New Calif. Appeal Bond Rules Correct Outdated Process

That's the title of a Law360 article last Thursday here by H&L's Tom Watson and Lisa Perrochet about AB 1856, which Gov. Brown signed recently governing deposits in lieu of appeal bonds. Now state and federal bonds and cashier's checks are expressly authorized for deposits.

These amendments enhance access to justice by expanding and improving mechanisms that allow litigants to stay execution proceedings while they seek appellate review of adverse money judgments, while also protecting the interest of judgment creditors by requiring adequate security for the payment of money judgments in the event they are affirmed on appeal.

AB 1856 was carried by Assembly Member Scott Wilk. It was sponsored by the Conference of California Bar Associations and supported by both the Appellate Courts Section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association and the California Appellate Law Group. The unopposed bill passed by consent in all legislative committees and it passed unanimously in both the Assembly and the Senate.

AB 1856 leaves intact the existing rules for posting an appeal bond — basically, a type of insurance policy that allows the judgment creditor to seek payment from the surety company that issued the bond, if the defendant doesn’t pay on the judgment. What AB 1856 changes are the statues governing the use of a deposit in lieu of an appeal bond. (See Code Civ. Proc., §§ 995.710 et seq.)

Who can say "bearer bond" yet NOT think of
the original Die Hard movie?!

Friday's Recorder featured Justice Beds' latest: Mourning the Loss of Germany's Longest Legal Term: Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz.