Stierwalt v. Associated Third Party Administrators et al
Filing
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ORDER by Judge Edward M. Chen re 4 Petitioner's Petition for Hearing to Determine Validity of Third-Party Claim of Security Interest. (emclc2, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 4/22/2016)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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RICHARD STIERWALT,
Petitioner,
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Case No. 16-mc-80059-EMC
v.
ASSOCIATED THIRD PARTY
ADMINISTRATORS, et al.,
ORDER RE PETITIONER’S PETITION
FOR HEARING TO DETERMINE
VALIDITY OF THIRD-PARTY CLAIM
OF SECURITY INTEREST
Docket No. 4
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For the Northern District of California
United States District Court
Respondents.
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Currently before the Court is Petitioner Richard Stierwalt’s petition for a hearing to
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determine the validity of a third-party claim of security interest. At issue is a third-party claim
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submitted by Camofi Master LDC and Camhzn Master LDC (collectively, “Camofi”). Mr.
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Stierwalt has asked for the hearing to be held within twenty days of the filing of his petition.
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Under California Code of Civil Procedure § 720.310(c), a “hearing shall be held within 20 days
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after the filing of the petition unless continued by the court for good cause shown.” Cal. Code
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Civ. Proc. § 720.310(c); see also Fed. R. Civ. P. 69(a)(1) (providing that “[a] money judgment is
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enforced by a writ of execution” and that “[t]he procedure on execution – and in proceedings
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supplementary to and in aid of judgment or execution – must accord with the procedure of the
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state where the court is located”).
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The Court finds that there is good cause for the hearing to be held beyond the 20 days
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contemplated by § 720.310(c). The sum at issue is significant (more than $600,000), and, as a
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facial matter at least, the legal issues are not simple and easy to resolve (based on Mr. Stierwalt’s
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statement of opposition to the third-party claim). Moreover, evidence may need to be presented to
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resolve the dispute. See Cassel v. Kolb, 72 Cal. App. 4th 568, 579-80 (1999) (noting that “[t]hird
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party claims are, by nature, summary proceedings” but “[t]hey are not so summary . . . that the
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parties are denied the right to a trial with all of its due process protections[,] [n]or should they be
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so summary as to deny a party a right to a fair trial”); see also Henderson v. Gruntz, No. 89-
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55230, 1991 U.S. App. LEXIS 25092, at *3 (9th Cir. 1991) (stating that a “third party claimant
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may present evidence and testimony”); cf. Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 720.230(b) (providing that, “[a]t
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a hearing on the third-party claim, the court in its discretion may exclude from evidence any
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writing a copy of which was not attached to the third-party claim”) (emphasis added).
The Court shall hold a hearing (the form of which remains to be determined) on the
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validity of the third-party claim on May 24, 2016, at 2:30 p.m.
In advance of the hearing, the Court orders the parties to meet and confer to discuss how
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resolved by the Court and what evidence may be presented to the Court for consideration (e.g.,
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For the Northern District of California
the hearing shall proceed. The parties should discuss, inter alia, what legal issues may need to be
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United States District Court
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documents, testimony). The parties should also discuss what filings should be made in advance of
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the hearing. For example, as discussed with Court staff, it will be helpful for the Court if the
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equivalent of trial briefs are filed (no longer than 20 pages each).1 Also, identification of
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supporting evidence (as well as the evidence itself if, e.g., a document) should be filed with the
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Court in advance of the hearing. Of course, with respect to evidence, the parties should bear in
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mind that the proceeding here is, generally speaking, a summary proceeding, and thus the parties
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should tailor their evidence accordingly. All pre-hearing filings, including any objections to
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evidence, shall be made three weeks in advance of the hearing.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
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Dated: April 22, 2016
______________________________________
EDWARD M. CHEN
United States District Judge
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Those briefs should address, inter alia, legal issues that may need to be resolved by the Court.
Camofi’s third-party claim and Mr. Stierwalt’s statement in opposition constitute the pleadings in
this case, see Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 720.350(a), but a pleading is not necessarily a sufficient way
to tee up legal issues for resolution.
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