Can a plaintiff take my house if they win a judgment against me in California?

A plaintiff holding a judgment against you can record what's called an abstract of judgment, which creates a legal lien against any real property, including your house, that you own within that county. Practically, this generally prevents you from selling or refinancing that property without first satisfying the judgment.

An actual forced sale of your primary residence to satisfy the judgment is legally possible, but in practice it's uncommon and a genuinely slow process. California's homestead exemption specifically protects a substantial amount of home equity from this kind of forced sale, an amount that's indexed to adjust over time and currently exceeds $300,000 in many California counties.