Judge Thomas Falls, Case 21PSCV00771 2022-10-04 Tentative Ruling

Judge: Thomas Falls, Case: 21PSCV00771, Date: 2022-10-04 Tentative Ruling

The Court may change tentative rulings at any time. Therefore, attorneys are advised to check this website to determine if any changes or updates have been made to the tentative ruling. Counsel may submit on the tentative rulings by calling the clerk in Dept. R at 909-802-1117 before 8:30 the morning of the hearing.

Case Number: 21PSCV00771 Hearing Date: October 4, 2022 Dept: R

TRINHNOLOGY ENTERPRISE, CORP. vs JAMES LEMMER, et al. (21PSCV00771)

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Plaintiff’s MOTOIN FOR ORDER ASSIGNING FUTURE REVENUES OF THE JUDGMENT

DEBTORS TO THE JUDGMENT CREDITOR

Tentative Ruling

Plaintiff’s MOTOIN FOR ORDER ASSIGNING FUTURE REVENUES OF THE

JUDGMENT DEBTORS TO THE JUDGMENT CREDITOR is GRANTED.

Background

Plaintiff alleges that Defendants failed to pay plaintiff in full for the face masks after delivery, resulting in damages of $37,170.80, with interest accruing.

On November 2, 2021, a clerk’s judgment was entered against Defendants James Lemmer and Screen Print AZ, LLC.

On June 2, 2022, Plaintiff filed the instant motion.

To date, as of September 30, 2022, it is unopposed.

Legal Standard

Pursuant to CCP § 708.510, a judgment creditor may apply to the court for an order requiring the judgment debtor to assign to the creditor or a receiver appointed under CCP § 708.610, et seq., all or part of the debtor's right to a payment due or to become due, whether or not the right is conditioned on future developments. This statute provides the creditor a procedure for reaching certain types of property that cannot be reached by levy under a writ of execution. (See, generally, 8 Witkin, Cal. Procedure (4th ed. 1997), Enforcement of Judgments, § 297.) It also provides the creditor an optional method for reaching assignable types of property that are subject to levy, such as accounts receivable, general intangibles, judgments, and instruments.

Under CCP § 708.510, the creditor must apply to the court on noticed motion and serve notice on the judgment debtor, either personally or by mail. CCP § 708.510(a)(b). CCP § 708.510(a) provides that the assignment order procedure is applicable to, but not limited to, the following types of payments: (1) Federal wages not subject to withholding under an earnings withholding order; (2) Rents, commissions, and royalties; (3) Payments due from a patent or copyright; (4) The loan value of an insurance policy.

Subject to limitations on recovery under an assignment order, the court may consider all relevant factors in determining whether an assignment is appropriate, which include: (1) the reasonable requirements of a debtor who is a natural person and of persons supported by the debtor; (2) payments the debtor is required to make or that are deducted to satisfy other judgments and wage assignments, including earnings assignment orders for support; (3) the remaining amount due on the money judgment; (4) the amount received to satisfy the right to payment that may be assigned. CCP § 708.510(c).

The judgment debtor may also claim that all or a portion of the right to payment is exempt from enforcement of a money judgment by application to the court. CCP § 708.550(a). The application to the court must be made by noticed motion, filed not later than three days before the date set for the hearing on the judgment creditor's application for an assignment order. Ibid. The court must determine any claim of exemption at the hearing on issuance of the assignment order. CCP § 708.550(c).

Discussion

Plaintiff seeks the following:

1. An order assigning to judgment creditor all rights to future payments that judgment debtors James M. Lemmer and Screen Print AZ, LLC are owed from ecommerce payment processing companies including Paypal (Paypal, Inc.), Venmo (Paypal, Inc.), Square Payment (Block, Inc.), Apple Pay (Apple Payments, Inc.), Dwolla, Inc., Amazon Pay (Amazon Payments, Inc.) and Google Pay (Google Payments, Inc.);

2. An Order preventing Paypal (Paypal, Inc.), Venmo (Paypal, Inc.), Square Payments (Block, Inc.), Apple Pay (Apple Payments, Inc.), Dwolla, Inc., Amazon Pay (Amazon Payments, Inc.) and Google Pay (Google Payments, Inc.) from paying to judgment debtors any compensation, consideration or anything else of value under CCP 708.240 until the judgment in this case is satisfied; and

3. An Order restraining the judgment debtors from assigning or otherwise disposing or concealing any asset or the right to payment of any of the ecommerce payments that are sought to be assigned by way of this motion pursuant to C.C.P. Section 708.520.

Here, Plaintiff recently levied on PayPal, Inc. and reached $200 then pending distribution to the debtors. Plaintiff learned that Paypal' s memorandum of garnishee reveals that debtors have multiple accounts at Pay Pal in the names of debtors and other entities used by debtor Lemmer as a conduit for money.

Accordingly, as there is an outstanding judgment and there will be such until the outstanding judgment is satisfied in full to judgment creditor (Plaintiff), an assignment order is necessary otherwise creditor would be required to repeatedly levy on debtor's accounts with ecommerce payment processors.

Conclusion

Based on the foregoing, the motion is granted.