The High Commission was a court that existed in England for more than a century, engendering substantial political dispute. Originally intended for ecclesiatical disputes, the spread of its jurisdiction caused major friction. Yet its records have all disappeared, save for contemporaneous writings. Here is some facinating history. “Historians have seen in the High Commission’s existence …
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Sometimes a court provides a clear statement of the law. Greenspan v. LADT LLC (2010) 191 Cal.App.4th 486 is one such opinion, providing a definite and authoritative answer to the issue of whether a trust is an entity – it is not. From the opinion. “Courts often speak of the alter ego doctrine as if …
Continue reading “Greenspan v. LADT LLC – Once and for All, a Trust Is Not an Entity”
The decision in Jones v. Wachovia Bank (2014) 230 Cal.App.4th 935 reminds us that all opinion testimony must be supported by reasonable foundation. The underlying complaint was based on an allegation “the bank breached an agreement to postpone the trustee sale and, by reason of that breach, plaintiffs lost their equity in the property.” The …
Let me be up front – this author does not particularly care for homeowners’ associations. In my opinion, they have too much power, which is often wielded with a heavy hand. Now comes the decision in Almanor Lakeside Villas Owners Ass’n v. Carson (April 19, 2016) __ Cal.Rptr.3d __, which only reinforces this view. Here …
Civil Code section 3346 authorizes an award of treble damages for “wrongful injuries to timber, trees, or underwood upon the land of another, or removal thereof.” The defendant in the recent case of Salazar v. Matejcek (Mar. 10, 2016) 245 Cal.App.4th 63 learned that this statute can support very substantial damages. The dispute concerned “a …
Continue reading “Salazar v. Matejcek – Treble Damages for Removal of Trees Under California Law”
In a lawsuit based on a contract, one party can seek relief based on the theory of rescission. Rescission can be considered an equitable judicial remedy. Under California Civil Code section 1689, rescission supports “extinction” of the obligation. Rescission can be pled as a basis for affirmative relief, or it can asserted as defense to …
California law now prohibits the practice of “dual tracking,” whereby a lender simultaneously pursues a default while also engaging in loan modification negotiations with the borrower. The question concerns the remedy available when there is a violation of the dual tracking law. The court in Kazem Majd v. Bank of America, N.A. (Jan. 14, 2016) …
A 2013 decision from the Fifth District Court of Appeal (based in Fresno) has bedeviled the lending community. In Glaski v. Bank of America (2013) 218 Cal.App.4th 1079, the court held that the borrower could state a “cognizable claim for wrongful foreclosure under the theory that the entity invoking the power of sale (i.e., Bank …
The recent decision in Orcilla v. Big Sur, Inc. (Feb. 11, 2016) __ Cal. App.4th __ continues the litigation fallout from the second depression (referred to in other parts of the country as the Great Recession). In Orcilla v. Big Sur, the lender completed a nonjudicial foreclosure on the plaintiff’s residence. The borrower sued to …
Karl Llewellyn was one of the leading lights of American jurisprudence from the 1930s through the 1950s. Not only was he the dean of Columbia Law School, he participated in the drafting of Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code, and was active in efforts to promote its enactment in the different states. Add this: …