The decision in Smith v. Home Loan Funding, Inc. (Feb. 25, 2011) 2011 DJDAR 2968 may have satisfied a “feel good” impulse at the Court of Appeal. However, it seems that Justice Gilbert jumped the rails when he affirmed the award of damages. Even more, he awarded attorney’s fees when there was no contract between [...]
The decision in Bonfigli v. Strachan (Feb. 24, 2011) 2011 DJDAR 2893 is a reminder not to press for advantage when using a power of attorney. The defendant was a developer who used a power of attorney to reconfigure two parcels so that he got to keep the land, but did not have to pay [...]
The opinion in In re Marriage of Fossum (Feb. 1, 2011) 2011 DJDAR 1629 focused on the characterization of a house that was owned by Edward and Sandra Fossum. Like many couples, title was taken in the name of one spouse to obtain better credit terms. The court found that the house was community property, [...]
For anyone dealing with distressed mortgages, the story about the lender who said it would “work” with a defaulted loan, only to abruptly proceed to foreclosure, is all-to-familiar. A legal challenge against the lender must be based on existing legal precedent. The January 27, 2011 decision in Aceves v. U.S. Bank, N.A. gives hope to [...]
In a recent and closely reasoned opinion, the 5th District Court of Appeal from Fresno held that a claim of fraud could go to trial, even if the alleged fraud was controverted by the language of the written agreement between the parties. There are points in the opinion for discussion, but let’s start with the [...]
In a recent bankruptcy case, the Ninth Circuit held that a transfer to a trust could be set aside years after the transfer was made. In In re Schwarzkopf (9th Cir Nov. 23, 2010) ___ F.3d ___, the court held that, because the transfer was a fraud on creditors at the time it was made, [...]
This is the second part of an analysis of Starr v Starr (Sept. 30, 2010) 189 Cal.App.4th 277. The court held that a house acquired during marriage in the name of the husband only was actually community property, even though the wife signed a quitclaim deed in favor of the husband. Explained the court, “Evidence [...]
In Starr v Starr (Sept. 30, 2010) 189 Cal.App.4th 277, the court was confronted with division of assets at the time of divorce. In an excellently-reasoned opinion, the court found in favor of the wife, and held that she was entitled to a 50% interest in the family residence, even though title was held in [...]
The California legislature has been tinkering with the foreclosure rules since the mortgage crisis started in 2007. One of the laws enacted was Civil Code section 2923.52. This section says that a lender must add three months to the normal 90-day waiting period for recoding a notice of sale (i.e., double the waiting time for [...]
In the recent decision in Holmes v. Summer (Oct. 6, 2010) 188 Cal.App.4th 1510, the court discussed the fiduciary obligations owed by a real estate broker in a sales transaction. The facts were not difficult. The broker represented the seller. According to the opinion, “the buyers and the seller agreed to the purchase and sale [...]