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Civil Section
The Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Civil Division is responsible for
serving legal documents
upon individuals and businesses in Santa Cruz County. The Division enforces court-ordered money judgments via levies
upon wages, bank accounts, and real and personal property. The Division also enforces court-ordered evictions and serves
civil bench warrants.
The Civil Division is located at 701 Ocean Street, Room #340, Santa
Cruz, California 95060-4074, and is open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to
4:00 p.m. Telephone assistance is available Monday through
Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., at (831) 454-2170.
Please seek legal advice or refer to the Civil Code and Code of
Civil Procedure for the detailed procedures on all the below.
1) How does a landlord evict a tenant?
A written notice must be served upon the tenant. The landlord may obtain the eviction notice at a
stationery
store. After service of the notice, if the tenant is still in possession of the premises after the term of the
notice expires, then the landlord must sue the tenant in court to obtain a judgment to evict.
To sue the tenant, the landlord must obtain a Summons and Complaint for Unlawful Detainer from the
Court.
After
service of this document upon the tenant and the tenant chooses to file an answer to the
Complaint with the Court, a court hearing is set and heard. If the tenant does not file an answer to the
Complaint, then the landlord
can ask the court clerk for entry of a Default Judgment.
Once the landlord obtains judgment, he/she requests a Writ of Possession for Real Property to be issued by the
Court and brings the original Writ and copies to the Sheriff's Civil Division for service.
After completing the
provided instruction form and paying the advance service fee, the Sheriff will serve or post the Writ of Possession
along with a Five-Day Notice to Vacate, usually the next working day. After the five-day
period ends, the Sheriff will
arrange to meet the landlord at the premises to turn over possession and physically evict the
tenant, if necessary.
Any property left behind by the tenant is the responsibility of the landlord to store for at least 15 days.
During this time, the tenant may claim the property and be charged reasonable storage by the landlord.
After
the end of the 15-day period, if no claim to the property has been made, the landlord must determine the resale value of
the property. If the resale value of the property is less than $300, then the landlord may dispose of it however
he/she chooses. If the resale value is $300 or more, the landlord must conduct a public sale.
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2) How is a restraining order obtained?
You may obtain the legal forms from the law library or receive help from a paralegal, legal aid or attorney.
Once
the documents are prepared, they will be submitted to the Court to either grant or deny the request for the restraining
order. This office can serve the restraining order if the restrained party can be found in Santa Cruz County.
There may
be a service fee involved.
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3) How does a judgment creditor collect
the judgment?
The most popular method of levy is a wage garnishment. The judgment creditor must provide the Sheriff with a
Writ
of Execution, a completed Application for Earnings
Withholding Order (which this office provides), and the advance
service fee. On the Application, the judgment creditor instructs the
Sheriff to levy upon the debtor's wages, providing
the employer's name and address.
Another method of levy is a bank garnishment. The judgment creditor must provide the
Sheriff with the original
and copies of the Writ of Execution, advance service fee and written instructions (instruction form obtained at
this office). The written instructions will instruct the Sheriff to levy upon the
debtor's bank account, providing
the bank name and address.
Other levies include rents, vehicles, businesses, and real and personal property.
Contact this office for
further details regarding these levies.
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4) What if a judgment creditor does not know the assets of the judgment
debtor for levy purposes, (i.e., where the debtor works, banks, and
so on)?
The judgment creditor can go to the appropriate court clerk's office and request an
Order of Examination to be
issued. Small Claims Court will have a similar Judgment Debtor's
Statement of Assets procedure to follow. Once
an Order of Examination is served upon the debtor, it requires him/her to appear in court to answer questions regarding
his/her assets. If the debtor fails to appear at the hearing after being personally served by the Sheriff
or Registered Process Server, a Civil Bench Warrant can be issued for their arrest.
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5) What if you need legal papers served but do not have a service
address?
You must provide a physical address for service of the documents.
Depending upon the legal deadline for service,
we will try as many times as possible to serve at a particular address, as long as we feel it is a valid address for the
person to be served.
Night-time service is possible with the assistance of our patrol deputies working those particular hours.
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