# California Statutes — Debt-Relevant Chapters Corpus

California statutory chapters most relevant to civil practice
and consumer-debt defense. One MD per chapter / topic.

- Last verified: 2026-05-13
- Source: leginfo.legislature.ca.gov

> Authored from canonical California statutory sources; verify
> against leginfo.legislature.ca.gov before relying. A future
> `scripts/pull_ca_statutes.py` will automate refresh from the
> California Legislative Information XML feed.

## Files

### Code of Civil Procedure (CCP)

| File | Citation | Subject |
|---|---|---|
| [CCP-Service.md](CCP-Service.md) | §§ 412.10-417.40 | Service of summons (personal, substituted, NORF mail, entity, publication) |
| [CCP-Pleadings.md](CCP-Pleadings.md) | §§ 425.10-440 | Complaint, demurrer, motion to strike, anti-SLAPP, summary judgment (§ 437c — 75-day notice, separate-statement requirement) |
| [CCP-Motions-1005-to-1020.md](CCP-Motions-1005-to-1020.md) | §§ 1005-1020 | Motion notices, service of papers, 16-court-day notice / 9-court-day opposition / 5-court-day reply framework |
| [CCP-SOL.md](CCP-SOL.md) | §§ 312-366 | Statutes of limitation — § 337 (written contract 4 years), § 339 (oral 2 years), § 360 (revival), § 361 (borrowing) |
| [CCP-Discovery.md](CCP-Discovery.md) | §§ 2016.010-2036.050 | Civil Discovery Act — 35-special-interrogatory cap, 45-day jurisdictional motion-to-compel-further deadline, sanctions |
| [CCP-Time-Computation.md](CCP-Time-Computation.md) | §§ 12-13 | Time computation; court days; California judicial holidays |
| [CCP-Relief-473.md](CCP-Relief-473.md) | §§ 473-473.5 | Discretionary and mandatory relief from default; void judgments; § 473.5 actual-notice motions |
| [CCP-Enforcement.md](CCP-Enforcement.md) | §§ 683-708 | Enforcement of judgments — 10-year life, judgment liens, writ of execution, garnishment, supplemental proceedings |
| [CCP-Exemptions.md](CCP-Exemptions.md) | §§ 703.140 + 704.010-995 | Exemptions — homestead ($300K-$600K per AB 1885), motor vehicle, tools of trade, deposit account, retirement |
| [CCP-Trial-New-JNOV.md](CCP-Trial-New-JNOV.md) | §§ 657-663a | New trial / JNOV / motion to vacate — § 657 grounds, § 659 notice of intent (15-day), § 660 hearing & 75-day jurisdictional rule, § 663 motion to vacate |
| [CCP-Writs.md](CCP-Writs.md) | §§ 1085-1097 | Writs of mandate (traditional + administrative) and prohibition — § 1085 traditional mandate, § 1094.5 administrative mandate |
| [CCP-Unlawful-Detainer.md](CCP-Unlawful-Detainer.md) | §§ 1159-1179 | Unlawful detainer — § 1161 forfeiture grounds, § 1167 5-day answer, § 1170.5 trial-priority 20-day rule, § 1174 judgment, § 1179 stay & relief |
| [CCP-Arbitration.md](CCP-Arbitration.md) | §§ 1280-1294.2 | California Arbitration Act — § 1281.2 petition to compel, § 1281.97 forfeiture for non-payment (consumer/employment), § 1286.2 grounds to vacate award |

### Civil Code

| File | Citation | Subject |
|---|---|---|
| [CivCode-Rosenthal.md](CivCode-Rosenthal.md) | §§ 1788-1788.33 | Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act — first-party reach, FDCPA incorporation, statutory damages, attorney's fees |
| [CivCode-FDBPA.md](CivCode-FDBPA.md) | §§ 1788.50-1788.66 | Fair Debt Buying Practices Act — heightened pleading + documentation for debt buyers |
| [CivCode-CLRA.md](CivCode-CLRA.md) | §§ 1750-1784 | Consumers Legal Remedies Act — 24 enumerated practices, 30-day pre-suit notice, 3-year SOL |
| [CivCode-Atty-Fees.md](CivCode-Atty-Fees.md) | § 1717 | Reciprocal attorney's fees on contracts |
| [CivCode-Contracts.md](CivCode-Contracts.md) | §§ 1549-1692 | Contract formation — § 1550 essential elements, § 1624 statute of frauds, § 1636-1654 interpretation, § 1670.5 unconscionability, § 1689 rescission |
| [CivCode-Damages.md](CivCode-Damages.md) | §§ 3274-3359 | Damages framework — § 3300 contract damages, § 3333 tort damages, § 3294 punitive damages, § 3343 fraud-of-the-vendor measure, § 3358 maximum-recovery cap |
| [CivCode-Song-Beverly.md](CivCode-Song-Beverly.md) | §§ 1790-1795.8 | Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act — implied warranties, lemon-law presumption (§ 1793.22), civil penalty for willful violation |

### Business & Professions Code

| File | Citation | Subject |
|---|---|---|
| [BPC-UCL.md](BPC-UCL.md) | §§ 17200-17210 | Unfair Competition Law — unlawful/unfair/fraudulent prongs, 4-year SOL, restitution + injunction |

### Financial Code

| File | Citation | Subject |
|---|---|---|
| [FinCode-CDCLA.md](FinCode-CDCLA.md) | §§ 100000-100027 | California Debt Collection Licensing Act — DFPI licensure (2022+) |

### Commercial Code (UCC enactments)

| File | Citation | Subject |
|---|---|---|
| [CommCode-Art-2-Sales.md](CommCode-Art-2-Sales.md) | §§ 2101-2725 | UCC Article 2 (Sales) — § 2725 4-year SOL on sale of goods |
| [CommCode-Art-3-Negotiable.md](CommCode-Art-3-Negotiable.md) | §§ 3101-3605 | UCC Article 3 (Negotiable Instruments) — § 3118 6-year SOL, § 3302 HDC analysis, § 3305 defenses |
| [CommCode-Art-9-Secured.md](CommCode-Art-9-Secured.md) | §§ 9101-9809 | UCC Article 9 (Secured Transactions) — § 9404 assignee takes subject to defenses, § 9406 notification of assignment |

### Evidence Code

| File | Citation | Subject |
|---|---|---|
| [EvidCode-Key.md](EvidCode-Key.md) | §§ 210-1521 (key) | Relevance (§ 210, § 350-352), hearsay rule (§ 1200) and key exceptions (business records § 1271, party admissions § 1220, declarations against interest § 1230), authentication (§ 1400-1402), Secondary Evidence Rule (§ 1521, replaced former § 1500 Best Evidence Rule in 1998) |

### Family Code

| File | Citation | Subject |
|---|---|---|
| [FamCode-Dissolution.md](FamCode-Dissolution.md) | §§ 2310-2403 | Dissolution / nullity / legal separation — § 2310 grounds (irreconcilable differences, permanent legal incapacity), § 2320 6-month residency, § 2339 6-month "cooling-off" waiting period, § 2210 voidable marriage grounds |
| [FamCode-Property.md](FamCode-Property.md) | §§ 760-2641 | Community property — § 760 community-property presumption, § 770 separate property, § 1100 management & control, § 2550 equal-division mandate at dissolution, § 2640 separate-property reimbursement (Lucas/Marriage of Heikes) |
| [FamCode-Custody.md](FamCode-Custody.md) | §§ 3010-3200 | Custody and visitation — § 3011 best-interests factors, § 3020 health/safety/welfare paramount, § 3040 custody preference order, § 3044 DV rebuttable presumption against custody, § 3170 mandatory mediation |
| [FamCode-Support.md](FamCode-Support.md) | §§ 4050-4076 | Child support guideline — § 4055 statewide formula CS = K[HN - (H%)(TN)], § 4057 rebuttable-presumption + departure findings, § 4058 income definition, § 4062 mandatory + discretionary add-ons, § 4070 imputation |

### Probate Code

| File | Citation | Subject |
|---|---|---|
| [ProbCode-Basics.md](ProbCode-Basics.md) | §§ 6400-13150 | Intestate succession (§ 6401 surviving-spouse share, § 6402 order of heirs); probate procedure (§ 8000-8005 petition, § 8120 notice, § 8400 letters); small-estate procedures (§ 13100 affidavit up to $184,500, § 13150 real-property procedure) |

### Labor Code

| File | Citation | Subject |
|---|---|---|
| [LabCode-Wages.md](LabCode-Wages.md) | §§ 200-244 | Wage payment and collection — § 201 wages due immediately on discharge, § 202 wages due on quit, § 203 waiting-time penalty (up to 30 days' wages), § 218.5 attorney-fees in wage actions, § 226 itemized wage statement, § 226.7 meal/rest premium (multi-version — verify on leginfo) |

## Re-pulling

`scripts/pull_ca_statutes.py` fetches verbatim section text from
`leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml`
(one section per HTTP GET). The puller targets the inner
`<font face="Times New Roman">` block inside
`<div id="single_law_section">` and extracts paragraphs plus the
italicized statute-history note. Pass `--only <stems>` to limit
to specific topic files; without `--only` the script will
overwrite the **hand-authored** corpus files
(CCP-SOL, CCP-Service, CCP-Pleadings, CCP-Motions-1005-to-1020,
CCP-Discovery, CCP-Time-Computation, CCP-Relief-473,
CCP-Enforcement, CCP-Exemptions, CivCode-Rosenthal,
CivCode-FDBPA, CivCode-CLRA, CivCode-Atty-Fees, BPC-UCL,
FinCode-CDCLA, CommCode-Art-2-Sales, CommCode-Art-3-Negotiable,
CommCode-Art-9-Secured) — always pass `--only` to be safe.

```bash
python3 scripts/pull_ca_statutes.py --workers 4 \
  --only CCP-Trial-New-JNOV CCP-Writs CCP-Unlawful-Detainer CCP-Arbitration \
         CivCode-Contracts CivCode-Damages CivCode-Song-Beverly EvidCode-Key \
         FamCode-Dissolution FamCode-Property FamCode-Custody FamCode-Support \
         ProbCode-Basics LabCode-Wages
```

A small number of sections — currently CCP § 1166 and Lab Code
§ 226.7 — return leginfo's multi-version disambiguation page
(`selectFromMultiples.xhtml`) when an amendment has competing
operative dates. These render as `_(empty extraction)_` markers
in the puller output; click the Source URL in the corpus file
to view the operative version on leginfo.

## Quick-reference for consumer-debt defense

The most-cited California statutory provisions in a typical
consumer-debt-defense action:

| Issue | Citation | File |
|---|---|---|
| 4-year SOL on credit-card debt | CCP § 337 | CCP-SOL.md |
| 30-day answer deadline | CCP § 412.20(a)(3) | CCP-Service.md |
| Demurrer for failure to state cause | CCP § 430.10(e) | CCP-Pleadings.md |
| Anti-SLAPP motion (60-day window) | CCP § 425.16 | CCP-Pleadings.md |
| 45-day jurisdictional compel deadline | CCP §§ 2030.300(c), 2031.310(c), 2033.290(c) | CCP-Discovery.md |
| 35-special-interrogatory cap | CCP § 2030.030(a) | CCP-Discovery.md |
| Discretionary relief from default | CCP § 473(b) | CCP-Relief-473.md |
| Rosenthal Act remedies | Civ. Code § 1788.30 | CivCode-Rosenthal.md |
| FDBPA pleading requirements | Civ. Code § 1788.58 | CivCode-FDBPA.md |
| UCL "unlawful" prong | Bus. & Prof. Code § 17200 | BPC-UCL.md |
| CDCLA licensure requirement | Cal. Fin. Code § 100002 | FinCode-CDCLA.md |
| Assignee takes subject to defenses | Cal. Comm. Code § 9404(a) | CommCode-Art-9-Secured.md |
| Reciprocal attorney's fees | Civ. Code § 1717 | CivCode-Atty-Fees.md |
| Homestead exemption ($300K-$600K) | CCP § 704.730 | CCP-Exemptions.md |
| Wage garnishment limits | CCP § 706.050 | CCP-Enforcement.md |

## Cross-references to related corpora

- [`../court-rules/`](../court-rules/) — California Rules of
  Court (CRC), California Evidence Code (CEC), local rules for
  LASC / SFSC / OCSC, Rules of Professional Conduct
- [`../federal-debt-laws/`](../federal-debt-laws/) — Federal
  consumer-credit statutes (FDCPA, FCRA, TILA, ECOA) and CFPB
  regulations (Reg F, Reg V, Reg Z, Reg B)
- [`../ucc-model/`](../ucc-model/) — Model UCC Articles 1, 2,
  3, 9 (the texts California enacted as Cal. Comm. Code
  Divisions 1, 2, 3, 9)

## Cross-references to skills

- `../../../ca-law-references/SKILL.md` — canonical reference
  catalog
- `../../../ca-consumer-debt/SKILL.md` — consumer-debt defense
  bundle
- `../../../ca-deadlines/SKILL.md` — workflow using these statutes
- `../../../ca-first-30-days/SKILL.md` — response-window workflow
- `../../../ca-discovery/SKILL.md` — discovery workflow
- `../../../ca-post-judgment/SKILL.md` — post-judgment workflow