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…
Lis Pendens Upheld in Claim Against Sham Trustee Who Transferred Trust Property
A lis pendens is a recorded document giving constructive notice that a lawsuit has been filed affecting title to or right of possession of the real…
Eviction After Foreclosure: Further Developments from the Courts
A foreclosure sale purchaser attempting to evict a tenant on the property can encounter pitfalls, as made clear in a series of court cases in recent…
Court Permission Required for a Second Lis Pendens
A recorded lis pendens notifies prospective purchasers, encumbrancers, and transferees that there is litigation pending that affects the property. To curb abuses of the lis pendens…
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…
A Lis Pendens Recorded Before a Trustee’s Sale is a “Cloud on Title” that Might Thwart an Unlawful Detainer Claim
In a December 2018 post, Money and Dirt covered a California Supreme Court case — Dr. Leevil, LLC v. Westlake Health Care Center — in which…
Relying on a Void Quiet Title Judgment — Redux
In May 2021, Money and Dirt covered a case published by California’s Second Appellate District — Tsasu LLC v. U.S. Bank Trust, N.A. — holding that…
“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…
Court Addresses “Presumptively Legal” Parcels Under Subdivision Map Act
California’s Subdivision Map Act (“SMA”) governs the legal subdivision of property in California. The SMA’s approval process is familiar to most developers. The statute’s purpose is…