Cal. Civil Code - CIV 7. — ARTICLE 7. Position of Sureties [2832. - 2856.] | Civil Code - CIV — California

Cal. Civil Code - CIV § 2832. Section 2832.

One who appears to be a principal, whether by the terms of a written instrument or otherwise, may show that he is in fact a surety, except as against persons who have acted on the faith of his apparent character of principal. It is not necessary for him to show that the creditor accepted him as surety.

Cal. Civil Code - CIV § 2837. Section 2837.

In interpreting the terms of a contract of suretyship, the same rules are to be observed as in the case of other contracts. Except as provided in section 2794, the position of a surety to whom consideration moves is the same as that of one who is gratuitous.

Cal. Civil Code - CIV § 2838. Section 2838.

Notwithstanding the recovery of judgment by a creditor against a surety, the latter still occupies the relation of surety.

Cal. Civil Code - CIV § [2839.] Section [2839.]

Section Twenty-eight Hundred and Thirty-nine. Performance of the principal obligation, or an offer of such performance, duly made as provided in this Code, exonerates a surety.

Cal. Civil Code - CIV § 2845. Section 2845.

A surety may require the creditor, subject to Section 996.440 of the Code of Civil Procedure, to proceed against the principal, or to pursue any other remedy in the creditor’s power which the surety cannot pursue, and which would lighten the surety’s burden; and if the creditor neglects to do so, the surety is exonerated to the extent to which the surety is thereby prejudiced.

Cal. Civil Code - CIV § 2846. Section 2846.

A surety may compel his principal to perform the obligation when due.

Cal. Civil Code - CIV § 2847. Section 2847.

If a surety satisfies the principal obligation, or any part thereof, whether with or without legal proceedings, the principal is bound to reimburse what he has disbursed, including necessary costs and expenses; but the surety has no claim for reimbursement against other persons, though they may have been benefited by his act, except as prescribed by the next section.

Cal. Civil Code - CIV § 2848. Section 2848.

A surety, upon satisfying the obligation of the principal, is entitled to enforce every remedy which the creditor then has against the principal to the extent of reimbursing what he has expended, and also to require all his co-sureties to contribute thereto, without regard to the order of time in which they became such.

Cal. Civil Code - CIV § 2849. Section 2849.

A surety is entitled to the benefit of every security for the performance of the principal obligation held by the creditor, or by a co-surety at the time of entering into the contract of suretyship, or acquired by him afterwards, whether the surety was aware of the security or not.

Cal. Civil Code - CIV § 2850. Section 2850.

Whenever property of a surety is hypothecated with property of the principal, the surety is entitled to have the property of the principal first applied to the discharge of the obligation.

Cal. Civil Code - CIV § 2854. Section 2854.

A creditor is entitled to the benefit of everything which a surety has received from the debtor by way of security for the performance of the obligation, and may, upon the maturity of the obligation, compel the application of such security to its satisfaction.

Cal. Civil Code - CIV § 2855. Section 2855.

An arbitration award rendered against a principal alone shall not be, be deemed to be, or be utilized as, an award against his surety. The intent of this legislation is to apply existing law to arbitration awards.

Cal. Civil Code - CIV § 2856. Section 2856.

(a) Any guarantor or other surety, including a guarantor of a note or other obligation secured by real property or an estate for years, may waive any or all of the following: (1) The guarantor or other surety’s rights of subrogation, reimbursement, indemnification, and contribution and any other rights and defenses that are or may become available to the guarantor or other surety by reason of Sections 2787 to 2855, inclusive. (2) Any rights or defenses the guarantor or other surety may have in respect of his or her obligations as a guarantor or other surety by reason of any election of remedies by the creditor. (3) Any rights or defenses the guarantor or other surety may have because the principal’s note or other obligation is secured by real property or an estate for years. These rights or defenses include, but are not limited to, any rights or defenses that are based upon, directly or indirectly, the application of Section 580a, 580b, 580d, or 726 of the Code of Civil Procedure to the principal’s note or other obligation. (b) A contractual provision that expresses an intent to waive any or all of the rights and defenses described in subdivision (a) shall be effective to waive these rights and defenses without regard to the inclusion of any particular language or phrases in the contract to waive any rights and defenses or any references to statutory provisions or judicial decisions. (c) Without limiting any rights of the creditor or any guarantor or other surety to use any other language to express an intent to waive any or all of the rights and defenses described in paragraphs (2) and (3) of subdivision (a), the following provisions in a contract shall effectively waive all rights and defenses described in paragraphs (2) and (3) of subdivision (a): The guarantor waives all rights and defenses that the guarantor may have because the debtor’s debt is secured by real property. This means, among other things: (1) The creditor may collect from the guarantor without first foreclosing on any real or personal property collateral pledged by the debtor. (2) If the creditor forecloses on any real property collateral pledged by the debtor: (A) The amount of the debt may be reduced only by the price for which that collateral is sold at the foreclosure sale, even if the collateral is worth more than the sale price. (B) The creditor may collect from the guarantor even if the creditor, by foreclosing on the real property collateral, has destroyed any right the guarantor may have to collect from the debtor. This is an unconditional and irrevocable waiver of any rights and defenses the guarantor may have because the debtor’s debt is secured by real property. These rights and defenses include, but are not limited to, any rights or defenses based upon Section 580a, 580b, 580d, or 726 of the Code of Civil Procedure. (d) Without limiting any rights of the creditor or any guarantor or other surety to use any other language to express an intent to waive all rights and defenses of the surety by reason of any election of remedies by the creditor, the following provision shall be effective to waive all rights and defenses the guarantor or other surety may have in respect of his or her obligations as a surety by reason of an election of remedies by the creditor: The guarantor waives all rights and defenses arising out of an election of remedies by the creditor, even though that election of remedies, such as a nonjudicial foreclosure with respect to security for a guaranteed obligation, has destroyed the guarantor’s rights of subrogation and reimbursement against the principal by the operation of Section 580d of the Code of Civil Procedure or otherwise. (e) Subdivisions (b), (c), and (d) shall not apply to a guaranty or other type of suretyship obligation made in respect of a loan secured by a deed of trust or mortgage on a dwelling for not more than four families when the dwelling is occupied, entirely or in part, by the borrower and that loan was in fact used to pay all or part of the purchase price of that dwelling. (f) The validity of a waiver executed before January 1, 1997, shall be determined by the application of the law that existed on the date that the waiver was executed.