The Court of Appeal upheld a Coastal Commission cease-and-desist order requiring demolition of a seawall and payment of a $1 million penalty by homeowners who performed major reconstruction on their coastal home without notifying the Coastal Commission. 11 Lagunita, LLC v. California Coastal Commission, No. G058436 (4th Dist., Dec. 18, 2020).

In 2015, the

A court of appeal held that a plaintiff did not have public interest standing to sue Coastal Commissioners for violating disclosure obligations concerning ex parte communications because the lawsuit was not brought as a mandamus action. Spotlight on Coastal Corruption v. Kinsey, No. D074673 (4th Dist., Nov. 24, 2020).

The California Coastal Act allows

The court of appeal held that a vesting tentative map covering property within the Coastal Zone gave the developer the vested right to proceed with the project notwithstanding subsequent changes in local laws. While the project’s location in the Coastal Zone rendered it subject to Coastal Commission jurisdiction, this did not impair the enforceability of

The City of San Diego was not required to obtain a coastal development permit for a transitional housing project because the Coastal Commission had certified the City’s local coastal program, whose provisions therefore applied in lieu of the Commission’s regulations. Citizens for South Bay Coastal Access v. City of San Diego, 45 Cal. App.

The court of appeal rejected a claim that a Coastal Development Permit should be invalidated because it was based on intentional misrepresentations, finding that even if accurate and complete information had been submitted, this would not have caused the Coastal Commission to deny the application or require additional or different conditions. Hubbard v. California Coastal

A California Court of Appeal upheld denial of a petition by vintners challenging the prohibition on new vineyards within the Santa Monica Mountains Coastal Zone in deference to the California Coastal Commission’s finding that viticulture adversely impacts sensitive habitats, water quality, water supply, and scenic resources. Mountainlands Conservancy, LLC v. California Coastal Commission, No.

Underlining the broad and expansive definition of “development” under the California Coastal Act, the Second Appellate District ruled that a coastal homeowners’ association’s ban on short-term rentals is considered “development” subject to the requirements of the Coastal Act. Greenfield v. Mandalay Shores Community Association, 21 Cal. App. 5th (2018)

The Mandalay Shores Community Association

An annoying question for lenders is whether a lender can enforce two loans to the same borrower and secured by the same property.   The nagging issue is usually raised when a lender makes (1) a first loan and an additional advance to the borrower secured by the same property, (2) a first secured loan followed by a secured credit line, or (3) a first secured loan and a new secured second loan to finance other properties.

In California, there can only be “one form of action,” either a judicial foreclosure or a non-judicial foreclosure.  In a judicial foreclosure, if the real property collateral is sold for less than the amount owed under the secured debt, the lender may sue for a deficiency judgment – the difference between the amount owed and the fair market value of the property.  (Cal. Civ. Pro. Code § 726.); in a judicial foreclosure, the borrower has a right of redemption.  In a non-judicial foreclosure,  no deficiency judgment is allowed under a power of sale in a deed of trust.  (Cal. Civ. Pro. Code § 580(d).); in a non-judicial foreclosure, the borrower has no right of redemption. When there is a senior deed of trust and a junior deed of trust and the senior lender sells the property by a non-judicial foreclosure and the real property collateral is sold for less than the amount owed under the total secured debt, the junior lender becomes a “sold-out junior,” and the junior lender may enforce its promissory note against the borrower in a judicial proceeding,  (Roseleaf Corp. v. Chierighino (1963) 59 Cal.2nd 35, 43-44.)
Continue Reading Double Trouble – Is Black Sky Capital Blue Skies for Lenders?

As the behemoth redevelopment dissolution bill, ABx1-26, lurched toward final passage last June, legislator after legislator reassured local governments that the bill’s rough edges would be planed in no time with clean-up legislation.

Almost a year later, municipalities are still waiting.

  • The leading bill, AB 1585 (Perez) – which would preserve affordable housing funds and