Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

They are certainly not "SOL." This is a pretty clear-cut case of elder abuse and fraud, based on the facts given and assuming there are no other material facts or defenses. The Welfare & Institutions Code provides remedies for proven instances of financial elder abuse, including punitive damages and recovery of attorney fees. See W&I Code sections 15610.30 and 15657.5, for example. Key to winning will be proof of the $45,000 investment in the land, and that title was surrendered without adequate compensation. Also, was there a written or oral partnership agreement, and can its terms be proven? Partners are fiduciaries of one another and the law does not tolerate one taking unfair advantage of the others.

It sounds like your friend's parents are entitled to enforce a legal doctrine called a vendor's lein. It's a rather obscure doctrine, but having spent over six years as a vice president of both Fidelity and Chicago Title Ins. Co's I saw a lot of obscure title issues and actually won a trial in a vendor's lien case. This sounds like pretty much a textbook case. It also sounds like a case of fraud. Depending on the ages of the people involved, there may be an elder financial abuse violation as well.

If your girlfriend's parents are interested in pursuing this I would be very interested in taking the case for them. Not only because it is the kind of case I am very familiar with, but also because my own parents have been ripped off in a somewhat similar way. So I have a personal interest in securing justice for people like your girlfriend's parents. I would be happy to provide a free initial consultation to make sure my inital take on the case is correct, and I offer hourly, contingent and hybrid fee arrangements to make modest cases like this economical. The zip code you list is in San Jose, though I'm not sure if that is where you are located, the property, your girlfrend's parents, . . . ? I do have an office in San Jose, and maintain conference facilities throughout the Bay Area. So I can arrange a meeting at a convenient location.