Real Property eNews

By: Michael Simkin, Esq. Most California commercial leasing transactions use one of the AIR CRE Commercial Leases (“AIR Forms”) or the CAR Commercial Lease form (“CAR Form”).  The AIR Forms are very inclusive at 20+ pages, are balanced for the landlord and tenant, but may not be the right choice for every commercial lease.  The CAR Form is user friendly at 6 pages, but only covers the basics.  The AIR CRE forms have specific leases for office, single, multi-tenant, ground… Read more

By Victor Rocha, Esq. On October 5, 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom nominated Justice Martin Jenkins (Ret.) to serve on the California Supreme Court. If confirmed, Justice Jenkins would be the first openly gay Justice, and only the third African American man, to serve in the 170 year old history of the California Supreme Court. In a video statement, Gov. Newsom said, "Of the duties granted to governors by our State Constitution, few are more consequential than nominating a new justice… Read more

By Elizabeth A. Blair, Esq. Dear Real Property Law Section Members, As we embark on the 2020-2021 California Lawyers Association year, we are facing new and unexpected challenges and obstacles, as well as opportunities and successes.  The COVID-19 pandemic allowed us to connect to one another in ways we would not have expected and to maintain business operations from remote locations, turning our homes into both offices and schools.  I want to say a special thank you to Steven DeLateur… Read more

Protecting Our Water and Environmental etc. v. County of Stanislaus (2020) _ Cal.5th _ , 2020 WL 5049384: In a California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA; Public Resources Code, section 21000 et seq.) case addressing the distinction between discretionary and ministerial projects, the California Supreme Court reversed the portion of the Court of Appeal decision concluding that all well permit issuances by respondent were discretionary (not ministerial). Read more

WUWU! is coming. Not, woo, hoo. Not woo, woo. It is not Constance Wu either. But WUWU! WUWU stands for What’s Up With Us! WUWU is part podcast, part talk show, part open forum, and all real estate. WUWU is a way to catch up on all goings-on with your Real Property Law Section, find out about the hot topics that may be impacting your practice, learn about leading real property practitioners and what makes them successful and carry on, make suggestions for programs, events and activities that will definitely make their way to leadership, and have a little fun all in about one hour every month. Read more

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused borrowers and lenders to take a fresh look at certain loan document provisions, including everyone’s favorite, the non-recourse carveouts. Read more

While the effects of the COVID-19 health crisis have impacted daily life for months, the legal implications of this pandemic are just starting to develop. Unforeseen conditions often wreak havoc on existing contractual relationships, which are typically based on factual assumptions that, due to unexpected conditions like COVID-19, may no longer be appropriate. Read more

On August 31, 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 3088 into law. With the Judicial Council’s eviction ban ending on September 1, 2020, AB 3088 prohibits evictions based on nonpayment of rent for periods after March 1, 2020. Read more

Monty A. McIntyre, Esq. is the publisher of California Case Summaries™ which provides short summaries, organized by legal topic, of every new published civil and family law case helping California lawyers easily keep up with the new case law in their practice areas. Read more

In 1950, one property owner (grantor) agreed to allow a neighbor (the recipient) the right to use the grantor’s property for 8 parking spaces. The recipient needed the spaces to get a permit to build a warehouse on the recipient’s property. The grantor did not give the recipient an easement, but rather provided a license to the neighbor. And the license was not recorded but instead filed away, in the form of a notarized statement, with the city Building Department. Read more