Does California have an anti-deficiency judgment statute?
California has enacted anti-deficiency legislation which is found in Code of Civil Procedure sections 580b and 580d. Section 580b prohibits deficiency judgments based on the character of the loan at the time it is made, and it prohibits a seller who has carried back a loan as part of the sales price of the property from obtaining a deficiency judgment against a defaulting borrower. The prohibition on deficiency judgments found in Code of Civil Procedure section 580d, on the other hand, does not depend on the character of the loan, but rather on the process of the foreclosure action. Section 580d prohibits deficiency judgments when the property is sold through the exercise of a power of sale clause contained in the deed of trust. As a result of section 580d, deficiency judgments (with limited exceptions) are only permitted following a judicial foreclosure. Additionally, the deficiency judgment allowed must be the lesser of the amount by which the debt exceeds the fair value of the prope
