Forms Committee Report – March, 2017

March 20, 2017

CALSPro Board Meeting 3/25/17

There are 2 form proposals I am monitoring and commenting on which will have an impact on process servers in 2018.

  • Request for Entry of Default (revise form CIV-100; adopt form CIV-105)

 There are proposals to revise the existing Request for Entry of Default form, and to adopt another specifically for default judgments against defendants whose debt was purchased and assigned to a third party.

Requirements of the Fair Debt Buying Practices Act

The Fair Debt Buying Practices Act, which took effect January 1, 2014, imposes a number of requirements on debt buyers pursuing collection efforts, including that no default judgment may be entered against a debtor defendant unless the debt buyer plaintiff submits certain documents, authenticated through a sworn declaration, to establish specified facts (Civ. Code § 1788.60(a), (b)). If the debt buyer has not complied with the Act’s requirements, the court cannot enter a default judgment for the debt buyer (Civ. Code § 1788.60(c)).


  • Writ of Execution (revise form EJ-130)

The writ of execution form changes were initiated last year, and were not revised due to a number of comments received.

The form is going through a significant revision.  The identifier as to whether the case is a limited or unlimited case has been refined, eliminating the apparent confusion and rejection for a failure to distinguish small claims case and family law case as limited or unlimited cases.  The designation is critical for the sheriff to determine timeliness for the time to appeal (30 vs. 60 days) when a claim of exemption is filed.

The item numbers are being rearranged, a belief that making the entries fall more logically while calculating debits, accrued interest, and how credits are applied.

To accommodate notice to the Judgment debtor, a third page is being added.

The committee is also revising and cross-referencing the Memorandum of Costs After Judgment, Acknowledgment of Credit, and Declaration of Accrued Interest (form MC-012) to more fully integrate the information on this form to prepare the writ form more accurately.

The committee is also developing a proposing a new form, Information Sheet for Calculating Interest and Amount Owed on a Judgment (new form MC-013-INFO) to explain how credit payments received from the debtor towards interest, costs, and judgment principal, and refers the creditor to form MC-012.


The Judicial Council Invitation to Comment Memos are linked below and explain these changes in more detail, and displays the proposed changes to the existing forms, and the proposed new forms.  You may also register comments.

Civil Practice and Procedure: Request for Entry of Default

Civil Practice and Procedure: Writ of Execution

Tony Klein

Forms Committee Report – September, 2016 – CALSPro Conference

Forms Committee Report

Sept. 30, 2016

CALSPro 2016 Annual Conference, 10/8/16

This year saw few changes to court forms.  The majority of those involve the enforcement of judgment.

There is a new Current Dollar Amount from the Enforcement of Judgments form that was revised in April, 2016.

There were two changes to the Earnings Withhold Order (EWO) forms.  The latest operative EWO was revised effective on July 1, 2016.  The latest form references a website for employer’s to use to calculate the proper amount to withhold from the debtor who is a low income earner.   Legislation modified the formula for wage garnishments of a low income earner, reducing the worker’s percentage of 25% of “disposable income” subject to execution.

The Judicial Council proposed changes to the Writ of Execution and Order of Examination form.

The Writ of Execution form is still being considered, and will not be revised in 2017.  The Order to Appear for Examination will be submitted for approval to the Judicial Council in a couple of weeks. The proposed changes add instructions on page two to the judgment creditor to have the order served by a sheriff, registered process server, or someone specially appointed for the order to be enforced.

All current forms may be found on the California Judicial Council web site at http://www.courts.ca.gov/forms.htm

 

 

 

 

Forms Committee Report – June, 2016 – CALSPro

Forms Committee Report

June 17, 2016

CALSPro Board Meeting, 6/25/16

The California Judicial Council (CJC) will be revising two Earnings Withholding Order forms, effective July 1, 2016.

The change reflects a new formula for the employer to calculate the disposable income of low-income earners, and will reference a URL with an online calculator for the proper amount to withhold. The form will be available for use on the CJC website when it goes into effect in July.

The Current Dollar Amounts Exempt from the Enforcement of Judgments form changed effective April 1, 2016.


7/1/16 Update:  Below are links to the newly revised forms, effective 7/1/16

Earnings Withholding Order

Earnings Withholding Order for Elder and Dependent Adult Financial Abuse


Tony Klein