Abstract
The first one-action rule appeared in California in 1860. Today, seven, mostly western states, have one-action statutes. By forcing creditors to exhaust their collateral before obtaining access. to a debtor's general assets through a personal judgment or otherwise, the rule contradicts the common-law right of creditors to pursue several different remedies through concurrent or successive actions. The one-action rule has three purposes: (1) to protect debtors against harassment by creditors; (2) to force creditors to rely on their collateral as the primary source of repayment and (3) to preserve judicial economy. A debtor may use the rule either as an affirmative defense barring access to the debtor's general assets until after the collateral is exhausted or as a sanction to eliminate the creditor's lien on the collateral or possibly to require the forfeiture of the remaining debt.
Recommended Citation
Milliner, J. David
(1991)
"Real Property Collateral: The "One-Action" Rule in Action,"
Utah Law Review: Vol. 1990:
No.
3, Article 2.
Available at:
https://dc.law.utah.edu/ulr/vol1990/iss3/2