Super Lawyers, a Thomson Reuters business, is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The annual selections are made using a rigorous multi-­‐phased process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, an independent research evaluation of candidates, and peer reviews by practice area.

To review the Southern California Real Estate List, click here: ZDS Superlawyers.  Zachary Schorr is the lead real estate attorney at Los Angeles based Schorr Law.

For a free initial consultation, contact us using the form on the right of this page or email us at info@schorr-law.com, call us at 310-954-1877 or visit or other website at www.schorr-law.com.

The Court of Appeals noted that under Civil Code section 1714, all people, including property owners, are required to use ordinary care to prevent injuries to others.  The court concluded that a real estate agent has a duty to notify visitors of marketed property of concealed dangerous conditions of which the agent has actual or constructive knowledge.  And, the agent’s actual or constructive knowledge of a dangerous condition is imputed to his or her principal, the property owner, who shares with the agent liability for damages proximately caused by a breach of this duty.

What this means is if you are a real estate agent who is listing a property for sale and you have knowledge (or should have knowledge) of a dangerous condition on the property your are obligated to notify visitors, prospective purchasers and their agents, of the dangerous condition or you can be liable for any injuries they may sustain as a result of the dangerous condition.

For help with your real estate matter, or a free 30 minute consultation, contact the real estate attorneys at Schorr Law, APC, 310-954-1877, info@schorr-law.com, www.schorr-law.com.

Many HOAs like to take their authority a little too seriously. Homeowners who live within the jurisdiction of the HOA do have to agree to live by the set of rules and regulations established for the common good, but it’s always possible to ask for an exception or explain why a rule needs to be bent or broken. Many HOAs will be concerned that if they allow one resident to break the rules, all the homeowners in the neighborhood will be lining up to receive special treatment. However, it’s worth a try. For example, if you want to place a sign in your front yard during election season, but signs are not allowed according to your HOA bylaws, talk to the association about a compromise. Maybe you will be permitted to post the sign for one week before the election. Alternatively, you could post a sign in one of the windows of your home instead of in the lawn. Most HOAs have a board, and if you can get one board member on your side, you’ll have a shot.

Talk to other residents as well. Perhaps you want to plant a tree in your front yard but the branches would hang over the street, causing the HOA to complain or try and prevent you from planting the tree. If you take your case to your neighbors and demonstrate how the tree will provide extra shade, which is beneficial to everyone in the summertime, you might have a shot. Showing up to an HOA meeting with a team of concerned neighbors who want more trees can position you to get what you want, regardless of what the bylaws say.

If there is something in your HOA bylaws that is causing a problem for you, approach the topic reasonably. Don’t act combative or confrontational. Ask the HOA what you need to do in order to appeal for an exception. Get support from other residents. While the bylaws are agreed upon by all of you, they are not necessarily inflexible and etched in stone.

This post was written for Schorr Law’s Los Angeles Real Estate Blog by Stephen K Hachey. Stephen is a real estate lawyer specializing in loan modifications, short sales, foreclosure and much more. He is also the owner of his own practice, the Law Offices of Stephen Hachey, PA. This article is for general informational purposes only and does not establish an attorney-client relationship. Please contact a licensed attorney in your state of residence. For more information on Mr. Hachey’s services, please visit his website at hacheylawpa.com.

1.  Commercial Leasing Disputes

2.  Residential Purchase and Sale Disputes

3.  Commercial Purchase and Sale Disputes

4.   Commercial Guarantee Litigation

5.  Partition Actions (ownership disputes)

6.  Quiet Title Actions

7.  Landlord Tenant Disputes

8.  Mortgage Litigation

9. Construction Disputes

10.  Specific Performance

11.  Enforcement of Judgment (selling real property to satisfy judgments)

12.  Easement Disputes

We have experience in all of these areas. Keep in mind with the changing economy the nature of the disputes have changed.  In the bustling economy we saw a spike in ownership disputes where owners were fighting over equity, that was following by an influx of guarantee litigation.  By focusing on real estate matters, our Los Angeles based real estate attorneys gain insight and experience that the generalist simply cannot obtain.

We also utilize our experience with real property matters to put liens on real property. Perhaps the easiest lien to put on real property post-judgment is an abstract of judgment. The abstract of judgment then becomes the first step to a potential foreclosure on the property (execution on the judgment lien) via a sheriff’s sale. We find, where there is sufficient equity in the property, that a post-judgment sheriff’s sale is an effective way to collect on the judgment through a sale or through the serious pressure that we place on the debtor through the threat of losing a home or business.  The post-judgment lien or abstract of judgment can be placed on a judgment debtor’s real property regardless of whether the underlying dispute involved that property.

For more information with judgment collection in Southern California, contact us at 310-954-1877, info@schorr-law.com, www.schorr-law.com.

In my experience many of the “regional” Courthouses, like Malibu, have not handled unlimited civil litigation (matters over $25,000) for a long time.  In our real estate practice, which necessarily requires us to file complaints in the judicial district where the property at issue is located, we rarely found ourselves in the Court houses that are closing.  For example, most disputes in West Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Culver City wind up being handled at the Santa Monica Court House and have been handled there for many years.

That said, it is always interesting to the see how these cuts play out once they are implemented.

For more information or for a free consultation on your real estate matter, contact Schorr Law, APC, www.schorr-law.com, info@schorr-law.com, 310-954-1877.

Even though terminating sanctions are rare, Schorr Law has obtained against at least 4 different parties in the past few years.  After a terminating sanctions order – which enters a defendant’s default or strike’s a complaint, the opposing attorney typically comes forward to fall on their sword with a motion for relief from the terminating sanctions order via Code of Civil Procedure section 473(b).  Each time, Schorr Law has successfully defeated these motions and kept the terminating sanctions award in tact.    This happened again just over a week ago.

Anyway, there is authority for denying 473(b) relief from terminating sanctions after repeated discovery abuses.  The relief is not mandatory in those situations.

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

At some point in time, your will have to consider your damages – the amount you are seeking to make up for the non-disclosure.  The general measure of damages for real estate non-disclosure matters in the State of California is the difference between the price you paid at the time of purchase and the actual fair market value of the property at the time you purchased it had you received full disclosure of the item that you now claim the seller or the seller’s agent failed to disclose.

Figuring out this damages number is generally accomplished through the use of an expert.   In many of our cases, we retain an expert appraiser who can does a retroactive appraisal to determine the fair market value of the property at the time it was purchased if the knowing buyer was informed about the issue that was not disclosed.  For example, in one of our past cases, we alleged that the seller had committed fraud by failing to disclose that the vacant land that seller sold to our clients was able to be built upon.  In that case, in order to determine the damages, we had to retain an expert appraiser to opine about the fair market value of the property at the time it was sold to our clients had our clients been told that the vacant land could not be built upon.

There are, of course, other ways to evaluate damages beyond the use of an expert appraiser.  The real estate attorneys at Schorr Law have experience with non-disclosure and real estate fraud matters throughout Southern California.  For help with your non-disclosure matter and to obtain a free 30 minute consultation, contact us, www.schorr-law.com, info@schorr-law.com, 310-954-1877, info@schorr-law.com

After mediation, the next step is either filing a court action or initiate an  arbitration.  This all depends on whether or not the parties signed off (initialed) the arbitration provision in purchase and sale agreement.  Obviously, if the parties signed the arbitration provision then they must proceed to private arbitration.  If not, then you can file a court action.   As part of this analysis we also have to consider whether you are filing a claim against just the seller or the listing agent too.  If you are just bringing an action against the seller then the analysis is complete by looking at whether or not the parties have agreed to arbitration.  If you plan to sue the listing agent, then, because the listing agent is not a party to the purchase and sale agreement, you would have to sue the listing agent in the Superior Court.  As a result, it is possible that you could end up with an arbitration against the seller and a state court claim against the listing agent.  This is less than ideal.  That is why we always recommend that buyers not initial the arbitration proceeding.  This also creates a situation for non-mutual collateral estoppel arising out of the binding arbitration proceeding, a situation that I addressed in an article I authored which was published in the California Real Property Journal.  Contact us for a copy of that article.

For more information on your real estate non-disclosure or real estate fraud case arising out of a purchase and sale agreement, contact the real estate attorneys at Schorr Law for a free consultation.  We can be reached at www.schorr-law.com, info@schorr-law.com, 310-954-1877.