§ 1265.250.Property Acquired Encumbered By Lien of Fixed Lien Special Assessment

This section adds a special-assessment layer to Article 3's lien rules, distinguishing two different kinds of assessments. A "fixed lien special assessment" is a one-time charge in a set amount for a specific improvement, whether collected all at once or in installments. A "special annual assessment" recurs every year in an amount that is not fixed in advance, whether it funds a specific improvement or something else.

Fixed lien assessments follow the article's ordinary lien rules: the amount of the lien gets paid to the lienholder from the award, or withheld under § 1265.220's deduction option, and on a partial taking, § 1265.225's impairment-based sharing rule applies -- though the lienholder can instead invoke whatever statutory procedure exists for segregating and apportioning the assessment, and collect from the award the portion apportioned to the part taken.

Special annual assessments work differently because they recur and their amount is not fixed. The lien amount gets prorated up to, but not including, the date of apportionment set under Revenue and Taxation Code § 5082 -- that prorated share goes to the lienholder from the award, while the plaintiff, as between plaintiff and defendant, is liable for the portion of the lien from and including the apportionment date onward. On a partial taking, the same prorating logic applies, but the lienholder also gets the amount allocable to the part taken for the current assessment year, worked out as closely as practical to the same method used to calculate the original assessment.