Husband Properly Granted Motion To Expunge FLARPL.
Husband, who was granted the marital home as his sole and separate property in a dissolution case, expunged ex-wife’s attorney’s family law attorney’s real property lien (FLARPL) based on attorney’s failure to comply with statutory requirements for FLARPL. That result was sustained in In re Marriage of Ciliberto & Firth, Case No. B251411 (2d Dist., Div. 7 Jan. 19, 2016) (unpublished).
Aside from a deal memo from wife’s attorney indicating that the FLARPL was extinguished as part of the divorce settlement, the appellate court affirmed on the basis that the FLARPL notice was void for failure to comply with Family Code section 2033 dictates. The problem was that the FLARPL-claiming attorney did not provide any documents supporting the FMV of the property as required under section 2033(b)(2)—with the reviewing court concluding that such supporting documentation was a very clear requirement under the statute, not just “substantial compliance” by testimony from the wife spouse as to what the property was worth. Expungement affirmed.