California’s Emergency Stay On Evictions Ends — For The Moment, Landlords Are Free To File Eviction Cases

Robert French August 13, 2020

The California Judicial Council, the policy-making body of the California state judicial system, in a 19-1 vote, decided today to terminate the emergency rules which placed a temporary stay on any eviction or foreclosure proceedings in light of the COVID-19 global pandemic. The Judicial Council originally approved the emergency rules on April 6, 2020, which prohibited eviction proceedings in California except under very limited exceptions. The emergency rules will remain in place through September 1, 2020. This means that landlords will now be free again to file eviction proceedings against tenants effective September 2, 2020. Landlords are cautioned, however, that this newly-regained freedom to undertake evictions could be short-lived. Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye, who chairs the Judicial Council, exhibited some degree of uneasiness in having the judicial branch of government issuing emergency rules that address problems that really are more appropriately handled through the legislative process. She urged the

A Home Improvement Contractor’s Peril

Robert French January 7, 2015

We were recently retained by a homeowner who had obtained an estimate for paving work on her driveway. In the weeks following the estimate, there were further discussions between the paver and the homeowner in which the paver sought to persuade the homeowner to allow him to perform the work since he had some open dates in his schedule. Although the homeowner had never expressly commissioned the paver to perform the work, the discussions were of a nature that the paver concluded that the homeowner had agreed to have him perform the work. The paver never created a written contract, however, containing the terms of any such agreement. While the homeowner was away from her home for an extended time, the paver performed the paving work on the driveway and invoiced the homeowner. Upon receiving the paver’s invoice, the homeowner contacted the paver and complained that she had never agreed

Romeo’s Legacy — Emotional Distress Damages For The Pet Owner

Robert French June 4, 2013

Many of us share our homes with four-legged creatures and, with their every act of affection and seemingly boundless joy, our pets have a way of burrowing themselves deep into our hearts. After just a short while, we can’t even imagine our lives without them in it. So, what does the law say should happen to someone who intentionally interferes with our joys of pet ownership by harming or destroying our pet? In February 2000, in a fit of road rage after having been bumped from the rear in traffic by another driver, Andrew Burnett angrily confronted the other driver and took the driver’s bichon frise dog, Leo, from her lap and hurled it into oncoming traffic on a busy road near the San Jose International Airport, where Leo died. Some nine years later (really? it had to take that long?), Burnett was convicted of felony animal cruelty and was

The Design Professional’s Most Powerful Weapon In Getting Paid

Robert French May 28, 2013

During a development project, one or more design professionals will be typically engaged by the developer early in the process. Those design professionals may assist in creating a topographical map, an exterior architectural design for the project, developing a drainage plan or a plan for the contouring of the land suitable for the project through a series of cuts and fills, or a landscaping plan. In an era when development costs have skyrocketed, while development money is scarce and investors leery, the financial risks of the development process make it imperative that the design professional be cautious about allowing the development client to incur too large of an account receivable. And it behooves the design professional to become familiar with the design professional lien. Which Design Professionals Have Lien Rights? For over twenty years, California law has defined a “design professional” as an architect, an engineer, or a land surveyor.

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California’s Emergency Stay On Evictions Ends — For The Moment, Landlords Are Free To File Eviction Cases

A Home Improvement Contractor’s Peril

Romeo’s Legacy — Emotional Distress Damages For The Pet Owner

The Design Professional’s Most Powerful Weapon In Getting Paid

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