Liaison West Distribution v. West Central Produce CA4/3

FACTS

After a years-long business relationship, West Central Produce, Inc. (WCP) failed to pay Liaison West for shipments of truffle oil. Liaison West sued and obtained a default judgment of nearly $35,000 against WCP for the unpaid invoices. To collect on the judgment, Liaison West levied a writ of execution on a Wells Fargo Bank deposit account in WCP’s name. The levy reached $34,906.66 of the $55,784.59 held in the account at the time. While the funds were with the levying officer, Parent filed a third-party claim to establish that its security interest in the funds was superior to Liaison West’s execution lien.2 (Code Civ. Proc., § 720.210, subd. (a).) Parent claimed it was the assignee of certain loan documents executed by WCP and held a security interest in “all personal property of WCP, including money in bank accounts.”

1 All further statutory references are to the California Uniform Commercial Code unless otherwise indicated.

2 “Resolving conflicting claims in the same collateral requires a three-step inquiry: First, has the security interest attached; second, has the security interest been perfected; and third, does the perfected security interest have priority.…