§ 751.27.Affidavit and Memorandum Pended to Summons Naming Claimant Or Successor In Interest; Service

Title 10. Actions In Particular Cases · Chapter 3.5. Actions to Re-establish Destroyed Land Records · Enacted 1953 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026

In one sentenceSection 751.27 requires a person who later sues under this chapter to name, in the affidavit and memorandum appended to the summons, a claimant or successor identified in a recorded notice of ownership as an adverse claimant, and to serve that claimant, or else the judgment leaves that claimant's title untouched though it remains valid against everyone else.

Full Text of § 751.27

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After three days after the filing of the notice for record, any person who begins an action pursuant to this chapter to perfect or establish his title to the real property described in the notice, or any interest therein, must name, in the affidavit and memorandum appended to the summons, the claimant in the notice, or any person who is a successor in interest of such claimant under a subsequently duly recorded written instrument, judgment, or decree, as a party who claims an interest in or lien upon the property adverse to the plaintiff. He must cause such claimant, or successor in interest, to be served with summons in the action. Otherwise neither the action nor any judgment or decree made therein shall affect the title or interest in the property described in the notice and owned by the claimant at the time of the filing of the notice, or by any such successor in interest prior to the commencement of the action. The failure to name such claimant or successor in interest in the affidavit or memorandum or to serve such claimant or such successor in interest shall not affect the validity of the judgment or decree rendered in such action as to any other persons, but such judgment or decree shall be valid and binding upon all persons except such claimant or successor in interest.

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Plain-English Summary

This section is the payoff of recording a notice under § 751.23. More than three days after such a notice is on file, anyone bringing an action under this chapter to establish or perfect title to the described property must name the claimant, or any later successor in interest under a duly recorded instrument, judgment, or decree, in the affidavit and memorandum appended to the summons as a person claiming an adverse interest or lien — and must have that person served with summons.

The consequence of skipping this step cuts only one way. If the plaintiff fails to name or serve the recorded claimant, neither the action nor any resulting judgment or decree affects the title or interest that claimant owned at the time the notice was filed, or that a later successor acquired before the action began. But that same failure doesn't undo the judgment's validity as to everyone else — the judgment or decree remains valid and binding on all other persons, and only the unnamed, unserved claimant is carved out.

Frequently Asked Questions

What must a plaintiff do if a notice of ownership has already been recorded for the property?

Name the claimant, or any successor in interest under a subsequently recorded instrument, judgment, or decree, in the affidavit and memorandum as claiming an adverse interest, and serve that person with summons.

What happens if the plaintiff doesn't name or serve that recorded claimant?

The action and any resulting judgment don't affect the title or interest that claimant, or a qualifying successor, owned before the action began.

Does failing to name that claimant invalidate the judgment as to everyone else?

No. The judgment remains valid and binding on all other persons; only the unnamed and unserved claimant's title is left untouched.

Amendment History

Added by Stats. 1953, Ch. 52.

Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from the California Legislative Information. Enacted by the California Legislature. Last verified July 28, 2026. · Official source

Also known as: naming recorded claimant destroyed records action california