Cases: Partition

However, Litigant’s Appeal Of A Subsequent Judgment Where An Incorrect Allocation Was Made Could Be Appealed. The next case bears an important reminder to litigants and their attorneys: interlocutory partition judgments are expressly appealable under CCP § 904.1(a)(9). That reality led to a dismissal of appeal challenging the 50/50 allocation for failure to timely appeal […]

Losing Party, To The Appellate Court, Refused To List A Property For Sale And Refused To Reimburse Another Party For Paid Taxes—Leading To The Result With Respect To Fees And Costs.                In this category, we have made many posts which involve partition proceedings, keeping in mind that CCP § 874.040, subdivisions (a) and (e),

No Common Benefit Was Secured.             In Gentino v. Yaghoobia, Case No. B321102 (2d Dist., Div. 4 Oct. 12, 2023) (unpublished), plaintiff was defensed by a single defendant in a case alleging that plaintiff had a 50% ownership interest in a Long Beach property, with one of the claims being for partition.  Defendant moved for

Husband’s Challenges To Wife’s Fee Recovery Was Rebuffed By Appellate Court.             A couple in a partition action, with the lower court describing their relationship as “toxic” and “two scorpions in a bottle” (words in the opinion, not ours), ultimately achieved some fee recovery based on common benefit in a contested partition action, with husband

The Claimed Fees Did Not Demonstrate That They Were For A “Common Benefit.”             In partition actions, Code of Civil Procedure section 874.010 provides that the lower court in a partition action shall award attorney’s fees incurred or paid by a party if there was a common benefit to all the parties—it is not a

Lin Decision Was Followed, Which Seems To Be The Reasoning Adopted By Most Appellate Courts.             In Thornber v. Colby, Case No. C089687 (3d Dist. Apr. 20, 2022) (unpublished), a trial judge decided that $60,000 in fees incurred by plaintiffs in a successful partition by sale action should be proportionately allocated between plaintiffs and defendants

Fifth District, In An Emerging Trend, Sides With Lin Opinion On Allowing Partition Costs Award Disproportionate To One Party’s Interest In The Property.             In Tolley v. Kobzoff, Case No. F078021 (5th Dist. Dec. 8, 2020) (unpublished), plaintiff sister brought a partition action to force a sale of tenant-in-common property owned with defendants sister and

Code Civ. Proc. § 847.040 Allows For Equitable Considerations In Apportioning Costs, And § 847.010 Authorizes The Award Of Fees Incurred To Defend Meritless Claims.             In Diepen v. Bollinger, Case No. B299696 (2d Dist. Div. 6 September 21, 2020) (unpublished), a trial court granted an elderly mother’s request to partition a house she