## Facts

- Bobby Frank Ellerbee held an August 2001 civil judgment against Todd Anthony Shaw and, in June 2007, obtained an amended judgment adding additional joint debtors; the outstanding balance exceeded $1 million.
- On June 18, 2007, the superior court issued a writ of execution directed to the Los Angeles County Sheriff, among others.
- On June 21, 2007, Ellerbee’s counsel delivered the writ, fees, and written instructions requesting expedited service on garnishees paying Shaw royalties.
- The Sheriff’s Department did not serve Sony BMG until August 14, 2007; Sony BMG had paid Shaw $10,000 in the interim.
- After learning Shaw would appear on a weekly MTV program, Ellerbee sent supplemental instructions urging immediate service on MTV Networks; MTV was served on October 12, 2007, after MTV had paid Shaw $56,799.30 during the relevant period.
- Shaw later filed for bankruptcy, and Ellerbee claimed the Sheriff’s delays caused an inability to capture roughly $66,000.
- Ellerbee sued the County (and related defendants), alleging the Sheriff negligently failed to serve the writ in accordance with the creditor’s written instructions under Code of Civil Procedure § 687.010(b).
- The trial court denied the County’s motion for judgment on the pleadings, the case proceeded to trial, and a jury returned a negligence verdict for Ellerbee.
- The trial court also imposed pretrial monetary sanctions on the County and its counsel for failing to participate meaningfully in court-ordered mediation by not providing an attendee with sufficient settlement authority.

## Issues

1. Whether the complaint identified a specific, mandatory statutory duty whose breach could support public-entity liability under Government Code § 815.6 based on delayed service of a writ of execution.
2. Whether the trial court abused its discretion by imposing monetary sanctions for failure to participate properly in court-ordered mediation.

## Decision

- The court reversed the judgment for Ellerbee and held the trial court should have granted the County’s motion for judgment on the pleadings.
- The court held that the pleaded statutes and creditor instructions did not impose a mandatory, time-defined duty to serve the writ “promptly” sufficient to trigger Government Code § 815.6 liability.
- The court affirmed the monetary sanctions against the County and its attorney for failure to comply with mediation participation requirements.

## Legal Principles

- Public entities are not liable for negligence absent a statutory basis; Government Code § 815.6 imposes liability only for breach of a mandatory duty imposed by enactment, intended to protect against the type of injury suffered, and proximately causing injury.
- A statute must impose an obligatory, specific duty; general directives or provisions that leave the manner or timing of performance to official judgment do not create a “mandatory duty” under § 815.6.
- Code of Civil Procedure § 687.010(b), requiring service in accordance with a judgment creditor’s written instructions, does not itself create a judicially enforceable time deadline when the instructions merely request expedited or prompt action.
- Service occurring within the applicable statutory period for levy does not establish violation of a mandatory time requirement absent a shorter statutory deadline.
- Trial courts may enforce mediation orders and local mediation participation rules through monetary sanctions when parties fail to attend with a representative having adequate settlement authority.

## Conclusion

The Court of Appeal held that a creditor cannot recover damages from a county for delayed service of a writ of execution without pleading breach of a specific, mandatory, time-defined statutory duty under Government Code § 815.6; however, sanctions for failing to participate meaningfully in court-ordered mediation were within the trial court’s discretion.


Ellerbee v. County of Los Angeles, 187 Cal. App. 4th 1206 (Ct. App. 2010)