Articles Tagged with legal action

2152023-300x300A Marvin agreement is an implied or express contract made between two nonmarried cohabitants/partners regarding property rights during a romantic relationship. Generally, unmarried partners living together can enter a variety of contracts, including but not limited to pooling their earnings to share property equally, holding property as joint tenants or tenants in common, or keeping their earnings and property separate. (Marvin v. Marvin (1976) 18 Cal.3d 660, 674; Hill v. Westbrook’s Estate (1950) 95 Cal.App.2d 599; Della Zoppa v. Della Zoppa (2001) 86 Cal.App.4th 1144.) If established, a Marvin agreement gives property rights to a romantic partner similar to that of a married individual. As such, a Marvin claim works similarly to a breach of contract claim but is ultimately based on equity. 

In order to prevail on a Marvin claim, a party must prove that an agreement existed between nonromantic partners to treat the property as theirs together. At Underwood Law Firm, our attorneys are more than familiar with Marvin agreements and their relationship with property rights. 

Where do Marvin Agreements come from?

Underwood-Blog-Images-2-300x300A deed of trust is a commonly used mortgage document in California. Essentially, a deed of trust provides a lender with security for the repayment of the loan and effectively functions similarly to a mortgage.  A deed of trust is a deed that transfers a legal interest in a piece of real property owned by the lendee to the lender, or trustee, in order to secure the debt owed on the loan. Certain elements are required for a deed of trust to be valid. These elements are codified in the Code of Civil Procedure, section 2924. 

A deed of trust involves three parties: (1) the trustor, who is the person who received the loan, (2) the beneficiary, who is the person who loaned the money to the trustor, and (3) the trustee, who is the person that released the loan once it has been paid off. At Underwood Law Firm, our attorneys are more than familiar with a deed of trust and the elements required for a valid deed of trust. 

When is it common to have a Deed of Trust?

Underwood-Blog-Images-1-300x300In California, a person can claim title to a piece of real property that they are not a titleholder to through adverse possession. Adverse possession requires a person to be in use of a particular piece of real property for the required statutory period. An adverse possessor, however, does not become the titleholder of a piece of property merely by using the property. Certain elements are required for a claimant to acquire title through adverse possession. The requirements for adverse possession are codified in the California Code of Civil Procedure section 323. 

Under section 325, subdivision (b), for an adverse possessor to gain title through adverse possession, the claimant must prove (1) possession under the claim of right or color of title; (2) actual, open, and notorious occupation of the premises which gives reasonable notice to the true owner; (3) possession which is adverse and hostile to the true owner; (4) continuous possession for at least five years; and (5) payment of all taxes assessed against the property during the five-year period. (CCP § 325(b).) At Underwood Law Firm, our attorneys are more than familiar with adverse possession and the elements required for gaining title through adverse possession. 

Possession Under the Claim of Right/Color of Title 

Underwood-Blog-Images-5-300x300Attorney’s fees are those fees owed by a client to an attorney who performed legal services on behalf of the client. In some cases, a court may order the losing party to pay the attorney’s fees of the other party. Whether attorney’s fees are available as damages depends on the nature of the action. In cases involving a breach of contract, whether attorney’s fees are available generally depends on the terms of the contract. 

What is a Breach of Contract?

A breached contract occurs when a party fails to fully perform its obligations under a valid contract. Generally, to prove a breach of contract, a litigant must prove that a valid contract existed and that the valid contract was breached by the party in some way, causing damages to the litigant.

Underwood-Blog-Images-1-2-300x300A motion to determine title is a motion to the court requesting that the court establish title to a piece of real property. Typically, a motion to determine title shows up in the court as a quiet title action. A quiet title action is brought when a litigant seeks to establish that they have an ownership interest in the subject property and refute any adverse claims against the litigant. It follows that to prevail on a motion to determine title; one must show that they hold some ownership interest in the subject property. 

The law surrounding a motion to determine title is codified in Code of Civil Procedure section 760.030. Under section 760.030, when establishing or quieting title is in issue in an action or proceeding, the court may, upon motion of any party, require that the issue be resolved pursuant to the provisions of the code of civil procedure relating to quiet title actions. (CCP § 760.030.) At Underwood Law Firm, our attorneys are more than familiar with partition actions and the step-by-step process of pursuing a partition. 

What is a Quiet Title Action

Underwood-Blog-Images-300x300Slander of title is quite the unique cause of action. As the name implies, it involves defamatory or slanderous activity but not against any person or personal interest. Instead, a slander of title involves activity that calls the state of your title into doubt (by, for example, filing an unwarranted lis pendens) that diminishes the value of your property. 

In these situations, parties have the ability to sue for slander of title. The suit is usually accompanied by an action to clear a cloud on the title or to quiet the title, but the gist of it is quite simple: compensation for the injurious activity to the state of one’s title. 

What’s Required for a Slander of Title Claim? 

Underwood-Blog-Images-5-300x300Ejectment is an action brought by a party seeking to recover a possessory interest or claim of title in a piece of real property. Typically, an ejectment action arises when a titleholder to a piece of property has been wrongfully excluded or withheld from the property. Therefore, ejectment applies only to those cases where an individual actually has possessory title to the subject property.

Ejectment is a possessory action used to recover possession of land or a piece of real property to a plaintiff in possession who has been wrongfully ousted from the property by the defendant. (Fuller v. Fuller (1917) 176 Cal. 637, 638, 169 P. 369].) In simpler terms, ejectment allows a party to retake possession of real property that the party was wrongfully removed from.

A claim of ejectment is a common issue in disputes over the real property where the parties are seeking to establish who holds title to or an interest in the subject property. Specifically, under Code of Civil Procedure section 3375, an individual who is entitled to specific real property may recover by a judgment for its possession or an order requiring a defendant to deliver possession of the property. (CCP § 3375.) At Underwood Law Firm, our attorneys are more than familiar with ejectment actions and the requirements needed to prevail on an ejectment claim. 

Underwood-Blog-Images-1-2-300x300A partition by appraisal is an alternative method of partition that occurs when the parties to a partition action agree to have the subject property partitioned by appraisal. With the Partition of Real Property Act taking effect in 2023, almost every partition action moving forward will involve a Partition by Appraisal. As such, the rules for a partition by appraisal will be important to know for everyone involved in such an action.

Once a partition by appraisal commences, the parties must then go through the appraisal process with an independent appraiser. An independent appraiser appraises the subject property, and the judgment of the appraiser determines the value that should be paid to buy out the interest of the selling co-owner. At the Underwood Law Firm, our attorneys are more than familiar with partition actions and the requirements needed to pursue a partition by appraisal. 

What is a Partition Action?

Underwood-Blog-Images-4-300x300“Joint tenancy” is a phrase that most people associate with the co-ownership of a property. And indeed, this is correct. Joint tenancy is a form of co-ownership in California, second only to tenancies-in-common in terms of popularity. But just because the words “joint tenancy” are used in a deed or other property-related document does not mean one actually exists. 

For a joint tenancy to be “true” means its effects fully apply. At a minimum, ownership percentages between the owners need to be equal, and the right of survivorship has to be present between the parties. What’s more, is that if any of the statutory or legal requirements associated with its creation are missing, then the joint tenancy does not exist, and it cannot be “true.” 

At Underwood Law Firm, our attorneys are well-versed in co-tenancy and the various forms it can take, including joint tenancy. The rights and duties that follow each of these ownership schemes are unique, making them a key issue in real estate litigation. 

Underwood-Blog-Images-1-1-300x300In California, in many partition actions, the court may enter an interlocutory judgment of partition, whereby there is an entry of judgment for partition. As opposed to a final judgment, an interlocutory judgment is a temporary judgment that is issued during the litigation of a case rather than after trial.

In general, interlocutory judgments are judgments entered before a trial comes to an end. “An interlocutory judgment or order is a provisional determination of some or all issues in the cause.” (7 Witkin, Cal. Procedure, supra, Judgement, § 12, p. 548.) Witkin identifies three different types of interlocutory judgments that exist.

The motion for an interlocutory judgment is a common issue in partition actions. Specifically, under Code of Civil Procedure section 872.720, the court must enter an interlocutory judgment when the court finds that the Plaintiff in a partition action is entitled to a partition. At Underwood Law Firm, our attorneys are more than familiar with the interlocutory judgment and requirements needed to get an interlocutory judgment. 

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