Blog

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.

Richardson "Red" Griswold of Griswold Law, APC recently appeared on KCBQ 1170 AM to discuss his role as a court-appointed partition referee and court-appointed receiver. Below are clips from the recent radio appearance. For more information about the use of a partition referee in a partition matter or the function of a court-appointed receiver, please contact Red Griswold of Griswold Law, APC.

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.