California CodesCivil CodeDivision 3 - OBLIGATIONSPart 1 - OBLIGATIONS IN GENERALTitle 1 - DEFINITION OF OBLIGATIONS§ 1427§ 1427An obligation is a legal duty, by which a person is bound to do or not to do a certain thing.Cite this sectionCal. Civ. Code § 1427 (2026)Copyhttps://ca.codecond.com/codes/civ/division-3-obligations/part-1-obligations-in-general/title-1-definition-of-obligations/section-1427Copy