In January, 2020, Peterson, Martin & Reynolds LLP obtained a settlement for a commercial real estate client for $2,103,745. PMR’s client had leased a 31,320 square foot biotech facility in Foster City, CA for 10 years to a leading international biotech company. When the biotech company moved out, it failed to properly restore the premises, […]
PMR Webinar – DRE Complaints, Investigations & Outcomes: What Brokers Need to Know
/by Peterson, Martin & Reynolds LLPPeterson Martin & Reynolds LLP’s 22nd Annual Managing Brokers Program! This essential webinar presentation on the California Department of Real Estate’s complaint process includes topics such as how licensees get onto the DRE’s radar, the anatomy of DRE investigations, options available to the DRE when addressing violations of the laws they enforce, addressing rules violations, […]
Peterson, Martin & Reynolds LLP Successfully Defends Residential Homeowner Clients from Meritless Nondisclosure Claims
/by Peterson, Martin & Reynolds LLPIn January 2022, Peterson, Martin & Reynolds LLP obtained a judgment affirming an arbitration award on behalf of its clients finding in their favor and awarding PMR’s clients $240,953 in attorney fees and costs. The case involved home buyers’ allegations that PMR’s clients had concealed dry rot throughout the framing of an extensively renovated hillside […]
Peterson, Martin & Reynolds LLP Wins $2,159,692 Arbitration Award for Residential Homeowner Clients
/by Peterson, Martin & Reynolds LLPIn April 2022, Peterson, Martin & Reynolds LLP obtained a Final Arbitration Award for residential real estate clients in the amount of $2,159,692. In 2016, PMR’s clients had purchased a 3,139 square foot home in an upscale neighborhood in Lafayette, California. The home was built in 1947, and was sold as being on a private, […]
Peterson, Martin & Reynolds LLP Obtains $2+ Million Settlement for Commercial Landlord Client
/by Peterson, Martin & Reynolds LLPIn January, 2020, Peterson, Martin & Reynolds LLP obtained a settlement for a commercial real estate client for $2,103,745. PMR’s client had leased a 31,320 square foot biotech facility in Foster City, CA for 10 years to a leading international biotech company. When the biotech company moved out, it failed to properly restore the premises, […]
Second District Court of Appeal Holds that Easement by Necessity Need Not Be over Previously Established Route, or the Most Accessible One
/by Peterson, Martin & Reynolds LLPBy M. Henry Walker This case involves the appeal of a trial court’s judgment granting an equitable easement over rural property in Ventura County. Plaintiff Hinrichs originally owned two large parcels which he inherited from his mother. He grew up in a home located on the southern parcel but hadn’t lived there since moving to […]
Under Right to Repair Act, Builder Must Timely Respond to Homeowner’s Notice of Claim Despite Inadequate Specificity of Alleged Defects
/by Peterson, Martin & Reynolds LLPIn California, the Right to Repair Act, codified at Civil Code sections 895 et seq., was established with the goal of resolving construction defect claims in an expeditious and non-adversarial manner. The Act requires that, prior to filing a lawsuit, a homeowner must provide the builder with a notice of claim. The notice must contain […]
Broker Denied Commission Is Allowed to Proceed With Case Against Non-Signing Owners
/by Peterson, Martin & Reynolds LLPJacobs, a licensed real estate broker, signed a vacant land listing agreement granting her the exclusive right to sell a parcel of property in Marin County. The listing agreement was signed by one of the property owners, Locatelli, as trustee for the Locatelli trust. There were signature lines on the listing agreement for five additional […]
Where Broker Acts as Dual Agent, Listing Agent Owes Equivalent Fiduciary Duty to Buyer
/by Peterson, Martin & Reynolds LLPIt is settled law in California that a real estate broker representing both seller and buyer has fiduciary duties to both parties. In a recent decision, the California Supreme Court has now confirmed that, when there is such dual agency by the broker, the associate licensee acting solely as the listing agent under the broker’s […]
“Buyer/Tenant” Beware: Purchase Contract May Include Lease Agreement
/by Peterson, Martin & Reynolds LLPThe case of Taylor v. Nu Digital Marketing, Inc. involved an unusual purchase contract for residential property. The contract set forth payment of the “purchase price,” and also included a provision that Buyer would pay monthly “probationary installments” for 60 months, which would not count toward the purchase price. Only payments in excess of the […]
Interfere With Your Neighbor’s Trees, Be Prepared to Restore Them And Pay Money Damages Times Three
/by Peterson, Martin & Reynolds LLPThe Salazar family (“plaintiffs”) lived in San Francisco but owned, since 1982, a 10-acre parcel of rural property in Mendocino County that they visited frequently over the years. The property, which included many large trees and a spring, was completely undeveloped except for a small cabin, and the family enjoyed it as a respite from […]