Legal Question in Business Law in California

II have a minority share (7.142857%) of an orchard with a rental property in the San Joaquin area of California. The owners have a co tenancy agreement of which parts are transcribed in this text. The other minority holders have signed a Power of Attorney to four holders with 12.5% each. One of these Attorneys in Fact has stepped down leaving only three. I revoked my Power of Attorney.

Section 2 Agreement to govern property ownership

The owners hereby mutually agree that this Agreement shall define and control the various rights and obligations of each respective owner with regard to their mutual ownership, management, and/or occupancy of the property to the extent permitted by law.

d. The following decisions may be made by the individuals designated as Attorneys in Fact for the Owners in the management of the property:

i. Any lease of the property not to exceed one year.

ii. Entering into management, farming or crop share agreements for a period not to exceed one year.

iii. Incurring any expenditure related to the property in an amount not exceeding ten thousand dollars in any single transaction or series of transactions

iiii. Determine the amount of any distribution from the bank account of the owners.

Do the remaining Attorneys in Fact exceed their mandate by engaging persons to perform work on the property if I object? That is, can I prevent spraying the trees or rental of machinery to harvest?

My reason for wanting that is I have no faith the rental is safe. There have been conversations about a bad roof and a possible contaminated well. No one has remedied these problems nor engaged a professional to asses them (test the water, check the roof).

The three remaining Attorneys in Fact will not convert from a partnership to an LLC and I fear my personal assets being affected.

I would like to have a real property professional asses the rental for habitability and I think denying approval for the money to harvest the crop may force them to spend the money make safe the dwelling or demolish it if need be. My other goal is, if I can, get them to covert to an LLC for the personal protection of each member.

Can I stop the dwelling being rented?

The reason I am trapped in this mess and do simply file for partition is as follows:

Section 5 Management Decisions

�The following decisions shall require the mutual approval of all owners.

ii. Any partition of the property.

Section 11. Modification of Partition Rights.

The owners hereby mutually agree to modify their respective right to partition the property pursuant to California Code of Civil Procedure sections 872.010 et seq., to the extent that the statute is inconsistent with this agreement. The owners hereby agree that, to the extent the partition statute is inconsistent with this agreement, any division of the property shall be governed by and carried out in accordance with the terms of this agreement.

Is that legal?

Thank you so much for any help provided!


Asked on 2/10/11, 3:59 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Joe Marman Law Office of Joseph Marman

You are asking for a lot of legal advice for an attorney to give for free.

I think you cannot object to the management of the farm if the expenses are for contradcts for less than a year or for less than $10,000.

You owuld have to read the provisions in the contract when you became an owner to determine if you have the power to contract with farm money to inspect the farm property for safety concerns.

I am not going to review the legality of 872.010 et seq, since that would be more than anyone would expect an attorney to do for free. You may still file a lawsuit for partition of the rights and responsibilities of each landowner if there are competing interests.

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Answered on 2/10/11, 4:27 pm


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