Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

You state that the matter was turned over to the courts. When there are surplus proceeds remaining after a foreclosure sale in the possession of the trustee, and there are competing claims, the money is deposited with the court and an interpleader action is filed. You should have been named and served with the complaint in interpleader. At that point, you need to quit trying to handle it yourself and retain an attorney to help you make your claim to the interplead funds.

I agree with Mr. Roach. All the facts in your question point to the probability that the matter was "turned over to the courts" by filing an interpleader action, in which (a) the disputed funds are turned over to the court clerk for safekeeping, and (b) the claimants are named as defendants and served with the interpleader lawsuit, requiring them to appear before the court to argue as to which of them is entitled to the funds, and how much of them, and why.

Apparently the trustee held the funds after the foreclosure sale because there appeared, to the trustee, to be a bona fide dispute as to which of you was entitled to the net proceeds of sale.

Whether the holding of the funds for a year was "wrongful" or not, the trustee (or whomever) holding the funds has now done the right thing. A judge will hear all the evidence and decide who gets how much of the deposited money.

Please note that, assuming we're right that an interpleader has been filed, unless you participate actively in the suit, your chances of receiving any of the funds are pretty slim. This will be a full-blown adversary proceeding, with the plaintiff/trustee sitting on the sidelines and saying to the defendants, "OK, you guys duke it out in court, and the judge will then award the money based on the evidence you put forward."

If you don't respond to the summons and participate, you'll likely get nothing. If you didn't get the summons and complaint, obtain copies from the court ASAP. If you weren't even named as a defendant, you'll need to study the facts alleged in the complaint and try to figure out why. And if the court suit isn't an interpleader, we miss our guesses.

Please feel free to contact me directly with additional details, and I'll try to give you some further explanation -- no charge.

No way you can handle an interpleader yourself. Get a local lawyer.