Dispute between public entity and private property owner of multiple commercial properties concerning valuation in multi-million dollar eminent domain case. Case involved addition of freeway onramp and financial effect upon owner’s property. Issues resolved included drastically differing assessments of fair market value of real property per competing appraisals as well as value of improvements including monument signage, pre-condemnation damages pertaining to allegedly unreasonable delays, severance damages as well as recoverable costs.
Dispute involving damage to adjoining residential landowner alleged to have been caused by active and passive negligence.
Dispute involving breach of lease of airplane hangar.
Dispute involving material default in office lease by building’s majority tenant who it was claimed was the initial lessee’s successor corporate entity.
Numerous disputes involving claims of various irregularities by lenders or their agents in the real estate foreclosure process including by lack of proper assignment or ownership of the original note and/or lack of proper assignment of the deed of trust.
Habitability dispute involving claims by apartment building tenants relating to various defective conditions including improperly working plumbing, overflowing toilets, insect infestation, vermin, mold and fungus due to the constantly damp conditions, no working heater or smoke detectors.
Dispute between City of Los Angeles as landlord and non-profit corporation which had defaulted on lease for space in city-owned building.
Dispute involving attorney who alleged she had been awarded real property as part of a marital dissolution judgment obtained against her ex-husband. Plaintiff alleged an improper lien against the property by the forensic accounting firm hired by ex-husband in the dissolution matter.
Dispute involving undistributed surplus proceeds from foreclosure sale and competing claims from since-divorced spouses, lender to one of the two parties and family law attorney who obtained a Family Law Attorney’s Real Property Lien pursuant to Family Code §2033 for services rendered to one spouse.
Dispute between landlord and apartment tenants claiming mold infestation, faulty plumbing, lack of hot water, damaged and dangerous floors and walls, and rodent and cockroach infestation.
Dispute involving landlord and multiple tenants alleging retaliatory eviction and harassment due to tenants’ complaints to housing authorities.
Dispute involving material default in office lease by building’s majority tenant who it was claimed was the initial lessee’s successor corporate entity and from whom landlord had been accepting rent for an extended period of time.
Dispute involving claim by landlord that occupier of medical office suite had effectively assumed lease by misleading landlord into believing that it was merely the management corporation for existing tenant but was in fact purchaser of medical practice of doctor who had retired and left country. Occupier of premises also alleged that landlord had overbilled it and all other tenants through misleading and inaccurate common area charge calculations.
Dispute involving claims and cross-claims by parties who had allegedly purchased interests in successful franchised business pursuant to oral agreements. Parties disagreed as to whether subject financial transactions between them were loans or payments made on purchase of the interest in the franchise. As a result of the dispute, Landlord, allegedly realizing value of premises for franchised purposes and in an effort to capitalize on the dispute, was left unpaid and asserted a material breach of lease and sought to dispossess tenant/franchisee from premises.
Dispute between landlord and tenant over tenant’s claim that landlord improperly declared tenant’s exercise of option untimely and ineffective to void below-market lease to accommodate another existing tenant’s request to expand its premises.
Dispute involving competing claims by two institutional lenders claiming priority as to commercial real property and claims by current owner of bona fide purchaser without knowledge status.
Dispute among several family members pertaining to valuable real property utilized for religious purposes, which had passed through various family partnerships, trusts and similar entities, a related dispute involving fiduciary accountings, as well as a related dispute pertaining to a special needs trust required for the benefit of a developmentally disabled family member. Matter required extensive examination of chain of title as to subject property complicated by numerous transfers by various entities owned by those within the family group.
Dispute involving damage to adjoining residential landowner alleged to have been caused by active and passive negligence.
Dispute involving material default in office lease by building’s majority tenant who it was claimed was the initial lessee’s successor corporate entity.
Dispute involving claims by apartment building tenants relating to various defective conditions including improperly working plumbing, overflowing toilets, insect infestation, vermin, mold and fungus due to the constantly damp conditions, no working heater or smoke detectors.
Dispute between landlord and apartment tenants claiming mold infestation, faulty plumbing, lack of hot water, damaged and dangerous floors and walls, and rodent and cockroach infestation.
Dispute involving landlord and multiple tenants alleging retaliatory eviction and harassment due to tenants’ complaints to housing authorities.
Numerous easement/encroachment disputes between and among contiguous landowners.
Dispute involving claim of bad faith failure to defend brought by insured against title insurance company and out-of-state agent pertaining to multiple out-of-state properties purchased from seller who was engaged in California dissolution action and subject to ATROS (automatic restraining orders) at the time of the transfers. Insurer took the position the purported defects in title were mere re-characterizations in title sought by adversely affected spouse of seller and therefore neither covered by the policy nor sufficient to give rise to a defense obligation. Insurer relied upon authority pertaining to tortious conduct as to the manner in which insured acquired title and insured essentially claimed BFP status.
Dispute involving contractual option/purchase of high-end West Los Angeles residence and since-conserved dependent adult seller, and claims/cross-claims for specific performance, breach of contract, fraud, misrepresentation and dependent adult financial abuse. Formulation of settlement strategy involved understanding and analysis of procedural interplay between and among contractual arbitration forum, probate and civil courts. Resolution was satisfactorily achieved in a manner which would not have been possible in litigation.
Dispute focused upon breaches of fiduciary duty between and among charitable remainder beneficiaries and prior successor trustee who sold residence at price below market to family member of trustee without disclosure of relationship. Real estate broker, who had also been sued by beneficiaries, had represented trust (seller) and buyer as dual agent subsequently purchased property, again below market.
Dispute between municipality and contractor, and contractor and its plumbing subcontractor, arising out of alleged contamination of water system caused by defective backflow prevention device resulting in petrochemical release and subsequent replacement of approximately 3,000 linear feet of underwater freshwater conduit system. Case involved analysis of recoverable damages for real property loss (disputed applicability of replacement versus repair costs rules), “betterment” given age and useful remaining life of replaced system, as well as insurance issues as between multiple insurers and various indemnity agreements and additional insured endorsements.
HON JAMES A. STEELE
Real Estate
LOS ANGELES SUPERIOR COURT, JUDGE (RET.)
HON. JAMES A. STEELE (RET.)
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