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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.

The partition remedy in California addresses disputes between co-owners of property. Any person with an interest in real property in California may bring a partition action against a co-owner. The partition remedy is necessary when co-owners cannot decide how to handle jointly-owned property. Properties subject to partition include, but are not limited to, single-family residences, vacation homes, investment properties, commercial buildings, apartment buildings, and parcels of land.

The appointment of a receiver can eradicate health and safety threats in your community and is an available and valuable remedy under California law. A receiver is a neutral third-party appointed by the Court to take temporary control over substandard properties that are subject to a lawsuit. By appointing a receiver, the Court can eliminate illegal or unsafe activity occurring at a property. Health and Safety Receiverships are used primarily for substandard properties which include but are not limited to hoarding properties, illegal construction or habitation, fire damaged properties, nuisance properties, deceased owner or abandoned properties, and slum apartments/motels. Once the court appoints a receiver, the property is under the direct control of the court via the court-appointed receiver. The health and safety receiver is then responsible for the general repairs and maintenance for the property and for ensuring that the property is brought into compliance with State and local codes at the property owner’s expense. Utilizing the receivership remedy saves a city, or other municipality, time and resources, and demonstrates to the surrounding community that the city is taking effective steps to remedy the dangerous conditions created by the problem property.

Last week, Richardson “Red” Griswold of Griswold Law completed the initial inspection of the Banning Business Center, which has become a severe health and safety problem in the city of Banning, California. Griswold was appointed as receiver by the Riverside County Superior Court in late November 2017.

Before Griswold Law Begins Rehabilitation of the Property

Richardson “Red” Griswold was appointed by the Del Norte County Superior Court as the health and safety code receiver over the Town House Motel in Crescent City, California in the matter of City of Crescent City v. Sarvada Nand Hanumanthu Reddy. While he was initially appointed in November 2014, the matter has been stayed since that time because the property owner filed an appeal, challenging the legal sufficiency of the Court’s order appointing Mr. Griswold. In February 2017, the Court of Appeal (First Appellate District, Division Four) issued its written opinion, which affirmed the trial court’s order appointing Mr. Griswold as receiver. PDF of Court of Appeal's Opinion. Following the issuance of the opinion, Mr. Griswold began carrying out his court-ordered duties as the health and safety receiver over the 23-unit motel in Crescent City.