A camper was riding a bicycle in a National Forest in California. A forest service employee hit him with his car. The camper sued the U.S. for damages. The trial court said that the government was immune from liability to a recreational user of the land, due to Civil Code…
California Civil Code section 2923.5 requires that, prior to recording a Notice of Default (the first step in a non-judicial foreclosure), the lender must contact the borrower to assess their financial situation and explore options to prevent foreclosure. An Orange County homeowner filed suit against the lender for recording a…
A commercial lease specified an address for service of notices. Here was a default, and the landlord sent notice to the tenant’s leasing agent (by mail, fax, and email), who was not at the address specified in the lease. The agent acknowledged receiving notice by email. In the eviction action,…
Bingo Investments was in the business of making mezzanine loans in real estate matters. In a mezzanine loan, the borrower owns an entity (i.e. an LLC) that owns real property. The borrower does not actually own the real property, just the LLC. The mezzanine lender takes a security interest not…
Some southern California brokers listed a home for $749,000 to $799,000. A buyer entered a contract to buy for $749,000, and proceeding to sell their own house so they could pay for the new house. The Brokers knew, but did not tell potential buyers, that there were loans against the…
Al’s siblings were put on title to Al’s property so that it would pass to them if Al died. Al decided to create a trust, and have the trust be on title, so the siblings conveyed title back to Al, and Al conveyed the property to the trust. But, Al…
To set aside a default judgment in California, either the judgment must be void on its face, or the motion brought within two years of entry. In a recent case the motion was filed more then two years after the judgment was entered. The trial court found that the evidence…
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…
Under California law, a Grant Deed contains two implied covenants- these are promises that are not written into the deed itself. In deed language, the “grantor” is the person or entity who grants the property and signs the deed; the “grantee” is the one who receives the interest in the…
Homeowners in Discovery Bay, California, sought in 2007 to refinance their mortgage through GMAC. They provided the loan officer will accurate income information. It turned out, however, that the loan application prepared for them had a fabricated, inflated income. They were not given the application to review. They could not…