Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: Joint tenants

You are very correct that a trial of the matter would be very costly; I can not give you an estimate but I would assume it would be at least $20-30,000. I am sure that the costs to both sides will exceed the rents received, so both parties will come out losers. It would make more sense for both sides to gather information from the other asnd the general real estate market and then go to mediation [a 2-3 hour or longer settlement meeting with an experienced attorney in reaal estate matters who might charge $400 per hour but has a good chance of settling the case and definitely will give you an idea what your former business partner wants to resolve the matter] or arbitration [a mini, informal trial of the case before an independent attorney or retired judge, with the partie deciding before hand if the decision is binding on both of them or can be rejected by either]. Some discovery would have to be done beforehand, perhaps including the deposition [questioning of you udner oath by the other attorney] of both of you. All that might be accomplished in 40-50 hours and you might find an attorney with a fair amount of real estate law background [but not an expert, and I doubt you will need a true expert] who might drop his hourly rate because it is a larger case, so maybe it would cost around $10-13,000. Which suggests that it might be better for each of you to nominate a good real estate attorney and they agree to a third attorney who speaks informally and separately to the two of you and then tells both of you what he thinks would happen at a trial of the case. But it does not sound as though your former partner wants such a logical, equitable method of resolving the problem for the least amount of expense. He probably known you are afraid of the costs so he will not let go until your offer more than he is entitled to.

Re: Joint tenants

While lawsuits can be costly, this case may settle quickly once you have an attorney file the proper response and courter-suit for accounting and recovery of the 'embezzled' funds. That will put the situation back into a realistic discussion. Feel free to contact me if serious about pursuing this reasonably.

Re: Joint tenants

I agree that this is a general partnership, and partnership law applies. Absent an agreement to the contrary, a partner is not entitled to a salary (or remuneration of any kind) for working on partnership business. Corporations Code section 16401(h).

If I were handling this case, my responsive pleadings would include a cross-complaint for breach of fiduciary duty, accounting, and conversion of the large chunks of money you mention. I would also consider asking for a court order allowing you to wind up the partnership business including the right to manage the property until the market recovers enough to make a sale advisable. Indeed, an economic review of the situation would be a major aspect of resolving the litigation satisfactorily; e.g., is it better to sell now and take a capital loss, or better to continue to hold and run the property and maybe take some operating losses in the hope of a better price later on?

In any event, as your know, you or your attorney must file a response of some kind, usually an answer, within 30 days of the date you were served, or risk entry of a default. I'm puzzled as to why you ask about an attorney representing you in court this fall - responsive papers are due soon, and trial will be, most likely, more than a year away. Perhaps you are looking at the date of a first Case Management Conference?

As to probable costs, I just settled a similar case involving a two-person partnership, no written agreement, with two rental houses in the Palm Springs area. It was very contentious at first, but settled on the eve of trial; my client's bill was under $8K.

As you say, the cost question is like "How long is a piece of rope?"

I'd say you should look at the overall economic outlook, not the aspect of the attorney's fee alone. Good representation will get you a better settlement, and quicker, thus more than offsetting the fees.

I'd be pleased to give you review your facts and then make a proposal for representation with part of the fees deferred until and/or dependent upon a favorable settlement...but I'd need a few more details. These days, court filings are done by FAX and routine appearances by telephone, so my distance is not very important. If interested, please contact me directly, and don't overlook the response due date...doing a quality response will take me several days.