Here is a summary of some of the larger new real estate oriented laws for 2019. Landlord Tenant: Evictions – Three Days’ Notice Excludes Holidays and Weekends: When counting a three days’ notice to pay rent or quit or a three days’ notice to perform covenant or quit,...
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Default Judgments (including for accounting and related damages) remain limited to what is set forth in the pleading (Sass v. Cohen (2019) 32 Cal.App.5th 1032.)
Due process prevails. A common mistake is pleading damages (other than as limited in Family/PI/wrongful death cases) according to proof without providing the defendant with a number of possible damages. The result is a default but no money to the plaintiff. The law...
Broker Must Disclose all Material Facts, Even if Obtained from a Neighbor! (In Ryan v Real of the Pacific, (2019) 32 Cal.App.5th 637)
The Court held that a broker must disclose that the seller’s neighbor told him he planned to remodel and his remodeled house would overlook the seller’s pool and interfere with the view. This case case also found expert broker testimony is not always necessary to...
Landlord’s Must Disclose if a CASp Report Exists Civil Code Section 1938 requires commercial landlords to state in every lease executed on or after July 1, 2013, whether the property being leased has been inspected by a Certified Access Specialist (CASp) (Civil Code §1938
January 1, 2017, Civil Code § 1938 was expanded to require: A Certified Access Specialist (CASp) report can reduce the minimum statutory damages and allow for a stay of the lawsuit pending a mediation session with the court. Effective January 1, 2017, revised Code...
Amended Complaint Must be Filed 9 Court Days Before the Demurrer hearing (CCP §472)
The trial court research attorneys s are now happier! No longer can an amended pleading be filed the morning before the demurrer hearing! As of 2018, amended Code of Civil Procedure §472 now provides: (a) A party may amend its pleading once without leave of the...
Professionalism Trumps Freedom of speech in the court room (which is a good thing) Bus. Code §6068(b)
The moral fiber of our society continues to degrade. The following is an attorney ethics issue and as a reminder attorney’s are held to a higher standard. After a trial on a sexual harassment claim resulting in an $8,080 jury verdict, and a $7,000 costs award,...
Insurer Does Not Have a Duty to Defend for Accidentally Trimming Neighbors Tree
A homeowner’s liability insurer does not have duty to defend a lawsuit after the insured intentionally pruned trees on another’s property without permission. The intentional act of hiring a contractor to prune is not an “accident” within the meaning of the policy’s...
A Medical Marijuana Card Still Has Some Benefits
In California while recreational cannabis is all the rage after January 1, 2018, the California. Medical marijuana laws under California’s “Compassionate Use” Act still provide some benefits. Including: Patients with valid medical marijuana ID cards are exempt from...
What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas even, if it caused conception!
Intimate Sexual Contact Alone Does Not Constitute Minimum Contacts. A California woman conceived a child in Connecticut but filed a paternity and child support suit in California against the father living in Connecticut. The trial court denied his man moved to quash...
61% of the time Trial Verdicts Are Usually the Same as a Pre-Trial Settlement Offers
In an article by Sanford Gage, who is a very good mediator, 9,000 California settlement decisions were analyzed over 41 years comparing rejected pretrial settlement offers and actual trial results. Sixty-one percent of the time, the plaintiffs obtained an award that...