Weingarten Realty Investors v. Chiang

Opinion

McINTYRE, J.

In this case, the trial court assigned a judgment debtor’s property that had previously escheated to the state under the provisions of the Unclaimed Property Law (Code Civ. Proc., § 1500 et seq.) to a judgment creditor. (Undesignated statutory references are to the Code of Civil Procedure.) The assignee sought to recover the property from the state by filing a claim under section 1540. John Chiang, California’s State Controller (the Controller), denied the claim on the ground that an assignee judgment creditor is not an “owner” as defined in section 1540 and thus cannot…