Recent Articles

Police dogs are trained to “bite and hold.” What happens if they bite and hold the wrong person – like an innocent person sleeping on a couch? Ask Sara Lowry who now has three stitches on her lip and is lucky to have a face. BURGLARY IN PROGRESS A burglar alarm was triggered in a [...]

Congress adopted the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990 guaranteeing access for everyone to facilities open to the public, i.e. businesses and public buildings. We’ve written positively about the Act over the years. Interestingly, if someone claims a violation of federal ADA law, the remedy is to sue to force compliance, e.g. make the entrance [...]

Tinder is a free online dating service. It presents users with photos of potential dates. How superficial is that? The user can swipe right to express approval or swipe left to express disapproval. Good looking or not – I guess. I’d have to use my younger brother’s photo. In 2015, Tinder released a premium service [...]

Easements Generally An easement allows one party to use the land of another party for a particular purpose.  Easements can be created in California in a variety of ways: by written agreement, by implication, by necessity, by equity, and, also, by prescription -- adverse, notorious, open, and continuous use without the permission of the landowner [...]

Over the past few years I’ve counseled hundreds of “upside down” homeowners facing foreclosure. Not so much recently, but a few years ago, the usual situation involved a big-bank talking the talk but not walking the talk of a short sale or loan modification, and in the end foreclosing ‑‑ taking the property ‑‑ even with a borrower/homeowner willing [...]

Most of you have heard of a prescriptive easement. This interesting legal theory often comes into play when one property owner inadvertently builds over the property line of a neighbor or when a driveway or path has been used over someone else’s property. Can the encroachment or use of the path or driveway ever become [...]

It’s fair to say that most of us like a good deal. There’s nothing wrong with that. One potentially good deal you should be very careful about: buying a home in foreclosure. Whether trying to help a friend in foreclosure or looking to buy a home in foreclosure on the cheap, beware. HOME IN FORECLOSURE [...]

As you faithful readers, if any, recall, we annually present a handful of our favorite Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest winners, and here is a sampling. The Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest is named after novelist Edward George Earl Bulwer-Lytton who wrote many famous novels including “Paul Gifford” which started with the immortal words, “It was a dark and [...]

In November of 2014, the City of Malibu enacted Measure R, a voter-approved initiative designed to limit large developments and chain establishments. The measure was funded in large part by Rob Reiner, director and pioneer of such venerable feature films as This Is Spinal Tap, The Princess Bride, A Few Good Men and The Bucket [...]