How to Set a Judgment Debtor Examination

The Order of Examination Calendar is assigned to the Honorable Thadd A. Blizzard in Department 43 and is held one day per week on Fridays between 9:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. All Order of Examination hearings must be reserved with the clerk in Department 43 prior to any filings being submitted to the Court. The Clerk of Department 43 may be reached at (916) 874-7561.

Filing Process:

After reservation of a hearing, applications may be submitted with the appropriate filing fees (as dictated by the Statewide Civil Fee Schedule) as follows:

• Paper Filing – An original plus two copies of the Application for Order for Appearance of Examination and the appropriate filing fee may be submitted to the Civil Filing Drop Box on the first floor of the Gordon D. Schaber Courthouse, located at 720 9^th Street, Sacramento, CA 95814, or by mail to the same address.
• e-Filing – For information on e-Filing Civil court documents, click here.

Once received by the Court, the application is forwarded to the assigned department for judicial signature. After judicial signature is obtained, the clerk will return the documents to the submitting party as follows:

• Parties who mail their filings to the court will receive their originals/copies by mail.
• Parties who submit their Filings at the Civil Filing Drop Box will indicate on the Civil Filing Drop Sheet if they wish to pick up their documents from the Attorney Bin or have their documents returned by mail.
• e-Filed applications will receive an updated copy of the application with the file stamp and judicial signature in their Electronic Filing Service Provider (EFSP) Portal.

Proofs of Service:

The Proof of Service must be filed in the department on the day of the hearing pursuant to Local Rule 2.10.

Order of Examination Court Hearing:

On the date of the scheduled hearing, all parties must check in with the clerk of the department. The Judgment Debtor will be given an oath and the examination will proceed privately between the parties. When the examination is concluded, the parties will be released and no further appearance will be required.

Continuances:

An Order of Examination can be continued pursuant to stipulation as follows:

• At the hearing, the parties may stipulate to continue the matter for further examination or production of documentation.
• Prior to the hearing, the parties may submit a written stipulation for continuance with the appropriate filing fee. For filing fee information, see the Statewide Civil Fee Schedule.

Failure to Appear at Order of Examination and Civil Bench Warrant

Upon showing of proper proof of service, the Court will issue a bench warrant for a judgment debtor’s failure to appear.

After the court’s order for a civil bench warrant, the judgment creditor shall submit an original plus two copies of the Civil Bench Warrant Local Form - CV\E-127A for judicial signature and issuance of the warrant. Each warrant submitted for signature shall be accompanied by the Instructions to Serve Civil Bench Warrant Local Form - CV\E-127B and Sheriff Department’s fee for service.

After obtaining a judicial signature, the clerk will conform the copies, forward the original to the Sacramento Sheriff's Department and return one copy to the submitting party.

Contact the Sheriff Department’s Civil Division at (916) 875-2665 or https://www.sacsheriff.com/pages/civil_bureau.php - external link for questions regarding service and their corresponding fees.

Return on Civil Bench Warrant:

Upon service of the Civil Bench Warrant, a hearing date will be set for the judgment debtor to appear before the court. The Judgment Creditor shall also appear to conduct the debtor examination.