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 years. Here is a summary, capped by an update on a recently filed...more
Obligations reduced to a promissory note are often accompanied by a written guaranty. The law treats the guaranty as an independent obligation.
A case recently decided by California’s First District Court of Appeal —...more
12/28/2023
/ Appeals ,
Cal Code of Civil Procedure ,
Deed of Trust ,
Foreclosure ,
Guarantors ,
Guaranty Claims ,
Investors ,
Lenders ,
Liability ,
Loan Servicing ,
Promissory Notes ,
Reversal ,
Settlement
In a December 2018 post, Money and Dirt covered a California Supreme Court case — Dr. Leevil, LLC v. Westlake Health Care Center — in which the Court held: “an owner that acquires title to property under a power of sale...more
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 under Code of Civil Procedure section 764.060 (part of California’s Quiet...more
Under California’s easement “merger” (merger of title) doctrine set forth in Civil Code sections 811 and 805, an easement (or servitude) is “extinguished” by “the vesting of the right of the servitude and the right to the...more
One of the unresolved issues over the past several years in the realm of lender liability law is whether lenders owe tort duties to borrowers in connection with loan modification applications. Until now, case law has been all...more
4/29/2022
/ Breach of Duty ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Deed of Trust ,
Economic Loss Doctrine ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Foreclosure ,
Loan Modifications ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Mortgages ,
Wells Fargo
Modifying a loan can sometimes cause a loss of lien priority. It all depends on the facts underlying the modification, and even the original loan....more
Under California’s Quiet Title Act, a third party who acts in reliance on a quiet title judgment retains its property rights even if that quiet title judgment is later declared void as long as the third party qualifies as a...more
A deed of trust beneficiary usually feels pretty confident with the validity of the deed as long as it is signed by an owner of the property.
But when the property constitutes community property of a married couple, is...more
Claims for quieting title to real property can be governed by different statutes of limitations periods. But a common issue in quiet title cases is when the statute of limitations period starts running....more
Oscar Wilde is quoted for saying—“To expect the unexpected shows a thoroughly modern intellect.”
This advice certainly holds true for a senior deed of trust lienholder contemplating foreclosure on real property security. ...more
A judgment creditor can record an abstract of judgment, a document that identifies the judgment debtor and the amount of the debt.
The abstract usually does not identify specific property. As long as it properly...more
Mortgage lenders tend to pay a lot of attention to the real property securing their loans, as they should.
Before the loan is made, lenders scrutinize the property to evaluate whether its fair market value will support the...more
When any real estate investment deal goes badly and ends in litigation, there are many reasons why a potential plaintiff may prefer one forum versus another, including the location of witnesses and documents, location of...more
9/25/2020
/ Appeals ,
Choice-of-Law ,
Contract Terms ,
Conversion ,
Deed of Trust ,
Dismissals ,
Forum Selection ,
Investors ,
Joint Venture ,
Motions to Quash ,
Passive Investments ,
Personal Jurisdiction ,
Purposeful Availment Test ,
Reaffirmation ,
Real Estate Development ,
Real Estate Investments
Can a California real property owner challenge a lender’s authority to foreclose before a foreclosure sale has occurred? It’s looking less likely with each new appellate opinion....more
7/31/2020
/ Appeals ,
Assignments ,
Borrowers ,
Deed of Trust ,
Foreclosure ,
Lack of Authority ,
Lenders ,
Preemptive Challenges ,
Property Owners ,
Residential Property Owners ,
Split of Authority ,
Standing
Flashback: Five years ago, Money and Dirt covered the Salazar v. Thomas opinion from California’s Fifth District Court of Appeal holding that a Notice of Default does not “disturb possession” sufficiently to start the...more
6/29/2020
/ Action to Quiet Title ,
Appeals ,
Borrowers ,
Deed of Trust ,
Foreclosure ,
Foreclosure Sales ,
Home Equity Line of Credit ,
Lenders ,
Notice of Default ,
Notice Requirements ,
Property Owners ,
Real Estate Transactions ,
Reversal ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Time-Barred Claims ,
Trustee Sales ,
Trustees
To be enforceable, a deed of trust must sufficiently describe the real property security.
There are several different ways to describe real property. Commonly used methods include referring to a block and lot number from a...more
Borrowers looking to invalidate a foreclosure sale often come up with interesting theories.
One frequent strategy is to attack the validity of a prior assignment of the underlying note and deed of trust. As explained in...more
11/25/2019
/ Appeals ,
Assignments ,
Borrowers ,
Deed of Trust ,
Default ,
Dismissals ,
Foreclosure Sales ,
Loans ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Mortgages ,
Validity ,
Wrongful Foreclosures
A trustee in charge of administering a trust has many duties.
A trustee appointed pursuant to a deed of trust, however, is different. The duties of a deed of trust trustee are exceptionally narrow.
A recent opinion...more
8/25/2019
/ Appeals ,
Assignments ,
Construction Loans ,
Deed of Trust ,
Default ,
Demurrers ,
Dismissals ,
Duties & Responsibilities ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Foreclosure ,
Land Developers ,
Loans ,
Reaffirmation ,
Trustees ,
Verification Requirements ,
Wrongful Foreclosures
Almost two years ago, Money and Dirt covered a Fourth District California Court of Appeal opinion addressing an apparent split of authority regarding how a lender can enforce senior and junior deeds of trust on the same...more
5/20/2019
/ Appeals ,
Assignments ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Cal Code of Civil Procedure ,
Commercial Property Owners ,
Deed of Trust ,
Default ,
Deficiency Judgments ,
Junior Liens ,
Lenders ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Section 580d ,
Senior Lenders ,
Split of Authority ,
Trustee Sales
This week, the California Supreme Court issued its opinion in Dr. Leevil, LLC v. Westlake Health Care Center. The case reviewed the decision of the California Court of Appeal from March 2017...more
12/22/2018
/ Appeals ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Cal Code of Civil Procedure ,
Condition Precedent ,
Deed of Trust ,
Eviction ,
Foreclosure ,
Notice Requirements ,
Notice to Quit ,
Perfection of Title ,
Popular ,
Recording Statutes ,
Tenants ,
Transfer of Title ,
Trustee Sales
Lenders who prevail on claims arising from a deed of trust can always recover their attorney fees from the losing party as long as the deed of trust says something about fee recovery, right?
It’s not that simple....more
11/30/2018
/ American Rule ,
Anti-Deficiency Provisions ,
Appeals ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Borrowers ,
Contract Terms ,
Debt ,
Deed of Trust ,
Demurrers ,
Fee Agreements ,
Foreclosure ,
Lenders ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Mortgages ,
Non-Signatories ,
Prevailing Party ,
Summary Judgment
For nearly three years, one of the rapidly developing areas of California foreclosure law has focused on whether a borrower has “standing” to challenge a wrongful foreclosure based on defective assignments of the note or deed...more