“State Farm”) moves for an order allowing it to intervene in this matter on behalf of their insured, Defendant Che’kel Management Company, LLC, an inactive corporation with no right to defend itself in litigation.

Code of Civil Procedure section 387, subdivision (d)(1), states:

The court shall, upon timely application, permit a nonparty to intervene in the action or proceeding if either of the following conditions is satisfied:

(A) A provision of law confers an unconditional right to intervene.

(B) The person seeking intervention claims an interest relating to the property or transaction that is the subject of the action and that person is so situated that the disposition of the action may impair or impede that person’s ability to protect that interest, unless that person’s interest is adequately represented by one or more of the existing parties.

Code of Civil Procedure section 387, subdivision (d)(2), further provides that “[t]he court may, upon timely application, permit a nonparty to intervene in the action or proceeding if the person has an interest in the matter in litigation, or in the success of either of the parties, or an interest against both.” “Code of Civil Procedure section 387 provides that any person who has an interest in the subject matter in litigation may intervene therein at any time prior to trial. The purpose of the statute is to protect the interests of persons affected by a judgment, to obviate delay, and to avoid multiplicity of actions.” (Deutschmann v. Sears, Roebuck, & Co. (1982) 132 Cal.App.3d 912, 915.)

State Farm’s answer in intervention indicates that it claims an interest in the property that is the subject of this litigation, namely an insurance policy from which Plaintiff Alica Kavuljakova seeks payment for damages at trial. State Farm also represents that it is the insurer of Defendant Che’kel Management Company, LLC, and as Defendant Che’kel Management Company, LLC’s insurer, State Farm has an interest in this litigation. In Reliance Insurance Co. v. Superior Court (2000) 84 Cal.App.4th 383, the Sixth District Court of Appeal explained:

An insurer’s right to intervene in an action against the insured, for personal injury or property damage, arises as a result of Insurance Code section 11580. Section 11580 provides that a judgment creditor may proceed directly against any liability insurance covering the defendant, and obtain satisfaction of the judgment up to the amount of the policy limits. Thus, where the insurer may be subject to a direct action under Insurance Code section 11580 by a judgment creditor who has or will obtain a default judgment in a third party action against the insured, intervention is appropriate. The insurer may either intervene in that action prior to judgment or move under Code of Civil Procedure section 473 to set aside the default judgment.

(Id. at pp. 386-387, citations omitted.) The Court finds that a complaint in intervention is proper here. Therefore, Intervenor State Farm Fire & Casualty Company’s Motion to Intervene is GRANTED. Intervenor State Farm Fire & Casualty Company’s Answer in Intervention shall be filed within ten (10) days of entry of this order.