Quiet title

[scaredyclassic]

Stealing client $ is the bar complaint that gets fast action.

Other complaints, it’s hard to tell. I’ve been reading bar complaint discipline summaries in the lawyer mag that publishes them for many years.

Part cautionary tales, part schadenfreude, part looking for people I know.

Like reading obituaries.

Anyway, sometimes the bar goes after odd transgressions. Usually though it’s just stealing money, not maintaining trust accounts properly.

[gzz]

Hi Blogster,

I am a lawyer who used to do real estate litigation on behalf of plaintiffs full time. Now it is a secondary area for me. Below is not legal advice, just my quick reaction to scanning your posts.

Sounds to me like the first step is to see if your dispute is covered by your title insurance and if so invoke it. It might be worth hiring a lawyer just to do that. I have never done this before so no idea how complex it might be.

I would charge about $6500 for doing the following: (1) writing a demand letter (2) preparing the complaint (3) filing the complaint, paying the court filing fee of about $500 and process server fee of about $80 (4) negotiating a settlement if they want to deal at that point. If there are issues with threats and disruption to your property, maybe another $3000 for a temporary restraining order.

Most likely when your neighbor is served they will either see how much a lawyer would cost to defend the case, likely about $10,000 up front, and want to settle right away, or else if they are crazy then they may default or try to defend it themselves, in which case you will likely win (if you deserve to win) and be able to get a judgment or injunction that will be enforced by the San Diego Sheriff.

As far as the costs of taking your case to trial, with experts, jury fees, motion fees, depositions, defending summary judgment and demurrers, etc., likely around $25,000 at minimum.

[bearishgurl]

[quote=gzz]Hi Blogster,

I am a lawyer who used to do real estate litigation on behalf of plaintiffs full time. Now it is a secondary area for me. Below is not legal advice, just my quick reaction to scanning your posts.

Sounds to me like the first step is to see if your dispute is covered by your title insurance and if so invoke it. It might be worth hiring a lawyer just to do that. I have never done this before so no idea how complex it might be.

I would charge about $6500 for doing the following: (1) writing a demand letter (2) preparing the complaint (3) filing the complaint, paying the court filing fee of about $500 and process server fee of about $80 (4) negotiating a settlement if they want to deal at that point. If there are issues with threats and disruption to your property, maybe another $3000 for a temporary restraining order.

Most likely when your neighbor is served they will either see how much a lawyer would cost to defend the case, likely about $10,000 up front, and want to settle right away, or else if they are crazy then they may default or try to defend it themselves, in which case you will likely win (if you deserve to win) and be able to get a judgment or injunction that will be enforced by the San Diego Sheriff.

As far as the costs of taking your case to trial, with experts, jury fees, motion fees, depositions, defending summary judgment and demurrers, etc., likely around $25,000 at minimum.[/quote]Hi, gzz, I’m not sure if you read the whole thread but it appears that as of January 2012, if defendant defaults in a quiet title case, plaintiff should immediately ask the court to schedule an evidentiary hearing to protect themselves as QT default judgments cannot stick without defendant being given this opportunity … regardless of if they defaulted.

see: Harbour Vista LLC v. HSBC Mortgage Services Inc. (2011) 201 Cal.App.4th 1496

That’s when I came to the conclusion that the OP’s dispute could run up his legal bills very quickly.

[NotCranky]

[quote=gzz]Hi Blogster,

I am a lawyer who used to do real estate litigation on behalf of plaintiffs full time. Now it is a secondary area for me. Below is not legal advice, just my quick reaction to scanning your posts.

Sounds to me like the first step is to see if your dispute is covered by your title insurance and if so invoke it. It might be worth hiring a lawyer just to do that. I have never done this before so no idea how complex it might be.

I would charge about $6500 for doing the following: (1) writing a demand letter (2) preparing the complaint (3) filing the complaint, paying the court filing fee of about $500 and process server fee of about $80 (4) negotiating a settlement if they want to deal at that point. If there are issues with threats and disruption to your property, maybe another $3000 for a temporary restraining order.

Most likely when your neighbor is served they will either see how much a lawyer would cost to defend the case, likely about $10,000 up front, and want to settle right away, or else if they are crazy then they may default or try to defend it themselves, in which case you will likely win (if you deserve to win) and be able to get a judgment or injunction that will be enforced by the San Diego Sheriff.

As far as the costs of taking your case to trial, with experts, jury fees, motion fees, depositions, defending summary judgment and demurrers, etc., likely around $25,000 at minimum.[/quote]

Thanks for that gzz! That’s about what I am expecting, but it helps to hear it from you again. I was told that if it settles fast maybe a few grand. I am willing to spend up into the multiple 10’s of thousands but want to be careful about doing that, obviously.

[NotCranky]

I don’t understand the summary judgement. Is that just a preliminary ruling that the defendant chooses to fight or not?

How long after the demand to file a case, or should I do it at the same time. Demand, settlement offer, serve complaint?

[NotCranky]

I don’t understand the summary judgement. Is that just a preliminary ruling that the defendant chooses to fight or not?

How long after the demand to file a case, or should I do it at the same time. Demand, settlement offer, serve complaint?

[NotCranky]

There are so many attorneys , pretty much everyone of them wants to do business with you and yet they charge so damn much! I don’t get it, where is the supply and demand balance in this?

[gzz]

Motion for summary judgment usually happens toward the end of the case near trial. It asks the judge to rule for one side without a trial because no reasonable jury could find for the other side.

While a plaintiff can win summary judgment, it is more common for a defendant to file and win.

Regarding the cost, the average attorney in the USA makes maybe $90,000. Overhead can be very high, and many clients seem to expect their attorney to be flashy with an oak paneled office full of law books. A big yellow pages ad can cost $50,000, and then there are billboards, urinal ads for DWI lawyers, etc. Lawyers also have issues with people not paying their bills.

Personally I opted out of this because I started my firm when I was still in my 20’s and without the funds to go so fancy. My marketing budget is most years under $1000, some years 0, and I have cheap office space full of Ikea furniture. I did not need a marketing budget because I was the only lawyer in California who would take a certain type of real estate case on contingency during the real estate crisis eight years ago, so I just publicized my first few cases and Google searches did the rest.

[gzz]

One way to find a lawyer to go to the downtown public law library and search Lexis for the local cases most similar to yours, and call up the winning attorney on the case. Unfortunately most cases do not involve searchable opinions by trial courts, however all California Court of Appeals decisions are on Lexis. So you might search for:

Quiet Title and San Diego and atleast3(easement)

And then sort by year.

[gzz]

[quote=Blogstar]
How long after the demand to file a case, or should I do it at the same time. Demand, settlement offer, serve complaint?[/quote]

You are not usually required to do a demand letter, however in most cases in makes sense. The standard wait to file the case after the demand letter is delivered is 30 days. San Diego Superior Court has become very backed up lately, so if you know the other party well and do not believe he will agree to a reasonable settlement with just a letter, better to skip it and file the case, and then talk settlement.

[NotCranky]

Thanks again gzz. I would rather take the no nonsense low overhead route also. I tried to kind of find a other side of the tracks guy for law but he really made some mistakes in the interview ,so that was that. Wasn’t that much cheaper either.

Even though the cost is high I know you get what you pay for unless you know some that rare oddball genius who for some reason or another doesn’t charge as much. I don’t know that person in law, but I know there are some in every trade and profession.

Today I got quotes from attorneys on just a demand letter. Attorney I found on Internet

3 hours at $275 was one.

Another by an attorney I suspect is more professional , experienced, maybe gets to the point a lot quicker and was referred by someone I trust in another profession.

1.5 hours @ $400 hr. So cost less!

[FlyerInHi]

gzz mentioned title insurance. You should really look into that. Read your policy carefully.

On the subject of title insurance, I have the opportunity to buy a condo cash from an out of state seller who has some bankruptcy issues. Not sure what the title issue is (I still need to talk to the title officer)… but the seller owns it “free and clear” so to speak, without mortgage.

Would you buy the property without title insurance? What’s the worth that could happen? It is a very good deal, almost a killer deal.

[gzz]

Title issues are rare and title insurance is very profitable. I would not have purchased it myself based on these issues. their claims rate is very very very law.

to be safe, can you get the old title report from the seller to look for potential issues?

[gzz]

“QT default judgments cannot stick without defendant being given this opportunity … regardless of if they defaulted.”

The one time I got a default judgment against a deep pocketed defendant I had to do two prove up hearings and mail notice of the hearings. I was not aware of this particular rule, but I would always expect that the judge would want to have some sort of hearing with additional notice outside of small collections type cases.

[gzz]

[quote=Blogstar]

Today I got quotes from attorneys on just a demand letter. Attorney I found on Internet

3 hours at $275 was one.

Another by an attorney I suspect is more professional , experienced, maybe gets to the point a lot quicker and was referred by someone I trust in another profession.

1.5 hours @ $400 hr. So cost less![/quote]

That is reasonable for a short cease and desist letter, but probably not going to get a settlement for you.

Personally, I would never write a demand letter like they offered to do without a client who is already paid up and ready to follow through with suit if the letter is ignored. If I write a demand letter, they reject it, and you don’t follow through, that harms my reputation, and my future demand letters would be taken less seriously to the detriment of all my other clients.

I also would not do a quote in hours like this. The best demand letters come after the complaint it already written, and that point it would just be 20 or 30 minutes to write plus a proofread.

I suggest you see if you can get a firm offer to do all the steps in my prior post for a single flat rate. I also again suggest making a trip to the law library and searching for the attorney’s name on Lexis and seeing what type of record they have. I believe they have small branches in Chula Vista, El Cajon, and San Marcos.

[Author]

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