Real Property

A successor owner of the property is entitled to reinstate a defaulted deed of trust under Civ. Code 2924c even if the successor owner is not a party to the defaulted loan and deed of trust and does not assume any obligation under that loan and deed of trust.  Here, plaintiff bought the property at a foreclosure sale held by… Read More

Most time deadline statutes and rules are now construed as non-jurisdictional unless Congress has clearly stated otherwise.  The 12-year statute of limitations on quiet title actions against the United States (28 U.S.C. §2409a(g)) is a claims processing rule, not a jurisdictional statute.  The time limit appears in a section separate from the Quiet Title Act's jurisdictional provision and does not… Read More

This decision affirms the granting of a defendant law firm's Anti-SLAPP motion to strike a malicious prosecution action against it, finding the firm had probable cause to name a citizens group and some of its individual members as defendants in a quiet title action that sought to confirm the law firm's client's ownership of water rights in a creek.  The… Read More

A real estate broker whom the court appointed to determine the listing price and sell the property in a partition action is entitled to quasi-judicial immunity from one of the co-owner's claims for breach of fiduciary duty and other torts. The broker was appointed by the court for his expertise to carry out the court’s order to sell the property… Read More

Property that the debtor has properly claimed as exempt (here, a homestead interest under Arizona law) is not property of the estate.  Therefore, the bankruptcy lacks authority under 11 USC 724(a) to avoid secured claims with liens on the exempt property since that section allows avoidance of liens only on property of the estate. Read More

The trial court did not abuse its discretion in declining to apply the merger doctrine to void a driveway easement which was the only means of access to the plaintiff's property.  Defendant had owned both adjoining parcels at one point, but had promptly taken out a loan on the property benefited by the easement--a loan that probably wouldn't have been… Read More

Reasoning that Kirkeby v. Superior Court (2004) 33 Cal.4th 642 impliedly overruled BGJ Associates v. Superior Court (1999) 75 Cal.App.4th 952, this decision holds that when a plaintiff seeks to impose a constructive trust on specific property so as to become (again) the owner of that property wrongfully taken from him, the action "affects title to real property" sufficiently so… Read More

Plaintiff, who was not a licensed real estate agent or broker, adequately alleged facts that could give rise to an estoppel to plead the statute of frauds as a defense to her claim for breach of an oral contract to pay her a finder's fee in connection with the sale of real property.  Plaintiff alleged that in reliance on the… Read More

Counties that impose a documentary transfer tax may require that any deed or other conveyance state on its face the assessor's parcel number of the property being transferred  However, this decision holds, that the parcel number cannot create an ambiguity as to the bounds of the property being conveyed if the deed otherwise fully describes the conveyed property.  The parcel… Read More

The Housing Accountability Act (Gov. Code, § 65589.5), adopted to ease California's shortage of affordable housing, restricts local agencies' ability to block "housing development projects" or require them to reduce their proposed housing density.  This decision holds that the act does not apply to a project that proposes to build only single-family residences, not any multiple family housing units. Read More

An exclusive implied easement which, for all practical purposes, amounts to fee title cannot be justified or granted unless: 1) the encroachment is “de minimis” or 2) the easement is necessary to protect the health or safety of the public or for essential utility purposes. Here, a wall erected on what the prior owner of both adjoining lots thought was… Read More

Particularly as amended in 2019, Civ. Code 2923.7 requires a loan servicer to appoint a SPOC for each borrower who seeks a foreclosure alternative.  The borrower need not specifically request a SPOC in order to trigger the statute.  Interpreting Civ. Code 2924.12, the decision holds that for post-foreclosure damages purposes, the court must analyze harm in three steps.  First, did… Read More

The Supreme Court holds that lenders and loan servicers do not owe borrowers a duty of care in handling their loan modification applications.  Lender and borrower are in privity of contract, and the economic loss rule prevents recovery for purely economic loss based on negligence between contracting parties.  The Biakanja factors apply only to parties not in privity of contract. … Read More

To enforce a judgment by sale of the judgment debtor's dwelling, the creditor must, among other things, obtain a court order directing the sheriff to sell the property.  The application to obtain that court order must state the amount of all liens and encumbrances on the property that are senior to the judgment lien.  This decision holds that the application… Read More

A party may seek expungement of a lis pendens on any of four grounds:   (1) the lis pendens is void and invalid for lack of service on all defendants and owners of the property (CCP § 405.23), (2) the action as pleaded does not contain a real property claim (CCP § 405.31), (3) the claimant fails to establish the probable… Read More

This decision upholds Palm Springs' ordinance allowing short term rentals of dwellings in areas designated for residential use under its zoning ordinance.  The decision first points out that even if the short term rental ordinance conflicted with the zoning ordinance, it would not be invalidated as a result.  Both ordinances were enacted by the same city council and have the… Read More

Defendant bought the property adjacent to plaintiff's property and improved the purchased property with a drip-irrigated walnut orchard.  A strip of land on defendant's side of the fence between the two properties was actually plaintiff's property.  After defendant completed the orchard improvements, plaintiff sued for trespass on that strip of land and sought an injunction requiring defendant to restore the… Read More

A notary is liable in negligence in failing to exercise due care in determining the identity of the person signing a notarized document.  (Gov. Code, 8214.)  However, there is a statutory safe harbor from liability if the notary relies on a DMV driver's license issued within the last 5 years and there is no information, evidence, or other circumstances that… Read More

Plaintiff owner of a gated residential community sued defendant, a private water company, for repeated failures of a 12-inch water main that defendant constructed at plaintiff's request to serve two fire hydrants in the development as well as the domestic water needs of the residents.  This decision affirms the defense judgment.  The inverse condemnation claim failed because the water main… Read More

The trial court abused its discretion in dismissing this action as a sanction under CCP 128.7 on the ground that there was no reasonable ground for thinking it was not barred by the statute of limitations.  The action sought to quiet title to the property that the plaintiff had purchased in 2008 with knowledge of prior agreements purportedly assigning "coverage… Read More