Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: boat property taxes

The statements by the assessor (or tax collector) have to do with whom the county would go after. As between buyer and seller, the two of you are free to allocate/prorate tax liability any way you see fit, and prorations over the selling date are common.

Here, it looks to me as though someone made a mistake in preparing the closing statement. Who was responsible for this, a dealer? The seller? This has led to an underpayment by you and some understandable confusion.

I believe the contract language prevails, and you are obligated to pay the prorated property tax to the seller, as agreed. However, you may have a defense, or defenses, based upon one or more theories such as implied waiver, detrimental reliance, seller's negligence, or some language in the sale documents implying that the figures were final and not subject to any post-closing adjustment. Whether the defenses would be sufficient to prevail in small-claims court could depend upon who prepared the papers and the exact contents of the fine print.