Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: Timeline to file Bad Faith Waste action

If they are suing udner a contract cause of action--you violated the written contract you had with they that you would not physically damage the property--then they have four years from the date of the breach. They wil claim they were not aware of any breach until around the time of the foreclosure. Having foreclosed, they are now the owners of the property, subject to the existing first deed of trust, and you have no legal right to stay there. I am surprised that they have not either demanded rent from you or evicted you.

If you have very little in the way of assets, the wisest thing might be to go and meet with their attorney and bring proof of your lack of funds so that they know they can not get anything from you even if they get a judgment. You should also check to see if in the complaint they allege any negligent acts by you; if so, it is possible that your home owner's insurance might have coverage and then they would hire an attorney whose interests would be similar although not entirely the same as your interests.

Since you have already had several answers to several different questions, you probably need to allow us to answer other people's concerns.

Re: Timeline to file Bad Faith Waste action

Yes, there is a time limit, or more accurately, there are different time limits depending upon whether the lender decides to pursue this as a breach of contract or a tort action.

A suit brought in 9/08 would now be about seven months old, and presumably well beyond the service and response stage. Have you been served and have you filed a responsive pleading, such as an answer? Did your answer (or demurrer)raise the statute of limitations as a defense?

To the extent the complaint raises contract-based claims, the applicable statute of limitations would be four years from the date of breach, or perhaps the date the breach was or should have been discovered. The tort claim limitations period for injury to real property is three years, with a similar date-of-injury or date-of-discovery rule applying. Statutes of limitations can be tricky to apply, as there are exceptions, so have an attorney analyze your particular facts for you if there is any possibility you may have a defense based on running of the statute.