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Substandard motels are present in cities across the state California. We have all stayed in a motel where we wished we had read the Yelp reviews first, right? Usually property owners of these substandard commercial properties neglect the basic maintenance needs of the property to save money which, in turn, causes the property to fall into severe disrepair. In these situations, a Court-Appointed Health and Safety Receiver can step in to provide the solution to protect the community and occupants from such dangerous conditions. A Receiver can be appointed by the court to rehabilitate and preserve substandard commercial properties.

Hooray a judgment as been entered! However, just because a decision has been made, the battle is not over yet. Now the phase of enforcing and collecting on that judgment begins. In many cases, a judgment debtor will never willingly satisfy a judgment. For this reason, a post-judgment Receivership is a great judgment enforcement remedy that can help recover money to pay the judgment. A post-judgment Receiver is appointed by the court and, for example, may be granted the authority to manage and take possession of the judgment debtor’s real and personal property to collect, lease, repair, or sell as the court directs. Courts have interpreted that a post-judgment Receiver is in fact working for the benefit of the judgment creditor that sought the appointment of the Receiver.

A Health and Safety Receivership can successfully rehabilitate distressed properties within a community. A receiver can be appointed by the court to manage the renovation of properties that have been seriously neglected by property owners. A receivership is very effective to bring a property into compliance with code enforcement and the city while also providing residents and neighborhoods safety and security. Receivership actions oftentimes deal with extreme hoarding and/or contaminated living conditions unsafe to the community. Receivers may face challenges specifically when dealing with animal hoarding property owners. In these cases, teamwork is key to bring the property into compliance and guide the property owner to the services they may need.

In California, a Health and Safety Receivership is an effective option to resolve code enforcement issues with residential and commercial properties. Health and Safety Receiverships commonly deal with substandard or abandoned properties when property owners fail to comply with code enforcement or when there is a threat to the health and safety of residents or the surrounding community. While receivership may not initially sound like a resource for illegally-operating marijuana facilities, the illegal sale of marijuana likely constitutes a nuisance pursuant to the California health and safety code and can be a threat to the health and safety of the surrounding community and/or businesses. The Receivership Remedy can resolve complex issues that arise with rogue marijuana dispensaries as dispensaries become more and more common and the industry continues to inflate.

Griswold Law, along with co-counsel JCL Law Firm, recently achieved a class action settlement on behalf of a class of San Diego County individuals that suffered illegal treatment as motel/apartment occupants.  The class members were subject to a variation of the "28-day shuffle" policy, unlawfully utilized by some motels/apartments in California.  As a part of the court-approved class action settlement, we were honored to present a $75,881.50 "cy pres" donation to Alpha Project in San Diego.  We presented the check to Alpha Project at the grand opening ceremony of their beautiful new project (Alpha Square) in downtown San Diego on November 18, 2015.  The building will provide 203 brand-new units for the homeless population in San Diego!!

A focus of my practice is dedicated to receivership matters.  I am routinely appointed by California courts as a receiver.  Specifically, I have acted as a health & safety code receiver, a rents & profits receiver, a post-judgment receiver and a partition referee.  On August 26, 2014, I moderated and participated in a speaker panel at the San Diego County Bar Center presented by the San Diego Chapter of the California Receiver Forum.  We were fortunate to have the Honorable Eddie C. Sturgeon speak on the panel.