Getting Your Equipment Back: Claim and Delivery for California Lenders and Lessors

A defaulted borrower who keeps operating your collateral is spending your recovery. Every month of use adds hours, wear, and risk that the equipment disappears. California’s claim and delivery statute (Code Civ. Proc. § 511.010 et seq.), the state’s version of replevin, lets a lender or lessor obtain a writ of possession at the start of a lawsuit, before judgment.

Try self-help first, within limits

A secured party may repossess collateral without going to court if it does so without a breach of the peace (Com. Code § 9609). A lessor under a true lease has a similar right (Com. Code § 10525). When the borrower refuses access, hides the equipment, or keeps it behind locked gates, self-help ends and claim and delivery begins.

What the application must show

The application for a writ of possession must be made under oath and must include (Code Civ. Proc. § 512.010):

  • The basis of the claim and your right to possession, with a copy of the written instrument (the EFA, lease, or security agreement).

  • That the defendant is wrongfully detaining the property, and how the defendant got it.

  • A particular description of the property and its value.

  • The property’s location, and, if it sits in a private place, probable cause to believe it is there.

  • That the property has not been taken for a tax, assessment, or fine.

Serial numbers, delivery and acceptance certificates, GPS or telematics data, site photographs, and an appraisal or auction comparables make this showing quickly.

Noticed motion or ex parte

The default is a hearing on a noticed motion (Code Civ. Proc. § 512.020(a)). The court issues the writ when the plaintiff establishes the probable validity of its claim to possession and posts the required undertaking (Code Civ. Proc. § 512.060).

The court may issue a writ ex parte when the defendant acquired the property in the ordinary course of its business for commercial purposes, the property is not necessary to support the defendant or the defendant’s family, there is an immediate danger that the property will be transferred, concealed, removed from California, or substantially impaired in value, and ex parte relief is necessary to protect it (Code Civ. Proc. § 512.020(b)(3)). Commercial equipment financed for a business often fits. Evidence that the borrower has stopped answering, listed the equipment for sale, or moved it between job sites supports the showing.

When the facts do not support an ex parte writ, a temporary restraining order can bar the defendant from transferring or damaging the equipment until the hearing.

The undertaking

The plaintiff must post an undertaking of at least twice the value of the defendant’s interest in the property (Code Civ. Proc. § 515.010(a)). The defendant’s interest is its equity, not the full value of the equipment. If the court finds the defendant has no interest in the property, it waives the plaintiff’s undertaking (Code Civ. Proc. § 515.010(b)). In a deep default, where the balance owed exceeds what the equipment will bring, that finding is often available.

The defendant can keep the equipment by posting its own undertaking (Code Civ. Proc. § 515.020). That rarely happens with a borrower that has already stopped paying.

Seizure

Once the writ issues, the levying officer takes the property. If it sits in a private place, the writ must authorize entry, which requires a showing of probable cause that the equipment is there (Code Civ. Proc. § 512.060(b)). Plan the seizure with the sheriff or marshal and your recovery agent so transport and storage are ready the same day.

After recovery

Recovering the equipment does not end the case. Dispose of it in compliance with the Commercial Code to preserve the deficiency claim (see our article on deficiency claims after repossession), and pursue the balance against the borrower and every guarantor in the same action. If the borrower has bank accounts or receivables, a writ of attachment can secure them while the case proceeds.

What to send counsel

  • The EFA, lease, or loan and security agreement, with schedules

  • Equipment list with serial numbers and the delivery and acceptance certificate

  • UCC-1 financing statements

  • Payment history, default notice, and demand

  • Best evidence of location: GPS data, site addresses, photographs

  • A current valuation

Grant, Kessler & Zunshine represents equipment finance lenders and lessors in California, on contingency. See how we handle equipment finance collections, or call (619) 233-7078.

This article provides general information, not legal advice, and reflects California law as of October 2026. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Grant, Kessler & Zunshine, APC, 1331 India Street, San Diego, CA 92101.

Alexander J. Kessler