Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

You have a good question. One issue that is vitally important in an unlawful detainer (UD) case is whether the plaintiff actually has "standing" to bring the suit. I represented a client in a similar matter to yours, recently.

You have a couple of avenues. First, you can file an Answer in the UD matter, denying the allegations that the plaintiff has a right to possession of the property. You are allowed to serve discovery on the plaintiff, such as interrogatories and a request for documents. These materials should force the plaintiff to disclose its interest in the property and how it came to sue you.

You can also obtain recorded documents, such as deeds of trust and and deeds that show ownership (e.g. Grant Deed, Trustee's Deed, Quitclaim Deed) from your local county's registrar-recorder's office.

Second, you can actually challenge the foreclosure with a separate lawsuit. This process is more complicated, but it is the only way that you can get a judicial determination that the foreclosure was defective. There are several steps for this proceeding, so you would do well to have an attorney help out.

For example, you may want to record a Notice of Lis Pendens, letting the world know that you are disputing the title to the property. You may also want to obtain an injunction, stopping the bank from selling or encumbering the property, during the litigation. You may also want to join the UD matter with your foreclosure matter.

These matters have substantive and procedural elements that should be handled by an attorney, with experience in the field. You are, legally, allowed to proceed without counsel, but I would not suggest it.

If you have further questions, you may reach my office at [email protected] or [email protected].