Owners who take title via a foreclosure sale must perfect their title before beginning eviction proceedings. This may seem obvious, but the issue was unresolved in California until just a couple of weeks ago. 

What is perfection of title? In this case, it is the recording of the Trustee’s Deed. Just being the successful bidder at sale is not enough to run down the courthouse to file an unlawful detainer.

Why is this an issue? Because of the 15 day retroactive language in Civil Code Section 2924h(c) which states the trustee’s sale “shall be deemed perfected as of 8 a.m. on the actual date of the sale if the trustee’s deed is recorded within 15 calendar days after the sale…” 

California real estate brokers are required to have a written contract with their clients to list a property for sale. A real estate commission is usually a percentage of the transaction, and with multi-million dollar San Francisco Bay area real estate values, the commission is often five or six figures.

In California, real estate often has multiple owners due to investment structure or inheritance of family property.

Co-owners of California real estate can hold title to the property as joint tenants or as tenant-in-common.  These two types of ownership have different legal ramifications and tax treatment.  However, under the law, each co-owner has equal rights to the property regardless of co-ownership percentage.

After the subprime meltdown, California enacted the Homeowner’s Bill of rights (HBOR) to amend the non-judicial foreclosure processes. Among the changes were to bar “dual-tracking” and require a 30 day pre-foreclosure communication period. Those changes sunset in 2019. SB818 reinstates certain provisions of the HBOR and Governor Jerry Brown signed the bill a few weeks ago. Most of the bills signed will go into effect Jan. 1, 2019. [https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180SB818]
 

The Southern District of New York Court ruled against the employees claim that both the Franchisor and the independent Franchisees were liable in a class action wage and hour claim In Re Domino’s Pizza.

Although the In Re Domino’s Pizza case does not control California courts decisions in wage and hour cases, the case is important because it is the first court to squarely address the issue of whether both franchisors and franchisees can be liable. Additionally, the New York District Court is generally quite influential, and the decision itself is thorough, clearly setting out it’s thought process and the law underpinning that thought process.

California employers should consider the routine use of arbitration agreements for employees, to avoid the risk of class action litigation. The United State Supreme Court in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis, 138 S. Ct. 1612 (2018) upheld class action waivers contained in arbitration agreements. Just a week ago the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals overruled the Northern District Court of California, specifically finding that arbitration agreements containing class action waivers are valid. See, O’Connor v. Uber Technologies, Inc., Case No. 14-16078.

TAKEAWAY⇒California employers should update their procedures, and consider implementing arbitration agreements for all employees, containing a specific class action waiver, in the form and style used in the Epic Systems, and Uber Technologies, Inc. cases, in order to assist in limiting risk of class action lawsuits by employees such as wage and hour claims, and meal and rest break litigation.

Parents' creditors failed to reach tuition payments made directly to their child's university in the recently published case of Lo v. Lee (Jun 27, 2018). This case is one the first decisions analyzing the The Uniform Voidable Transactions Act (Civ. Code, § 3439 et seq.) (formerly the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act).

In 2006, the Lo family made a loan to David Lee. Lee defaulted on the judgment and in 2013, Lo obtained a judgment in excess of $1.1M against Lee. Immediately after the amended judgment issued, Lee paid over $104k in tuition to Northeastern University on behalf of his son.

The Lo family sued under the Uniform Voidable Transfer Act alleging that the tuition payments for Lee’s son were made with the intent to “hinder, delay, or defraud” his creditors.

Money is often on the minds of most people. They may think about their next paycheck, how much they should spend on food or clothing, whether they have enough money for vacation, or how they will deal with their outstanding debts. Unfortunately, that last thought plagues many people, and you may be one of the numerous individuals who loses sleep each night wondering whether you will ever get out from under the outstanding balances you face.

It can prove immensely difficult to deal with debt, and you may think that chipping away little by little will help you keep your financial struggles under control. However, small steps may not always prove effective, especially when balances continue to increase due to interest rates and fees. The time may come for you to take more substantial action in hopes of achieving debt relief, but you may want to avoid making hasty decisions.

You may think that, because you are not a mortgage banker involved in predatory lending, you cannot face accusations of mortgage fraud. However, mortgage fraud can occur at any level of a real estate transaction, from lenders, borrowers, appraisers and other professionals. Whatever area of the real estate industry is your livelihood, you should know that authorities take fraud seriously, and if you are facing these allegations, you may have a lot on the line.

Fraud is any kind of deception or misrepresentation, including omitting critical facts. A buyer may commit fraud by including false employment information on a loan application in order to improve the chances of getting a house. However, you may face accusations of more intricate schemes.

When your business started facing financial struggles, you may not have felt an immediate sense of panic. Most companies face losses and are able to get back on track by utilizing the right business strategies. However, now that your company's financial situation has gotten increasingly worse, you may worry that recovery is no longer an option and that you may have to close down.

Before you start the process of dissolving your business, you may wish to consider certain efforts that may help your company financially while also giving you the opportunity to keep the doors open. Filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy helps many businesses deal with creditors, lenders and other factors relating to financial issues. However, you may think that this route will cause more harm than good.

Regardless of the type of business you run here in California, you need to get your name out there in order to draw in customers. This makes marketing and advertising a vital part of nearly every business since word of mouth alone may not be enough to expand your customer base and make your business a success.

The problem is that if you fail to exercise caution, you could end up facing allegations of false advertising. In the alternative, you may suspect that a competitor's product claims are false. Understanding this issue could be as simple as learning from other major companies who ended up in trouble for false advertising.

The United States Bankruptcy Code, which organizes types of bankruptcy into different chapters, offers debt relief to both individuals and corporate entities. If you are individual in need of debt relief, the "liquidation" of non-exempt property facilitate by chapter 7 bankruptcy may be the most sensible option. If it is your corporate entity, whether a corporation, partnership, or other entity, rather than yourself as an individual separate from your business, chapter 11 bankruptcy may be the more prudent choice - especially if it is your intention to remain in business following the bankruptcy process. In determining which chapter of bankruptcy is most appropriate and beneficial, whether as in individual or corporate entity, consult with an experienced San Jose bankruptcy attorney.

Debt Relief. Thinking about bankruptcy in such terms is the first step in no longer allowing any information gap-related anxiety from getting in the way of educating yourself about bankruptcy. Chapter 7, like other types of bankruptcy, is about relief. In bankruptcy's chapter 7 form, this relief is in the form of liquidation. Chapter 7 liquidation, as spelled out in the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, is "the sale of a debtor's nonexempt property and the distribution of the proceeds to creditors." When focusing on the positive, on relief, the words "nonexempt property" should jump out.

The number 13 in Chapter 13 bankruptcy may seem like a bad harbinger, but don't be scared off; Chapter 13 bankruptcy is there to help you keep your property while paying off debts over time. Importantly, Chapter 13 is distinct from other types of bankruptcy (all organized into "chapters"). For individuals seeking to liquidate all but non-exempt property and use the proceeds to pay creditors, Chapter 7 is a sensible option. For a business seeking to reorganize and remain in business by crafting a new payment plan and timeline, Chapter 11 may be prudent. The purpose of this article is to explain the basics of Chapter 13 bankruptcy. In choosing the chapter that is right for you, whether as an individual or business, consult with an experiencedSan Jose bankruptcy law attorney.

Just as debtors have legal rights in the bankruptcy process, so do creditors. The specific rights depend on whether a given debt is secured or unsecured, and the priority of the debt relative to debts owed to other creditors. Working with an experienced creditors' rights bankruptcy attorney, you - the creditor - can ascertain your exact legal rights even as a debtor liquidates assets in Chapter 7 bankruptcy or a business reorganizes debt via Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The term "bankruptcy" is loaded with meaning. When reading it, one might conjure images of a dream gone bust, a life gone wrong, and a hopeless future. Such a grim picture simply does not square with reality, however. The truth is that many individuals and businesses that choose to go through the bankruptcy process go on to experience great success in life and in business.

Take, for example, Donald Trump, the current President of the United States. Prior to being elected, Trump had filed for bankruptcy. Not only that, but Trump's companies filed for bankruptcy six times. This fact alone illustrates that bankruptcy is by no means inconsistent with prosperity. Importantly, however, one must be strategic and well-prepared in the bankruptcy process, working with an experienced San Jose bankruptcy and business law attorney every step of the way.

More than likely, you measure at least part of your business's success by its profits. Your company makes money by providing either or both goods and services to customers. As such, you expect payment in an amount agreed upon between you and each customer.

When you don't receive payment as agreed, your first inclination and action would most likely involve contacting the customer for payment. In some cases, that may work, but in others, the customer continues to withhold payment. At this point, you may need to know your options regarding collecting these debts. Each type of debt collection method involves the increasing need for court intervention.

Contract disputes are unfortunately an inevitability in the course of doing business over the long run. There are intentional breaches, inadvertent breaches, breaches caused by a third party, and in some cases, contracts that have become impracticable or even impossible for one or both parties to perform.

When confronted with the headache that a business contract dispute represents, you may have different reactions. Like many, you may be overworked, overstressed, and simply want to resolve the dispute as efficiently as possible. Sometimes, however, a speedy resolution is not feasible, especially when another party to the contract maintains that there is no dispute to be resolved or claims, incorrectly, that an adequate remedy has already been seen to.

If you have a plan for a new business, your head may be spinning with ideas to make your company a success. You may even hope to grow your business into a franchise or simply to expand in your area of California. Whatever your plans, you know you can't do it alone.

Whether you are looking for someone to share the load day by day, or you need someone to partner with you financially, it has to be the right person. Bringing someone on board who clashes with your personality or business philosophy could mean disaster before you even graduate from being a start-up.

The vernacular used in discussing unfair competition and antitrust in matters of business and commerce is often antiquated. Think, for example, of the term "robber baron," which was used to refer to titans of shipping, real estate, and other industries who acquired vast wealth by consolidating power and influence to thereby virtually control relevant markets. In doing so, the board game Monopoly might come to mind, with its old-time tycoon fashioning a bowler hat and spectacles.

For modern day businesses, however, it is critical to understand that unfair competition and even violations of federal antitrust law are no longer a thing of the past to be reduced to fun family games. An experienced San Jose business law and bankruptcy attorney is already well aware of this, keeping up at all times with the "rules of the game."