Real Property eNews

Canyon Vineyard Estates I v. DeJoria (2022) _ Cal.App.5th _ , 2022 WL 1565262: The Court of Appeal affirmed in part, and reversed in part, the trial court's order granting defendants' motion for summary judgment entering a judgment an injunction against plaintiff, and awarding defendant Mountains Restoration Trust (MRT) 1,371,962.20 in attorney fees and $5,424.55 in costs and awarding the California State Attorney General $189,675 in attorney fees and $5,552.88 in costs. Read more

On April 22-24, 2022, the CLA Real Property Law Section hosted its first annual Real Property Health & Wellness Retreat at the fabulous Ritz Carlton, Lake Tahoe, and it was such a smashing success that the initial reservation sold out, and RPLS had to expand the number of rooms reserved for the event to accommodate the overwhelming response. The event was at or near capacity for many of the individual events, Read more

A lot has changed about being a residential landlord in California since January 2019 when the Tenant Protection Act (Civil Code §§ 1946.2, 1947.12 and 1947.13) fist became effective. Since January of 2019 many county and municipal jurisdictions have changed their local rent control ordinances to limit the amount and frequency of rent increases, create new conditions to eviction brought for cause (e.g. requiring application for and denial of rental assistance programs), restrict the instances in which a lease may be terminated by the landlord unilaterally (e.g. owner intent to occupy, intent to sell the property, and/or intent to make improvements). At the same time, California’s State, county Read more

The California Debt Collection Licensing Act (“DCLA”) was enacted by the 2020 passage of California SB 908. One aspect of the DCLA requires persons engaged in the business of collection of consumer debt to apply for and obtain a debt collector license from the California Department of Financial Protection & Innovation (“Department”). Read more

On August 16, 2021, the Eighth Circuit court of appeals issued an opinion holding that floor plans do not constitute “pictures, paintings, photographs, or other pictoral representations” of an architectural work under 17 U.S.C. §120(a). Read more

“Let’s leave that to the lawyers.” It’s a familiar refrain that I hear often as contract negotiations drag on between parties. Read more

Sheen v. Wells Fargo Bank (2022) _ Cal.5th _ , 2022 WL 664722: The California Supreme Court affirmed the trial court's order sustaining defendant's demurrer to plaintiff's cause of action alleging negligence in defendant's responses to plaintiff's loan modification requests. Read more

In recent years, association controls on a homeowner’s right to rent, the duration of a rental, and rental caps have been severely weakened, both in case law and by statute. Read more

League to Save Lake Tahoe Mountain Area v. City of Placer (2022) _ Cal.App.5th _ , 2022 WL 442815: The Court of Appeal affirmed, in part, two judgments of the trial court in two actions alleging that respondent's approval of approval of a land use specific plan and rezoning to permit residential and commercial development and preserve forest land near Truckee and Lake Tahoe, did not comply with the California Environmental Quality Act Read more

On April 22-24, 2022, the CLA Real Property Law Section will be hosting its first annual Real Property Health & Wellness Retreat at the fabulous Ritz Carlton, Lake Tahoe. We are excited that this will be the first event for our section to be focused primarily on wellness MCLE seminars and activities over substantive property law content. When Elizabeth Blair and I brainstormed this event, our goal was to break away from the typical tedious MCLE conference where attendees would be sitting in a room all day without much opportunity to network or get up and move. We wanted to appeal to a broader, younger audience, and shift the dynamic of what a legal conference could be. Read more