In Gray v. Superior Court, the California Court of Appeal held that a partition trial begins once the parties present evidence to a referee, so a plaintiff who lost at the referee hearing could not dismiss the case and start over.
In Caiozzo v. 2672 to 2674 North Beachwood Drive, LLC, the California Court of Appeal affirmed a trust’s right to partition a co-owned Los Angeles duplex and rejected the LLC’s reliance on a “fairness” defense.
In De Uprey v. De Uprey, the California Supreme Court affirmed the sale of a co-owned San Francisco lot despite five demurrers, holding that a partition complaint need not say how the property should be divided and that ownership disputes are decided inside the partition.
Butte Creek Island Ranch v. Crim explains the evidence supporting partition by sale: an inability to divide the property fairly or a material loss in value from division.
Sting v. Beckham upheld a partition by sale where a single water well supplied much of the property’s value, making physical division unfair to the owner who would receive land without it.
Agricultural land brings its own challenges in a partition action. Here is what co-owners of California farmland should know.
A partition in kind physically divides the property so each co-owner receives a portion of the land. Here are the rules that decide when it is allowed.
California law provides three types of partition: partition by sale, partition in kind, and partition by appraisal. By far the most common is partition by sale.
Code of Civil Procedure section 872.830 allows a rare type of partition where part of the property is sold and the rest is divided in kind.
Code of Civil Procedure section 872.810 requires the property to be divided according to the parties’ interests as set in the interlocutory judgment.
Code of Civil Procedure section 872.820 allows the court to order a partition by sale when a sale would be more equitable than dividing the property.
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Co-owners often disagree about whether to sell the property or divide it. Here is how California courts decide between partition by sale and partition in kind.
Representing co-owners statewide. Find your nearest Talkov Law office.
Practical guides from attorneys who focus exclusively on California partition actions.
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