California Military and Veterans Code 407 – (a) No person who has received, or whose assignor has received, …
(a) No person who has received, or whose assignor has received, under a contract for the purchase of real or personal property, a deposit or installment of the purchase price, or a deposit or installment under the contract, from a person or from the assigner of a person who, after the date of payment of the deposit or installment, has entered into a period of military service, shall exercise any right or option under that contract to rescind or terminate the contract or resume possession of the property for nonpayment of any installment due or for any other breach of its terms occurring prior to or during the period of that military service, or for 120 days thereafter, except by action in a court of competent jurisdiction.
(b) Upon the hearing of that action as provided in subdivision (a), the court may order the repayment of prior installments or deposits or any part, as a condition of terminating the contract and resuming possession of the property, or may, in its discretion, on its own motion, and shall, on application to it by the service member or some person on the service member’s behalf, order a stay of proceedings as the court deems just, unless in the opinion of the court, the ability of the defendant to comply with the terms of the contract is not materially affected by reason of the service; or it may make any other disposition of the case as may be equitable to conserve the interests of all parties.
Terms Used In California Military and Veterans Code 407
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
- Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Personal property: All property that is not real property.
(c) Any person violating this section shall be liable for actual damages, reasonable attorney’s fees, and costs incurred by the injured party.
(d) Any person who shall knowingly resume possession of property that is the subject of this section in a manner other than as provided in subdivision (a), or attempts to do so, is guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be punishable by imprisonment not to exceed one year or by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000), or both.
(Amended by Stats. 2018, Ch. 555, Sec. 9. (AB 3212) Effective January 1, 2019.)