Blog

As I have written about consistently in this blog (and experienced on a daily basis in my role as a health and safety receiver), hoarding is a serious problem that affects people, neighborhoods and properties. And unfortunately, the hoarding disorder is typically under-served and misunderstood.

Co-ownership of real property sounds like a great idea. That is, until co-owners disagree. Generally, real property is considered "unique." What is meant by that is that real property is not something that can simply split in half when two co-owners disagree and want to liquidate a contested asset. In most partition actions, the remedy sought is the appointment of a partition referee, whose primary function is to sell the jointly-owned property and then distribute the proceeds with court approval.

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.

Many times, a property under the control of a health and safety code receiver is occupied by tenants. The substandard condition of the property may not be the fault of the property tenants. This situation commonly arises when the property owner/landlord is non-responsive and failing to maintain the property in a safe and habitable condition. Health and safety receiverships arise often in the context of rental properties (single-family homes or apartment buildings).

A partition referee carries out a specific role in the context of a legal dispute between multiple individuals regarding real property. One or more parties will file a lawsuit that includes a partition cause of action. One aspect of the relief sought via the partition cause of action will be the appointment of a partition referee by the court. The party may nominate one or more particular partition referees, but ultimately, it is the court's decision as to who the court will appoint as the partition referee. The partition referee almost always has one single objective: sell the subject property at issue in the lawsuit and distribute the proceeds accordingly. A related task may be to manage and preserve the property while preparing for the sale, depending on the type of property.