Articles Tagged with legal action

Underwood-Blog-Images-5-300x300General partnerships, and their “joint venture” cousins, are composed of partners seeking to make a profit in a business venture. But things don’t always work out. Often, a once promising endeavor breaks down due to mismanagement and miscommunication. In these situations, partners may feel the urge to get out with whatever equity they can. Usually, it isn’t that easy. 

The Revised Uniform Partnership Act allows partners to dissociate from their partnerships whenever they want. Yet this withdrawal can sometimes cause serious damage, especially when the partner trying to leave was a major source of capital. For that reason, the California Corporations Code provides for penalties when the dissociation is “wrongful.” In the end, getting out of a partnership isn’t so much about doing it the “right” way as it is about avoiding the “wrong” way to dissociate.

What is dissociation? 

Underwood-Blog-Images-1-2-300x300Just because a party prevails in a lawsuit does not mean the matter is over. Rarely discussed but crucially important is the fact that a judgment must be enforced once it is entered. This isn’t always easy. Losing parties don’t always want to cooperate, especially when they’re operating without an attorney. 

Sometimes, a party might “disappear,” ignoring all communications from the other side and the court. Other times, they might simply refuse to sign documents as ordered, convinced the court got it wrong. These actions can cost victorious parties thousands of extra dollars of their time and money. Thankfully, in these situations, litigants have a unique remedy to combat this behavior: an elisor. 

An elisor is a person appointed by the court to perform functions like the execution of a deed or document. (Blueberry Properties, LLC v. Chow (2014) 230 Cal.App.4th 1017, 1020.) They are most commonly utilized in cases where a party never shows up or where a party refuses, even under court order, to sign documents as required by the court. 

Underwood-Blog-Images-2-1-300x300A realtor should take the necessary legal steps to ensure that all real estate owners do so. When most people buy or sell property, they hire a real estate agent to assist with the process. While the concept of these agreements seems simple enough, these agreements can get complicated when the property in question is owned by more than one person. The Underwood Law Firm is familiar with these disputes and is in the ideal position to assist your dealings with real estate brokers. 

What is Needed for a Real Estate Listing Agreement to be Valid? 

California law provides that an agreement authorizing an agent, broker, or any other person to purchase or sell real estate is “invalid, unless [the agreement], or some note or memorandum thereof, are in writing and subscribed by the party to be charged or the party’s agent.” (Civ. Code § 1624(a)(4).) 

Underwood-Blog-Images-2-300x300Yes. Co-owners of property are entitled to certain rights, namely, the right to possess and use the property as they see fit. But sometimes, things do not work out with the other owners. 

Heirs to an estate can bicker, business relationships can fall through, and family dynamics can fall apart. This may result in the rightful owner of the property being ousted by the other(s). In these situations, finding the right real estate lawyer to assist in the process of recovering possession is crucial. The Underwood Law Firm, P.C. is familiar with these sensitive matters and has the legal acumen to help you recover possession of your property. 

Do cotenants each have a right to occupy their property?

Underwood-Blog-Images-3-300x300Joint tenancy is a special type of co-ownership recognized in California. It is commonly associated with married couples, ensuring that when one of them dies, their entire interest in the property passes to the other spouse. This is called the right of survivorship, and it is the defining trait of a joint tenancy.

The right of survivorship, however, can be an uncomfortable concept for co-owners, particularly when those owners are not related and are merely business partners. For that reason, co-owners can attempt to sever the joint tenancy to extinguish the right of survivorship. 

The Underwood Law Firm, P.C. is familiar with all types of cotenancies, including joint tenancies, and the various means of severing them under the law. 

What is a Partition Action?

A partition action is a court-ordered process where a property owner forces a sale of jointly owned real estate. Essentially, a partition action exists to allow people who own real estate together to take their share of the equity and go their separate ways. But, as simple as this seems, partition actions can often become complex lawsuits. Disputes commonly arise as to what type of partition may be sought and the process for determining ownership interests. 


For example, “Julie” bought a house with her boyfriend, “Shawn,” thinking that they would get married one day. Later, after they had bought the house, Julie realized that her boyfriend was not the right person for her. Because Julie wanted to move on in her life, she also wanted to sell the house she bought with her boyfriend. Her boyfriend, however, was mad at Julie for breaking up with him and so refused to agree to sell the house. Because they were not married, Julie could not go to a divorce lawyer, and because they both did not agree to sell, a realtor could not help Julie. Julie felt trapped. Julie then, however, found a partition lawyer and was able to get the house sold so she could move on with her life. A partition lawyer got the job done. 

underwood-guide-to-tenants-in-common-300x300Co-owning property as tenants in common is the favored form of joint ownership in California. (Wilson v. S.L. Rey, Inc. (1993) 17 Cal.App.4th 234, 242 (S.L. Rey).) Yet, property held in tenancy in common brings with it a unique set of potential issues that are not present in the other forms of joint ownership recognized by the state. (see California Civil Code, § 682.) 

Different ownership interest percentages between co-owners can affect one’s responsibilities for common expenses and levels of disbursement on a sale. A fiduciary relationship between joint owners can disrupt a co-owner’s ability to acquire an encumbrance. Payments for improvements to the property may not be recoverable in an accounting action if deemed “unnecessary.” These are just some of the issues we will attempt to address in this post about the financials of tenancies in common

Developing Co-Owned Property

Underwood-Blog-Images-3-300x300 Shareholder derivative suits are lawsuits that allow and assist shareholders in bringing legal action against the board of directors or officers in a corporate entity for illegal action. 

Read on to find out about the relationship between shareholders and derivative suits.

What is a shareholder?

Justice scale placed on top of a Family Law book Yes, a third party who has an interest in the property in question may “join” in a family law proceeding. In some specific cases, a third party must “join” the family law proceeding.

California codified a third party’s ability to participate in a family law proceeding to assert their interest in real estate by creating the joinder rules. These rules authorize who is allowed to join a family law proceeding other than the two spouses.

Who can join a family law proceeding?

A lawyer's desk with scales in front and a lawyer's signing a paperwork behind it.
The acquisition of private property for eminent domain usually proceeds on a long timeline. Before the government actually uses eminent domain to acquire private property, there is a substantial amount of planning. During the pre-condemnation period, which can stretch for years, a governmental entity often has the opportunity to make land use decisions about the property that it intends to acquire.

While there is nothing out of the ordinary with making land use decisions pending condemnation, per se, it can become problematic when those decisions lower the value of the land that will eventually be taken. In those situations, there is a question about whether the property owner in that situation can recover from the diminution in value.

Unreasonable Delay is Compensable

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