Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

The title company is not going to release the funds without a court order. Whether or not your lawyer will be able to get a court order depends on a number of factors, for example the terms of the contract.

I spent six years as a vice president and associate general counsel to Fidelity National Financial, parent of five title companies, including the top two in the nation. I can assure you that the title company is doing what they are supposed to do as escrow holder. Once things are deposited in escrow, they cannot come out of escrow without mutual instructions from all the parties or a court order. As long as the other parties are in litigation, the title company would be in serious legal trouble if they released anything from escrow.

Now that we have the bad news out of the way, the good news is that there are a number of legal options for trying to get the funds released to you. Without knowing more about your contract with the other parties and the litigation between them, however, I can't make any specific suggestions. If you would like to contact me to discuss the situation further, please feel free.

Make sure the funds are in an interest-bearing account - not much these days, but at least some compensation. Be sure the property is being cared for and the taxes paid. Then get a lawyer to negotiate a release or take court action if necessary. Maybe someone in your county would be cheaper and more convenient. Be sure the selected attorney has some experience in dealing with stuck escrows.

The title company is not only 'allowed' to do this, it is 'required' to hold the funds, pending a court order or a written instruction to release from ALL parties to the contract. Deal with the lawsuit properly, hire an attorney if you haven't already [he should have answered you question]. If you don't have counsel, and are serious about hiring at attorney, feel free to contact me.