Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

You need to review the injunction. I would suggest that as a general rule, there should be no prohibition against the homeowner selling the home, but there could be a prohibition in the injunction. You may, however, be required to go back to the court who issued the injunction for a further order instructing the lender to comply with requests for payoff demand, etc... as they may not be very cooperative in helping you close your escrow. This all pressumes that the injunction is not in a bankruptcy court, in which case you must re-post the question with more details.

*Due to the limitations of the LawGuru Forums, The Gibbs Law Firm, APC's (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided is general and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence. As required by 11 U.S.C. �528, we must now disclose that, "We are a debt relief agency. We help people file for bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code. Assistance we provide with respect to Debt Relief may involve bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code."

The property will still be subject to the deed of trust, if not satisfied by the sale, and would trigger the "due on sale" clause.

While the preliminary injunction probably doesn't go so far as to prevent the owner/borrower from selling, I would think, if there is an opportunity to sell, that the wiser course would be to combine that opportunity with a settlement of the litigation and pay-off of the lender that's threatening to foreclose. It's usually difficult to get the best price on a property that is mired in litigation, has an uninformed and/or uncooperative lender, and a title clouded by litigation which raises uncertainties about title. You'd be better off with the lis pendens withdraw, the suit settled, and an agreement for a short pay-off with the lender. Of course, not knowing all the facts makes it impossible to say what your best course is in this specific case, so the foregoing advice is assuming typical rather than unusual facts underlying the litigation and the opportunity to sell.