Enforcement of money judgments: exemptions.

Existing law authorizes a judgment creditor to levy upon the property of a judgment debtor to satisfy a judgment, and authorizes the judgment debtor to claim that certain property is exempt from the levy by following a specified procedure. Existing law authorizes a claimant to assert an exemption by filing a claim of exemption with the levying officer within 10 days after the date the notice of levy on the property claimed to be exempt is served on the judgment debtor. This bill would authorize a claimant to file a claim of exemption with the levying officer either in person or by mail and would specify that the period for filing the claim is 15 days if the judgment debtor is personally served with a notice of levy on the property claimed to be exempt, and 20 days if the claimant is served with notice by mail. The bill would deem the filing by mail complete on the date the claim is postmarked if the mailing is assigned a tracking number. If the mailing is not assigned a tracking number, the bill would deem the filing by mail complete on the date the claim is received by the levying officer. With certain enumerated exceptions, this bill would exempt from a levy money in a judgment debtor's deposit account in an amount equal to or less than $1,200. The bill would require a levy against a judgment debtor's deposit account to include a description of these requirements. This bill would require the Judicial Council to amend or adopt necessary forms. This bill would also require the Judicial Council to, every 3 years, adjust the amount of the exemption described above based on the change in the annual California Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, as specified, and it would make additional conforming changes. These provisions of the bill would become operative on September 1, 2019.