Cassel

Third party claimant and appellant Union Bank of California, N.A. (Union Bank or the bank) appeals the trial court’s judgment denying its third party claim, which sought to establish a superior security interest in a securities account levied upon by respondent Robert M. Cassel. On April 14, 1998, Cassel obtained a money judgment against his former law partnership, Sullivan, Roche & Johnson (SR&J). Pursuant to the judgment, a notice of levy and writ of execution were served on Van Kasper & Co., which held a securities trading account for SR&J containing common stock shares in a company called Finet Holdings Corporation. Finet had transferred the stock to SR&J in payment for legal services rendered to Finet. In response to the levy, Union Bank filed its third party claim, asserting it was a secured creditor of SR&J with a secured and perfected interest in SR&J’s levied upon securities account. Union Bank contended its interest in the account was superior to Cassel’s by virtue of a filed UCC-1 financing statement which included as secured collateral SR&J’s accounts receivable and proceeds therefrom. It further contended that the shares of Finet stock, any cash accumulated…