Charging Order Procedure
Topic Procedure TopicsProcedureRules
One of the biggest flaws with the charging orders is that, except for California, the states have not enacting coordinating procedures in their Enforcement of Judgments Laws. This has forced courts nationwide to consider motions for charging orders on an ad hoc basis — quite literally, making up the procedure as they go.
by way of example, the simple California procedure follows:
CCP § 708.310.
If a money judgment is rendered against a partner or member but not against the partnership or limited liability company, the judgment debtor’s interest in the partnership or limited liability company may be applied toward the satisfaction of the judgment by an order charging the judgment debtor’s interest pursuant to Section 15907.3, 16504, or 17705.03 of the Corporations Code.
CCP § 708.320.
(a) A lien on a judgment debtor’s interest in a partnership or limited liability company is created by service of a notice of motion for a charging order on the judgment debtor and on either of the following:
(1) All partners or the partnership.
(2) All members or the limited liability company.
(b) If a charging order is issued, the lien created pursuant to subdivision (a) continues under the terms of the order. If issuance of the charging order is denied, the lien is extinguished.
While simple, the California procedure thus provides for the following:
1. A noticed motion for charging order;
2. Service both upon the D/M and the target entity;
3. A temporary lien created upon service of the motion (analogous to a lien being created on an asset that is the subject of a levy); and
4. The lien becomes permanent if the motion for charging order is granted, or the lien is extinguished if not.
At least these provisions should be incorporated into the Harmonized Acts. Arguably, there should also be a provision allowing a creditor to obtain a charging order on an ex parte basis, without notice to the D/M or the entity, where there is a showing that the D/M may attempt to transfer the interest before service is made.
PROCEDURE ARTICLES
- 2020.04.30 ... Charging Order Denied For Lack Of Proof Of The Debtor's Interest In Dhillon
- 2020.02.29 ... Florida Charging Order Requires Distributions To Be Re-Directed To The Creditor In Kostoglou
- 2015.10.18 ... Charging Order Procedural Issues Confronted in Textron Financial
PROCEDURE OPINIONS
- Biscayne Contractors, Inc. v. Redding, 2016 WL 6996125 (D.C.D.C., Nov. 29, 2016).
- Brown v. Sperber-Porter, 2018 WL 4184372 (D.Ariz., Aug. 24, 2018).
- Campbell v. 1 Spring, LLC, 2024-Ohio-308, 2024 WL 342686 (Ct.App., Slip Op., Jan. 30, 2024).
- DuTrac Community Credit Union v. Hefel, 2017 WL 461211 (Iowa 2017).
- Farmer v. Farmer, 2022 WL 3270714 (S.D., Aug. 10, 2022).
- Ilani v. Abraham, D.Nev. Case No. 2:17-CV-692 (Aug. 21, 2018).
- Kearney Construction Co., LLC v. Bank of America, N.A, 2015 WL 1499155 (M.D. Fla., 2015).
- Kostoglou v. Fortuna, 2020 WL 813366 (Fla.App., Feb. 19, 2020).
- Open Road Trucking, LLC v. Swanson, 2019 WL 6768443 (N.D., Dec. 12, 2009).
- Perez v. Dhillon, 2020 WL 1900447 (E.D.Cal., April 17, 2020).
- Regions Bank v. Stewart, 2011 WL 1827453 (S.D.Ala., 2011).
- SE Property Holdings, LLC v. Unified Recovery Group, LLC, 2014 WL 5846388 (S.D.Ala., 2014).
- Textron Financial Corp. v. Gallegos, C.D.Cal. Case No. 15cv1678 (Oct. 7, 2015).