Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: Statue of limitations on Real Estate

The statute of limitations for fraud or mistake, which would include misrepresentation of facts in a sale of real property, is three years. The cause of action accrues, i.e. the statute begins to run until the discovery, by the aggrieved party, of the facts constituting the fraud or mistake (or when, by reasonable diligence, they ought to have been discovered).

So, the clock seemingly started to run when you discovered, or should have discovered, that the developed had lied. You don't really say when that was, but it seems to be more than three years ago.

I think you would lose an argument that your injury didn't occur, and therefore your cause of action didn't accrue, until you sold the house at a loss, but you might want to sound out a couple of attorneys near you (or near the developer) as to their views on that theory.

If any of the representations about off limits to future development had made its way into a written contract, you might have the advantage of the four year statute for breach of written contract.

A final thought is whether the lawyer you used to fight the development might have committed malpractice by failing to notice the cause of action for misrepresentation and include that in the other legal battles waged on your behalf. It seems a bit odd that this obvious action was overlooked. The statute for a legal malpractice action is two-part and a bit difficult to state in a few words, but more or less the client gets four years from the malpractice or one year from the end of the representation.