McClearen v. Superior Court

In McClearen v. Superior Court (1955) 45 Cal.2d 852, the People filed a motion pursuant to section 688.1 for a lien against a judgment in a justice court action in which an employee sought back wages from his employer. When the court denied the motion, the People appealed to the superior court. The superior court ordered a trial de novo, resulting in an order granting the People's motion for a lien. The employee sought certiorari to annul the action taken by the superior court, claiming it lacked jurisdiction to entertain the proceedings. The Supreme Court held the order denying the motion was appealable. It observed: "A lien claimant is obviously a party to the proceeding on his motion for a lien, even though he does not seek by intervention to become a party to the main action, and his failure to pursue the optional remedy of intervention cannot be considered as having any adverse effect upon his right to appeal from a denial of his motion." ( Id. at p. 856,)