Bad Faith Leads to Voiding of Joint Tenancy Deed and Double Damages Award
California’s Civil Code and common law provide remedies for when someone has been deprived of real property rights under shady circumstances. If the wronged party dies,…
Does foreclosure extinguish a recorded density bonus agreement?
California’s density bonus law (Government Code sections 65915-65918) rewards a developer who agrees to build a certain percentage of low-income housing with the opportunity to build…
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…