Wells Fargo Financial Leasing, Inc. v. D & M CABINETS

This appeal involves enforcement of a money judgment under the Enforcement of Judgments Law (EJL). (Code Civ. Proc., § 680.010 et seq.) Victoria Wolfe-Davis (appellant) appeals from a trial court order appointing a receiver (§ 708.620) to sell her owner-occupied dwelling to foreclose a judgment lien obtained by plaintiff Wells Fargo Financial Leasing, Inc. (Wells Fargo), in a lawsuit against a business (defendant D & M Cabinets) co-owned by appellant’s (former) husband Charles Daniel Davis (Davis). Only appellant and Wells Fargo are parties to this appeal. Appellant contends the order is improper because it expressly allows the judgment creditor to bypass the statutory procedure for foreclosing a judgment lien on a dwelling occupied as the principal residence of a debtor or his spouse and therefore subject to an automatic homestead exemption. (§ 704.740.) We agree with appellant and, because the only purpose for appointing the receiver was to sell the subject real property in avoidance of section 704.740, we shall reverse the order.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

In 1998, appellant married Davis, who did business with a partner under the name D & M Cabinets. In June…