SECTIONS 262-262.11 - California Statutes

CODE OF CIVIL PROCEDURE

SECTION 262-262.11

262. The direction or authority of a party or his or her attorney
to a sheriff, in respect to the execution of process or return
thereof, or to any related act or omission, is not available to
discharge or excuse the sheriff from a liability for neglect or
misconduct, unless it is contained in written instructions by the
attorney of the party, including the signature and name of the
attorney of the party, or by the party, if he or she has no attorney.
Subject to subdivision (c) of Section 263, the instructions may be
transmitted electronically pursuant to Chapter 2 (commencing with
Section 263).

262.1. A sheriff or other ministerial officer is justified in the
execution of, and shall execute, all process and orders regular on
their face and issued by competent authority, whatever may be the
defect in the proceedings upon which they were issued.

262.2. Except as otherwise provided, the officer executing process
shall, so long as he or she retains the original process, show it to
any interested person, upon request. The officer shall show the
process, with all papers, or electronic copies of all papers,
attached, at his or her office whenever the office is open for
business.

262.3. When any process remains with the sheriff unexecuted, in
whole or in part, at the time of his death, resignation of office, or
at the expiration of his term of office, such process shall be
executed by his successor or successors in office.

262.4. If the sheriff sells real estate, under and by virtue of an
execution or order of court, the sheriff, or his or her successors in
office, shall execute and deliver to the purchaser or purchasers all
deeds and conveyances required by law and necessary for the purpose,
and those deeds and conveyances shall be valid in law as if they had
been executed by the sheriff who made the sale. The deeds and
conveyances may be recorded electronically pursuant to Chapter 2
(commencing with Section 263) if they comply with the Electronic
Recording Delivery Act of 2004 (Article 6 (commencing with Section
27390) of Chapter 6 of Part 3 of Division 2 of Title 3 of the
Government Code).

262.5. Service of a paper, other than process, upon the sheriff may
be made by delivering it to him or to one of his deputies, or to a
person in charge of the office during office hours, or, if no such
person is there, by leaving it in a conspicuous place in the office.

262.6. When the sheriff is a party to an action or proceeding, the
process and orders therein, which it would otherwise be the duty of
the sheriff to execute, shall be executed by the coroner of the
county.

262.7. When any action is begun against the sheriff, all process
and orders may be served by any person, a citizen of the United
States over the age of 18 years, in the manner provided in this code.

262.8. Process or orders in an action or proceeding may be executed
by a person residing in the county, designated by the court, or the
judge thereof, and denominated an elisor, in the following cases:
(a) When the sheriff and coroner are both parties.
(b) When either of these officers is a party, and the process is
against the other.
(c) When either of these officers is a party, and there is a
vacancy in the office of the other, or where it appears, by
affidavit, to the satisfaction of the court in which the proceeding
is pending, or the judge thereof, that both of these officers are
disqualified, or by reason of any bias, prejudice, or other cause
would not act promptly or impartially.

262.9. When process is delivered to an elisor, he shall execute and
return it in the same manner as the sheriff is required to execute
similar process.

262.10. Whenever process is executed, or any act performed by a
coroner or elisor, he shall receive a reasonable compensation, to be
fixed by the court, to be paid by the plaintiff in case of the
summoning of jurors to complete the panel, and by the person or party
requiring the service in all other cases in private action. If
rendered at the instance of the people, it shall be audited and paid
as a county charge.

262.11. In all cases where new counties have been or may hereafter
be created, and executions, orders of sale upon foreclosures of
mortgages, or other process affecting specific real estate have been
or may hereafter be adjudged by the final judgment or decree of a
court of competent jurisdiction, to be executed by the sheriff of the
county in which such real estate was originally situated, such
process may be executed by the sheriff of the new county in which
such real estate is found to be situated, with the like effect as if
he were the sheriff of the county designated in the judgment, decree,
or order of sale to execute the same.