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ASSEMBLY BILL 3620 (EPPLE – 1992)

CHAPTER 883, STATUTES OF 1992, AB 3620

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Several Code of Civil Procedure sections were repealed and reenacted in 1992 following legislative passage of Assembly Bill 3620.  (See Exhibits #1a through #1d)  Assembly member Bob Epple introduced the measure relating to lis pendens on February 21, 1992 at the request of the Real Property Law Section of the State Bar of California.  (See Exhibits #1a; #3, page 4; #4, document AP-1)

Assembly Bill 3620 was assigned to the Assembly and Senate Committees on Judiciary for consideration of the policy issues raised by the bill.  (See Exhibits #3 and #5)  The Assembly amended the bill on March 26 and April 29, 1992; there were no amendments made by the Senate.  (See Exhibits #1b, #1c and #2)  Subsequent to legislative approval by both Houses of the Legislature, Governor Pete Wilson signed Assembly Bill 3620 on September 22, 1992, and the Secretary of State recorded it on September 23, 1992 as Chapter 883 of the Statutes of 1992.  (See Exhibits #1d and #2)

The Consent analysis prepared by the Office of Senate Floor Analyses contained the following digest of Assembly Bill 3620 as last amended on April 29, 1992:  “This bill revises the law regarding notice of pendency of an action affecting title or right to real property (i.e., lis pendens).”  (See Exhibit #7, page 1) 

A letter to the Governor from the State Bar of California Office of Governmental Affairs urging his approval of Assembly Bill 3620 noted the following rationale for the bill, stating, in part:

AB 3620 is designed to overhaul and reform California’s lis pendens law.  The section’s objective is to limit the abusability of lis pendens by preserving the present easy “ex parte” ability to obtain one, but balancing this easy access with new, more streamlined procedures for expunging the lis, either for cause or upon posting a bond providing adequate relief.  The measure clarifies numerous ambiguities, and codifies rules that are now scattered in the case law. 
(See Exhibit #9, document A-1)