A popular topic in Sacramento now is this possibility that the Kings may be bought by a Seattle ownership group, and moved to Seattle. The method this would be accomplished is by the Maloof family selling their majority interest in the Kings partnership to the new group- the minority partners…
The California parole evidence rule generally prohibits evidence of oral statements that contradict the terms of a written contract. In the past several years Sacramento and El Dorado real estate attorneys often heard borrowers claim that their mortgage broker made promises about their loan regarding the interest rate, whether it…
In California contracts sometimes a party is obligated to use “best efforts” to accomplish a goal of the contract. For example, a contract to buy real estate may be subject to a condition to obtain financing. In such a case, the implied covenant of good faith requires the buyer to…
California construction and contractor law is pretty clear – you have to have a contractor’s license to get paid. If you don’t have a license and the owner does not pay, the courts will not help. The intent of the Contractor’s State License Law is to prohibit unlicensed contractors from…
California real estate purchase contracts often include mediation provisions. Such a provision provides that, in the event of a dispute, the parties either may, or must, attempt a mediated solution before extended litigation. If the provision requires that they must, there is a penalty for refusing to mediate. In a…
Recently a federal court in Northern California found that a document which one party claimed was a non-binding proposal was really a binding ground lease agreement with purchase options, which resulted in a 16 million dollar damage award. The proposal concerned development of the Santana Row project in San Jose.…
Sometimes a debt may be disputed between the parties. In the early days of my practice I heard stories of people sending a check to their creditor for less then it was due, marked “payment in full” with the hope that the creditor would not notice, cash it and be…
Tender of performance is a critical concept that only arises in the event of a dispute. The general rule is that to claim the other party is in breach of contract, you have to first tender performance. 1. Tender must be made at the proper time and place. If the…
A California condo owner sued his association for repair costs In plaintiff’s suit against the homeowner association for repair costs to his condo aused by a leaky sewer pipe beneath the concrete slab underlying plaintiff’s condominium. The association argued that the sewer pipes were exclusive use common areas, so the…
Buyers bought a home in Southern California using the standard CAR purchase agreement, in which they initialed the requirement to arbitrate any disputes. Before they moved into the home, they learned it had extensive structural damage which was not disclosed. The buyers sued their broker, claiming that they knew about…