Real Property Law Section

What’s Up With Us! is a monthly instruction and discussion led by attorney members of the Real Property Law Section of the California Lawyers Association via webinar format. Three or four recent California or Federal appellate cases potentially impacting statewide real estate law practice are summarized and analyzed by the hosts. Applicable legislation and practice tips are brought up as appropriate. Audience members have an opportunity to ask clarifying questions and provide insight to supplement the descriptions and opinions given by the hosts. A prominent member of the real estate legal community is interviewed for the purposes of exposing audience members to the many varied substantive fields of real estate law and differing practices ranging from litigation to dispute resolution to transactional law, and from corporate practice to government practice to private practice to the judiciary. Guests share their insights on many of the cases discussed. Audience members are also informed of upcoming educational and networking opportunities presented by the Real Property Law Section. Read more

The purpose of this article is to discuss the commonly-discussed, but poorly understood, concepts of a “cloud on title.” A “Cloud on title” is an adverse claim, which may look good on its face, but is actually invalid or barred in some way.  Read more

Unique one-paragraph summaries, organized by legal practice, of every new published civil case each month, every quarter, and in early January each year an annual issue is released. These case summaries, offered throughout the year, give subscribers a competitive advantage to win more cases. Read more

Successful persuasive writing involves consideration of both the substance of your legal argument and of sentence-level writing techniques. There are several methods available to focus your reader’s attention so they accept your argument. These tips range from focusing or limiting the amount of information in a sentence, to overarching tonal shifts.   Read more

When it comes to real estate transactions, ensuring a clean and clear title is essential. However, what happens if a property is sold without a perfect title, only for the seller to acquire the missing rights or interests later? This scenario is where the After Acquired Title Doctrine comes into play. In this blog, we’ll discuss what this doctrine entails, its implications for buyers and sellers, and how it impacts real estate transactions. Read more

In every lawsuit, one of the biggest considerations is the cost. Frequently, clients are very eager to understand the amount that they will be required to pay to have their case resolved. After all, most people do not have a pot of money set aside for lawsuits, and are forced to eat into their savings to pay for an attorney to help with their legal problems. Even when attorneys’ fees are available for reimbursement, as they are in a partition action, the question of costs is always a significant question.  Read more

Lew-Williams v. Petrosian (2024) _ Cal.App.5th _ , 2024 WL 1404151: The Court of Appeal reversed the trial court’s order dismissing plaintiffs’ action, without prejudice, for failure to prosecute the case in arbitration after the trial court had granted a motion to compel arbitration. In April of 2020 plaintiffs filed their complaint alleging numerous causes of action, including conspiracy to convert and embezzle funds, financial elder abuse, and declaratory relief, breach of contract, negligence, bad faith, and unfair business practices. In July 2021, the trial court granted Read more

All legal writing is persuasive writing. Whether drafting a lawsuit, communicating with opposing counsel, or discussing strategies with a client, a lawyer’s writing must convince someone of something. A lawyer’s tools are the words, phrases, and sentence structure used to persuade a reader to reach the desired conclusion.   Read more

California Assembly Bill 2097 (AB 2097), signed by Governor Gavin Newsom on September 22, 2022, is a California state law that prohibits a public agency from imposing or enforcing any minimum automobile parking requirement on a residential, commercial or other development project located within one-half mile of a major transit stop. Read more

Before the owners receive the proceeds from a partition sale, costs and expenses related to the partition action must be paid. Code of Civil Procedure section 873.820 sets forth the order that these expenses and costs must paid before the owners receive their proportional interest in the remaining proceeds. Specifically, it states that the proceeds must be distributed in this order: Read more