Judge: Mark A. Young, Case: SC124873, Date: 2023-09-21 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: SC124873    Hearing Date: September 21, 2023    Dept: M

CASE NAME:           Melamed, v. Parallax Health Sciences Inc., et al.

CASE NO.:                SC124873

MOTION:                  Motion for Assignment Order

HEARING DATE:   9/21/2023

Legal Standard

            Code of Civil Procedure section 708.510 provides in pertinent part:

(a) Except as otherwise provided by law, upon application of the judgment creditor on noticed motion, the court may order the judgment debtor to assign to the judgment creditor or to a receiver appointed pursuant to Article 7 (commencing with Section 708.610) all or part of a right to payment due or to become due, whether or not the right is conditioned on future developments, including but not limited to the following types of payments:

(1) Wages due from the federal government that are not subject to withholding under an earnings withholding order.

(2) Rents.

(3) Commissions.

(4) Royalties.

(5) Payments due from a patent or copyright.

(6) Insurance policy loan value.

(b) The notice of the motion shall be served on the judgment debtor. Service shall be made personally or by mail.

(c) …[I]n determining whether to order an assignment or the amount of an assignment… the court may take into consideration all relevant factors, including the following:

(1) The reasonable requirements of a judgment debtor who is a natural person and of persons supported in whole or in part by the judgment debtor.

(2) Payments the judgment debtor is required to make or that are deducted in satisfaction of other judgments and wage assignments, including earnings assignment orders for support.

(3) The amount remaining due on the money judgment.

(4) The amount being or to be received in satisfaction of the right to payment that may be assigned.

(d) A right to payment may be assigned pursuant to this article only to the extent necessary to satisfy the money judgment.

Analysis

Judgment Creditor Shahla Melamed moves for an assignment order, assigning to Plaintiff the right, title and/or interest, along with any future right to payment held by judgment debtor Parallax Health Sciences, Inc. ("Parallax") in that certain Secured Promissory Note and/or the Royalty Agreement issued in its favor by Data Health Partners, Inc. ("DHP") in connection with DHP's acquisition of that certain intellectual property formerly held by Parallax and identified within Exhibit "A" to that certain Intellectual Property Purchase Agreement by and among Parallax Behavioral health, Inc., Parallax Health Sciences, Inc. and Data Health Partners, Inc., identified as "Purchased Assets" and expressly including all of the collateral identified in the notice of motion. This includes certain Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights and other intellectual property. The motion is unopposed.

Reviewing the entirety of the record, an assignment of the cited repayment rights would be appropriate. There is no indication that the sought property supports any natural person.  The judgment debtor has not paid Melamed anything on the $20,000,000+ judgment. The record does not indicate that Parallax owes any other senior creditor ahead of Melamed. Further, the stated value of the secured promissory note would almost fully satisfy the judgment here.

“When an application is made pursuant to Section 708.510 or thereafter, the judgment creditor may apply to the court for an order restraining the judgment debtor from assigning or otherwise disposing of the right to payment that is sought to be assigned.”  (C.C.P. §708.520(a).)

Accordingly, the motion is GRANTED.