Real Estate Litigation In Los Angeles

Experienced Attorneys Have A Variety of Tools To Use

Experienced real estate litigation attorneys have a variety of tools they can use in litigation involving real property and real estate partnerships.  Real estate law in California and Santa Clarita can involve special statutes only applicable to real estate lawsuits.  This is where the experience of your attorney becomes important—does your attorney know what a resulting trust is or how to expunge a lis pendens?  A general business litigation attorney who handles a variety of lawsuits but specializes in none may not be aware of the statutes and tools which are unique to real estate disputes.

Real Estate Lawsuits:  Causes of Action

A real estate litigation attorney is more likely to be familiar with the unique real estate related causes of action in a lawsuit.  For example, while the damages in a typical breach of contract action call for monetary damages, a breach of contract lawsuit in a real estate case may involve specific performance—an order compelling the seller to actually sell the property rather than pay damages.  A specific performance cause of action can be brought simultaneously with a breach of contract action.  When a party makes a claim for ownership of a piece of property through specific performance, the litigation attorney should record a lis pendens or Notice of Pending Action to put others on notice of the pending ownership claim.  A lis pendens is a legal tool only used in real estate litigation.

A partition lawsuit applies when co-owners of real property want an ownership ‘divorce’.  However, a partnership lawsuit applies when the real property is owned by a partnership or limited liability company.  Both causes of action require different legal pleadings and utilize different procedures and statutory rules.  Experienced real estate attorneys will be familiar with the difference between the two.  A partition attorney will also be familiar with the process and is more likely to successfully orchestrate a settlement between the parties, usually by establishing the value of the real estate through appraisal and arranging a buy-out by one of the co-owners.

A resulting trust lawsuit typically arises when one person wants to buy a property but must have a different person hold title.  This can happen when, for whatever reason, a person does not want title in his or her own name—bad credit, adverse judgments, government assistance, bankruptcy, etc.  When the title holder denies the person’s ownership interest, a real estate litigation trial attorney must establish that the plaintiff is the true owner and that the real property is really held in trust by the legal owner.  Resulting trust litigation is typically more fact intensive since the parties may not have a signed contract but the plaintiff will be able to establish a course of conduct that evidences his or her ownership position.

Quiet title lawsuits arise most often in boundary disputes between adjoining real property owners in Santa Clarita.  Boundary disputes between neighbors can also involve claims of trespass.  Quiet title asks a court to determine who is the proper owner of a piece of land or even a portion of a piece of land.  Quiet title can also arise when property records have a defect in the chain of title.  A quiet title lawsuit requires special pleading and can involve special proceedings throughout the litigation, even in default.  An experienced real estate litigation attorney is more likely to know the ins and outs of these special procedural requirements.

Many people know the term ‘adverse possession’ or have read about it on the internet but adverse possession litigation in California is very difficult.  The element that most often defeats an adverse possession lawsuit is the requirement that a party have been paying the property taxes on the disputed piece of land.  A boundary lawsuit between neighbors is usually based on a misplaced fence but does not involve the payment of property taxes, rendering adverse possession inapplicable.

Neighbor litigation can also involve trees, hedges, views, walls and more.  There are a number of specific statutes which deal with trees and spite fences and other neighbor.  Trial attorneys who handle neighbor disputes will be familiar with the specific laws which apply.

Real estate fraud can encompass a variety of situations.  Potential clients often claim they are victims of fraud but fraud must be pled in a lawsuit with particularity and is often hard to prove.  There are a number of elements to a real estate fraud cause of action and a real estate litigation attorney must be able to prove every element of the purported fraud to be successful.

Real Estate Litigation:  Experienced Attorneys Are The Key

Real estate litigation in involves numerous special laws, causes of action, statutes and litigation tools.  Real estate litigation is also very expensive.  Experienced trial attorneys have the knowledge to help a party resolve his or her lawsuit in the most efficient way.