Chrysler Credit Corp. v. SUPERIOR COURT OF CONTRA COSTA CTY.

East County Dodge was in the business, among other things, of selling vehicles supplied to it by Chrysler Credit Corporation (Chrysler) under a security agreement. For reasons which will be discussed, East County Dodge ostensibly deposited the proceeds from the sales of the vehicles in an account at Bank of the West to which both it and Chrysler were signatories. Chrysler ultimately obtained a writ of possession against the funds held in that account. The State Board of Equalization and the Employment Development Department filed third party claims against the same fiinds. (Hereafter, except as indicated, these agencies will be referred to as third parties.) Chrysler here appeals the superior court’s denial of its motion to dismiss the third party claims.

An appeal from this order is premature. The appeal should be taken from a judgment determining the validity of the third party claim. (Code Civ. Proc., § 720.420.) There appears, however, to be no real issue as to the validity of the third party claims; rather, the only issue of any substance was whether third parties were entitled to satisfy their claims out of the account at issue. The order, therefore, in determining…