Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
Hello,
I own a small property in which the tenant did some improvements for his business but failed to pay the construction company. The construction company has filed a mechanics lien against the property and a law suit.
The Construction company has brought myself and the tenant in the law suit.
I responded to the summon and complaint but the tenant has not, the tenant has been evicted.
I received from the plaintiff a judgement for the the tenant that has not responded. "Notice of Entry of Order on Stipulation and order for entry of judgement against Defendant"
I would imagine the tenant has agreed to stipulation of judgment, and will probably file for bankruptcy leaving me stuck with the bill.
+++Question i had is since the other defendant has taken the judgment will this case go on against me? or Since the judgement is against the tenant that the charges against me are dropped?
Also it indicates in their " This judgement shall be adjudged and decreed to be a lien against any interest that defendant has in real property"
Furthermore, "any interest of Defendant in said property may be adjudged and decreed to be sold by the Sheriff"
+++Since the the tenant does not own the property can they still sell the property without a judgement against me the landlord?
2 Answers from Attorneys
You have a significant mess here. Yes, they can enforce the lein against you and do nothing to the former tenant. If the judgment says it is a lien against the property you need to make damned sure they haven't somehow gotten a default against you or otherwise gotten an judgment that is effective against you by some mistake of the court. You need an attorney right away on this. Whether this judgment is an immediate problem for you or not, you still need an attorney because with a judgment against the former tenant, a judgment for a lein foreclosure and sale of the property will not be far behind or hard to get if unopposed.
I agree with Mr. McCormick's answer in some respects - that you need to be wary of a court mistake that will make it appear there is a judgment against you, that you as owner can be held responsible for debts owed to a tenant's contractors, and that you should retain an attorney to at least read the court papers and evaluate them professionally.
As to your specific question in the last sentence of your posting, I'd say the answer is no. A judgment against the tenant alone does not suffice. However, due to the possibility that there is an improperly-worded judgment, or that it would be misunderstood by a levying officer, I wouldn't rely upon this fact to take no action.
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