Land & Lease: Schorr Law's Los Angeles Real Estate Attorney Blog

Local (Local) Court Rules in Los Angeles County

Owner — Mon, 30 Jan 2017 17:39:44 +0000

At Schorr Law, our attorneys appear in front of between 5-10 different judges during the average week. Each judge tends to have his/her own set of local local rules. This is not a typo. Local local rules are rules the judge has typically published that indicate how that particular judge runs his/her courtroom and, most importantly, what that judge requires before trial and before the final status conference.

How Do Rules of Court Work?

First, there are the California Rules of Court. Those are statutory rules that control throughout California. They are always worth checking and good source for information on litigation practice within California.

Second, there are county rules. For example, Los Angeles County publishes its own Local Court Rules that provide guides how the Courts try to routinely apply rules across court cases in Los Angeles County. Here is a link to the Los Angeles County Local Rules.

Third, there are essentially courtroom rules that are often published by individual judges. These rules are typically made available in the courtroom themselves and are handed out (made available) at case management conferences. And, some judges publish their rules through the Los Angeles County Superior Court Website.

Why are the Local (Local) Rules Important?

The rules published by the individual judges are very important because they tell the attorneys and parties what they should be doing in advance of trial in order for that individual judge to allow their case to proceed to trial. Many of the local local rules are designed to reduce the number of issues that go to trial through identification and meet and confer responsibilities on all issues.

At Schorr Law, our Los Angeles based litigators have experience litigating in front of literally hundreds of judges. If there is one thing we can impart on everyone is to study all the rules and comply with them. This is a good opportunity to show diligence and to get on the good side of a judge. For a free consultation on your Los Angeles based litigation contact us today at 310-954-1877, info@schorr-law.com or by filling out the contact us box on this page.

California Supreme Court Affirms Dual Agency Meaning!

Owner — Fri, 09 Dec 2016 04:17:04 +0000

On November 11, 2016 the California Supreme Court in the case of Horiike v. Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage Company et al., issued a ruling that affirmed the fiduciary duties of agents where their brokerage is acting as a dual agent.

As background, in many instances a seller of real property will list their property for sale with a large brokerage house like Coldwell Banker. Coldwell Banker is a large commercial brokerage firm that employs associate licensees (agents) to help its customers sell and buy property. Often times the brokerage firm, like Coldwell Banker, will wind up on both sides of the transaction representing the seller and the buyer although through different associate agents – one for the buyer and one for the seller – who are acting independently but under the brokerage firm (Coldwell Banker, ReMax, Sotheby’s, etc).

In Horiike v. Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage Company et al the Court held that when Coldwell Banker acted as a dual agent for the buyer and seller in the transaction, the associate licensee on the seller’s side owned the same fiduciary duty to the buyer that he owed to his own client – the seller.

The Supreme Court held that the rule on dual agency – since its inception – is and has always been that even though the associate agents may act on behalf of different parties – one on behalf of the seller and one on behalf of the buyer- they were technically acting as dual agents because they were operating under the same brokerage. This may come as a surprise to many real estate agents who failed to attend to the dual agency of their principal (the brokerage) in a real estate transaction. A seller’s agent owes a fiduciary duty also to the buyer and vice versa, when both agents are operating out of the same brokerage. As agents of a broker, each stands in the shoes of the dual agent broker, and therefore owe a fiduciary duty to both parties to the transaction.

This is a very interesting ruling and confirms what we thought all along – dual agency is a dangerous proposition for all involved.

For more information, contact us at Schorr Law, APC. (310) 954-1877 info@schorr-law.com.

Understanding Title Policies

Owner — Wed, 19 Oct 2016 16:47:08 +0000

As busy Los Angeles Real Estate Attorneys, we frequently deal with issues arising out of title insurance and title reports. This issues range from helping buyers and sellers eliminate exceptions listed in title reports – items the title company shows are effecting title and thus will not insure against – to litigating coverage with title companies. Remember, the purpose of title insurance is to provide protection to a buyer or lender about the lien priority on title such that if someone else claims to to have an interest in the property there is insurance in place to protect against such a claim.

There are, however, common exclusions from coverage in title policies. The exclusions depend on the type of title policy in place. A California Land Title Association (“CLTA”) policy protects homeowners from financial losses associated with title fraud and forgery. This type of policy protects the insured (homeowner or lender) from the property being claimed by anyone other than the insured title owner. However, it typically only protects against recorded claims (not unrecorded ones).

The other type of title policy provide broader protection. The American Land Title Association (“ALTA”) policy typically protects against everything covered in a CLTA policy as well as many additional risks, like easements and encroachments, that may not be shown by public records.

The key to understanding any title policy is to do a detailed review of the policy terms and the exclusions that are expressly listed in the title policy based on the individual property.

At Schorr Law, our Los Angeles based title attorneys have extensive experience litigating and resolving title policy issues and title issues in general. For a free consultation on your title matter, please contact us today at 310-954-1877, info@schorr-law.com.

ZACHARY SCHORR’S APPEARANCE ON ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT

Owner — Thu, 15 Sep 2016 14:49:28 +0000

On Sunday, August 14, 2016, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir invited Schorr Law’s lead attorney, Zachary Schorr, to make a special appearance on their national news segment. The segment went live at 5:30pm PST, and covered the story about a property that was vandalized by squatters, who claimed they had the right to occupancy, when the owners of the home came back from vacation. Mr. Schorr provided real estate legal commentary regarding the situation. You can see what was said in the short clip below:

Mr. Schorr is known for providing real estate commentary to other national news organizations, and has frequently been quoted in articles and made appearances on other media outlets for his expertise as a Real Estate Attorney.

If you need real estate commentary for your news segment, article, or other media outlet, contact Schorr Law at 310 954 1877 or email us at info@schorr-law.com.

Orange County Housing Prices Continue to Rise

Owner — Fri, 12 Aug 2016 15:07:36 +0000

A recent article posted by Andrew Khouri of the Los Angeles Times, reports that the median price for new and resale condos and homes in Orange County have jumped 5.9% from a year earlier to $651,500 in May. Indeed, there continues to be an intense demand for property in Orange County and not many homes from which to choose from. Further, the current job growth in the area has certainly contributed to this, as more people are moving into the area with not enough housing. In fact, it was estimated by John Burns of John Burns Real Estate Consulting that approximately 30,000 units would need to be built in Orange County at this time in order to satisfy the demand for housing.

Chief Economist at Zillow, Svenja Gudell, predicts that the increasingly unaffordable level of housing will, at some point, lead more buyers to hesitate and cause home appreciation to calm down. However, the overall market remains strong and “there are no declines on the horizon.”

When prices rise all sorts of new litigation grows. Our real estate attorneys in Los Angeles have handled many types of real estate litigation disputes in Orange County, including landlord tenant disputes, commercial leasing disputes, anti-slapp motions concerning interference with contractual relationships and other matters.

Take A Closer Look at That Arbitration Agreement

Owner — Thu, 30 Jun 2016 14:59:42 +0000

Recently the Court of Appeal for the Second District of California ruled on the interpretation of an arbitration clause that stated, “any dispute arising out of this agreement.” After a quick glance, one might consider this language broad enough to include tort claims related to the formation of the contract. However, the Court of Appeal held otherwise.

In Rice v. Downs, the plaintiff, the defendant (plaintiff’s counsel), and two other partners entered into an agreement to form an LLC to develop affordable housing properties. (See Rice v. Downs (2016) 2016 WL 3085995.) The arbitration agreement in dispute held, “Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, any controversy between the parties arising out of this Agreement shall be submitted to the American Arbitration Association for arbitration in Los Angeles, California.” (Id. at *1.) Eventually, there were issues among the parties and the plaintiff sued for malpractice. The defendant argued that the arbitration agreement compelled the arbitration of claims, including the tortious malpractice claim, and the trial court agreed.

In reversing the trial court’s order the Court of Appeal focused on contract principles of interpretation: “‘[t]he court should attempt to give effect to the parties’ intentions, in light of the usual and ordinary meaning of the contractual language and the circumstances under which the agreement was made.’” (Id. at *5 citing Bono v. David (2007) 147 Cal.App.4^th 1055, 1063.) To apply these principles, the court went into a broad vs. narrow approach.

To be considered broad the language should state, “any claim arising from or related to this agreement . . . or “arising in connection with the [a]greement.”) (Rice v. Downs (2016) WL 3085995 at *5.) Such broad language will be interpreted to apply to both contractual claims and tort claims that “hav[e] a significant relationship to the contract” and all other disputes that “having their origin or genesis the contract.” (Id.)

On the other hand, a narrow clause requiring arbitration would read, “a claim, dispute, or controversy arising out of an agreement, i.e., an important difference from the broader language of “relating to this agreement” or “in connection with this agreement” (Id.) Because the disputed arbitration clause contained this narrower language instead of the broader language, the appellate court held that the plaintiff did not have to arbitrate the related tortious malpractice which had its roots prior to the formation of the contract.

Practice Pointer: To avoid this nuanced judicial gloss, make sure to draft your arbitration agreements using the broader language.

For assistance with you real property matter(s) involving arbitration agreements, contact us today for a free 30-minute consultation. Schorr Law, APC, 310-922-8557, info@schorr-law.com.

5 Steps for Neighbor Disputes

Owner — Fri, 24 Jun 2016 15:24:22 +0000

Fighting with your neighbor is like fighting with your family. It literally hits close to home and can lead to many many miserable future encounters. At Schorr Law, our Los Angeles based easement attorneys have a great deal of experience dealing with neighbor disputes involving property lines, express easements, equitable easements, easements by necessity, prescriptive easements and other types of boundary disputes. Prior to engaging in one of these bitter disputes we always suggest the following five things:

1. Get a Survey First. A survey of the area in dispute is the most important piece of information you can have when dealing with a neighbor dispute. Without it, you do not know the actual boundary and any argument about who has a right to what property would be pure speculation. The typical survey is not too expensive and can yield invaluable information relative to your legal position and bargaining power.

2. Talk with a lawyer. After you obtain the survey, study it and have the surveyor explain it to you. Then, talk with a lawyer. Things are not always as bright line as the survey may suggest. Neighbors often acquire the non-exclusive right to use portions of their neighbors yard through easement theories like prescriptive easements, easements by necessity and equitable easements. A well versed real estate attorney with easement experience should be able to help guide you. We say “should be able to help guide you” because many lawyers do not know the ins and outs of easements and as a result they can accidentally walk you into certain admissions that negatively impact your case. Talk with a qualified easement attorney like the attorneys at Schorr Law.

3. Talk with the neighbor. After speaking with the lawyer, it often still makes sense to try to speak informally to resolve the dispute. This can be done with the lawyer present or without the lawyer present and upon the lawyer’s advice. Alternatively, we often recommend an early mediation to help calm tensions and try to come to a resolution of the dispute before the parties dig into litigation and attorneys’ fees.

4. Have the lawyer send a letter explaining the law. A good letter from a well versed attorney can go a long way to explaining what the law says with respect to your particular dispute. If the other side does not have a lawyer, they can read the letter from your lawyer and research the issue themselves.

5. Sue. When all else fails, you must sue to protect your rights.

At Schorr Law, we have extensive experience with easement disputes. Visit our site at www.schorr-law.com for more information or call us at 310-954-1877, info@schorr-law.com.

Expunging a Lis Pendens by Posting a Bond

Owner — Thu, 05 May 2016 17:20:15 +0000

In many of the real property cases our Los Angeles based real estate attorneys handle the plaintiff records a lis pendens to secure their real property claim involving the property at issue. A lis pendens, otherwise known as a notice of pendency of action, is a pre-judgment lien recorded in the County Recorder’s office that puts the world on notice that their a matter effecting record title. It also means that subsequent transfers or liens do not have priority over the plaintiff’s claim.

Often times, the party whose property is subject to the lis pendens will want it removed. The most common basis to remove the lis pendens is by showing that the plaintiff either does not have a real property claim (Code of Civil Procedure Section 405.31) or by showing that the plainfif cannot establish its “probable validity” of prevailing on its claim by a “preponderance of the evidence” (Code of Civil Procedure Section 405.32)

If the plaintiff is unable to use one of the two methods described above to expunge the lis pendens, the plaintitff can also consider a third option: bonding around the lis pendens. Even if the “real property caim” has a “probable validity”, a lis pendens can be expunged if the court finds “adequate relief” can be “secured to the claimant by the giving of an undertaking” (Code of Civil Procedure Section 405.33).

Here is exactly what Section 405.33 provides:

“In proceedings under this chapter, the court shall order that the notice be expunged if the court finds that the real property claim has probable validity, but adequate relief can be secured to the claimant by the giving of an undertaking. The expungement order shall be conditioned upon the giving of the undertaking of such nature and in such amount as will indemnify the claimant for all damages proximately resulting from the expungement which the claimant may incur if the claimant prevails upon the real property claim. In its order conditionally expunging the notice, the court shall set a return date for the moving party to show fulfillment of the condition, and if the moving party fails to show fulfillment of the condition on the return day, the court shall deny the motion to expunge without further notice or hearing. Recovery may be had on the undertaking pursuant to Section 996.440.

For purposes only of determining under this section whether the giving of an undertaking will secure adequate relief to the claimant, the presumption of Section 3387 of the Civil Code that real property is unique shall not apply, except in the case of real property improved with a single-family dwelling which the claimant intends to occupy.”

For assistance with you real property matter and matters involving expunging a lis pednens, contact us today for a free 30 minute consultation.

Private Person’s Repair Easement

Owner — Wed, 20 Apr 2016 15:16:43 +0000

Although the power of eminent domain is generally reserved for public entities, i.e. the government, in certain situations, a private party can exercise a form of eminent domain to acquire the right to enter someone’s property to make necessary repairs. Specifically, the owner of real property may exercise the power of eminent domain to acquire a temporary right to enter “adjacent or nearby” property for making repairs or reconstructing land or improvements. (Civ. Code § 1002(a).) However, this power does not apply to temporary entries on land used primarily for the commercial production of agricultural commodities and forest products. (Civ. Code § 1002(e).)

For the purposes of this power, “adjacent” or “nearby” refers to land that is “contiguous with the property needing repair or reconstruction.” (Civ. Code § 1002(d).) “Adjacent” or “nearby” can also refer to “land through which the party granted temporary access must pass to reach adjacent land.” (Id.)

In order to exercise this power, all of the following conditions must be met:

1. There must be necessity to do the repair or reconstruction work;

2. There must be a “great necessity” to enter the adjacent or nearby property to do the work because:

a. It cannot be done safely otherwise, or its cost would be substantially higher; and

b. The property, without repair or construction, adversely affects the surrounding community;

3. The right of entry must be exercised so as to provide the least property damage and inconvenience consistent with satisfactory completion of the work; and

4. The hardship of the person seeking the right of entry, if not granted, must clearly outweigh the hardship to the owner or occupant of the adjacent or nearby property.

However, even if you satisfy the above requirements, a party can only enter the property after the Court enters a court order or judgment allowing the same. (Civ. Code 1002(b).) In addition, the person seeking the order must make a security deposit with the Court in an amount sufficient to restore the property to the condition it was prior to entry. (Civ. Code § 1002(b).) The condemning party may also be required to pay reasonable rent for their use of the condemned property.

Schorr Law has experience with a variety of ownership issues between adjacent landowners. For a free consultation please call (310) 954-1877 or email us at info@schorr-law.com.

How to Select the Best Real Estate Attorney in Los Angeles

Owner — Thu, 31 Mar 2016 16:14:14 +0000

Most people can relate to the experience of trying to choose a doctor for treatment but do not have the foggiest idea of how to locate a good, fair reputable doctor. So where do you look? Most people would start at their primary care doctor and ask for a referral. If that fails, where to you look? Doctor review websites? Friends? Colleagues?

I think that picking a lawyer is even more difficult. Why? Because most people do not have a lawyer equivalent to a primary care doctor because most people do not have the frequent need to see a lawyer. Businesses are different, they may have a lawyer that they typically deal with that can refer them to a specialized attorney when the situation arises. At Schorr Law, our real estate lawyers do get a large number of referrals from other lawyers who have clients that need a qualified real estate attorney.

But, what if you do not have a go to lawyer who can refer you to a specialized attorney? Here are some things we think set us apart from other attorneys and more particularly other real estate attorneys:

1. Real Estate is Our Focus. Unlike other firms, we specifically focus on real estate disputes. By doing this we wind up litigating variations of the same case over and over again. Why is that useful? It is useful because it allows us to have a depth of knowledge and experience that other more generalist simply do not have. We also understand what works and what does not. In fact, many judges and even opposing counsel recognize our expertise and defer to us on real estate issues.

2. By Focusing Deep on Real Estate We Can Explore Obscure Areas of the Law. How many other real estate law firms have gone to trial and won on adverse possession? The answer – not many. Yet, we have dealt with adverse possession in three different matters over the last three years. We also frequently deal with other rather obscure areas of real estate law that are seldom seen by other practicing attorneys and other real estate attorneys. By allowing our practice to become more concentrated we are able to go to greater depths. Think of this like exploring the ocean. The law is very much like the ocean – vast, deep, expansive and certainly unable to be known completely by one person. If we, like other attorneys, claimed to be sea explorers we may become good generalists by knowing how to navigate the seas, but we likely would not be able to know any particular area with any increased expertise. In contrast, if we focused our exploration on a small area – like the a specific beach area – say Malibu Surfrider’s Beach, then we would be able to know that area much better then the average sea explorer by understanding the wildlife, effect of tides, wave lengths, erosion, etc.

3. We Customize Our Approach and Veer From the Norm. At Schorr Law, our real estate attorneys frequently substitute into cases and take over for counsel where their clients feel that their prior attorney is not meeting their real estate litigation needs. From the moment we substitute in, we look at each issue and determine whether it needs a new approach. We often times choose to abandon the approach taken by prior counsel and implement a new strategy. How to do we do this? We chart, we analyze, and most importantly we try to turn any negative into a positive. Of course, our clients are included in the process because our client’s are our biggest asset advancing their case.

A few other things to consider when selecting an attorney:

1. Reviews – look at large sampling of reviews – not one or two.

2. Ratings by third parties.

3. Media Recognition

4. Experience -ask about experience with your specific area

At Schorr Law, our real estate attorneys are committed to providing the highest level of service and work so that we can best position our client’s cases for success. For over a decade this has lead us to victory over and over again. Contact us for a free 30 minute consultation. 310-954-1877, info@schorr-law.com, www.schorr-law.com.