Title Insurer Bad Faith — Allegations, Extrinsic Facts, and the Duty to Defend
A title insurer owes a “duty to defend” its insured from a lawsuit filed by a third party whenever the lawsuit creates a potential for indemnity…
Are “Common Law Dedications” of Private Property to the Public Extinct?
Dedications A “dedication” is an uncompensated transfer of an interest in private property to the public. Dedications can occur pursuant to statute or common law. Statutory…
Easement Cannot be Granted on Inconsistent Theories
An easement — an interest in the land of another entitling the easement owner to a limited use or enjoyment of another’s land — can be…
How Far Must the Owner of a Right-of-Way Easement Go to Maintain It?
California law is clear that the owner of a private right-of-way easement has a duty to maintain the easement. What is less clear is how far…
Court Rules Grower Cannot Use Access Easement for Cannabis Purposes Without Servient Landowner’s Consent
This post was primarily authored by Daniel Zarchy, a “Rising Star” for five of the past six years who is a litigation attorney at Patton Sullivan…
California Supreme Court: Parties to a Real Estate Transaction Can Create Implied Exclusive Easements
This post was authored by Daniel Zarchy, a “Rising Star” for five of the past six years who is a litigation attorney at Patton Sullivan Brodehl…
Interpreting the Scope of Mineral Rights Reservations
One of the first lessons in every first-year real property law class is that property rights are commonly referred to as a “bundle of sticks” that…
Easement Considered Abandoned When Authorized Use No Longer Has Practical Value
As properties age, it is not uncommon for lingering easements to exist on record which were originally created to serve needs that no longer exist or…
“Business Judgment Rule” Applies to HOAs
California’s common law “business judgment rule,” as described by the courts, protects from court intervention “those management decisions which are made by directors in good faith…
Easements and the “Merger” Doctrine
Under California’s easement “merger” (merger of title) doctrine set forth in Civil Code sections 811 and 805, an easement (or servitude) is “extinguished” by “the vesting…