A four-year-old drowned in the pool of a home friends of his family rented. His parents brought an action against the homeowners and the property management company. The trial court granted defendants’ motion for summary judgment on the ground defendants owed no duty of care to a guest of the tenants. With regard to the […]
Lease Survives Foreclosure.
Plaintiffs had rented space in a converted garage unit for several years when the residential property was foreclosed upon by a bank. The trial court granted the bank’s motion for summary judgment based on its determination the foreclosure sale extinguished plaintiff’s lease. Citing the Protecting Tenants Against Foreclosure Act of 2009 [PTFA; Pub.L. 111-22, Div. A, […]
Landlord May Hold Open Houses.
Tenant lives in a condominium subject to the Santa Monica rent control regulatory scheme. The landlord listed the property for sale, but the tenant would not permit open houses on weekends, and would permit the property to be shown only pursuant to appointments. Frustrated, the landlord filed an action for declaratory relief. The trial court’s order […]
Refusing To Step Aside And Seizing A Letter Of Credit A Landlord, Whose Lease With A Bank Was Disaffirmed By FDIC In A Bank Takeover, Has To Return Asset And Is Now On Hook For Attorney Fees.
In an imminent bank takeover, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation [FDIC] sold the assets of a failed bank to a takeover bank. Among the assets was a $500,000 letter of credit which had been demanded by the failed bank’s landlord to cover any future rents. As part of the takeover, the FDIC disaffirmed the failed bank’s […]
“He’s A Sociopathic Narcissist”… Opinion Or Fact?
Building owners brought a libel action against a former tenant who posted a review of the apartment building on a Website: “Sadly, the Building is (newly) owned and occupied by a sociopathic narcissist—who celebrates making the lives of tenants hell. Of the 16 mostly-long-term tenants who lived in the Building when the new owners moved in, […]
Problem Tenant.
A landlord leased property to a private school. At a certain point, the landlord listed the premises for sale with a real estate broker, and decided to have a building inspector “find out all the things that may or may not be wrong.” The lease provided for the landlord to inspect “at reasonable times after reasonable […]
When Trying To Effect Service Of Process In Unlawful Detainer Cases What Is “Reasonable Diligence?”
Code of Civil Procedure section 415.45, provides that summons may be served on an unlawful detainer defendant by posting it on the premises, along with notice sent by certified mail to that address, if the court determines that “the party to be served cannot with reasonable diligence be served in any manner specified in this article [i.e., […]
Anti-SLAPP Motion Should Not Have Been Granted.
A landlord served a tenant with a three-day notice to cure or quit, and the tenant brought an action against the landlord requesting declaratory relief and alleging breach of contract and intentional interference with contract. The landlord filed an unlawful detainer action, and with regard to the tenant’s complaint, filed an anti-SLAPP motion under Code of […]
Commercial Lease Does Not Last Forever.
Commercial lease term stated: “Provided that Tenant shall not then be in default hereunder, Tenant shall have the option to extend the Term of this Lease for 5 (FIVE) YEARS additional FIVE year periods upon the same terms and conditions herein contained . . . .” The trial court concluded the commercial lease grants the tenant […]
Superior Court Told To Bow Out Of Retaining Jurisdiction.
The parties had a disagreement about a lease. The superior court retaining jurisdiction after trial “to make further orders, including injunctions, if necessary in the future to effectuate and or enforce the Court’s judgment.” The appellate court reversed that portion of the judgment, stating: “We are concerned with the court retaining jurisdiction for the life of […]