When To File a California Partition Lawsuit or a Breach of Contract Suit
May 19 2021 0

When To File a California Partition Lawsuit or a Breach of Contract Suit

When it comes to real estate litigation, oftentimes when a partnership dissolves into the need for a lawsuit, figuring out the relationship between parties is essential. These situations can be very messy and tangled. Working through them means taking one step at a time. This is because there are several ways that different parties can be “partners” and depending on how various parties are connected will determine how they can pursue legal action with respect to how to handle a shared property.

What Are the Different types of Parenterships in California?

When To File a California Partition Lawsuit or a Breach of Contract SuitWhen you are having a dispute with another party you share a property with, the definition of what your relationship is will determine what type of real estate lawsuit in California that you would be able to file. There is a significant difference between what accounts for a partnership versus what is co-ownership. Who is named on a property’s title will be instrumental in distinguishing the difference.

A true co-ownership property will have all of the individual’s personal names on the title. This is often the case when there is a property that is passed down to family members. For example, when parents pass on, they may leave their home to their surviving children. Each of these children will be named on the title and be considered tenants-in-common. If there is a dispute between the children, for whatever reason, and one wants to sell their share, in this case, it would be ⅓, they could. Through a California partition lawsuit, the party that would like to take the money for their share of the property would be entitled to file a claim to do so.

In contrast, when there is a partnership, a property would be held under that entity’s name and not the individual’s personal names who make up the partnership. The name of the partnership, or the limited liability company, would be on the title not the name of the people. So the partnership or the LLC would be the property’s owners, not the individuals. When a partner has a dispute with another partner, then a California breach of contract lawsuit would apply. Other legal filings could include:

  • Breach of fiduciary duty suit.
  • Accounting dissolution.
  • Partnership dissolution.

Depending on who is listed on the title and how the parties are legally connected will dictate how to move forward with legal action. True co-owners that have their personal names on a title can move forward with a partition lawsuit. When an entity like an LLC is used on a title, then other suits would be used. While partition suits tend to be more clear-cut and less complex, breach of contract lawsuits, fiduciary suits, or other dissolutions can be more challenging but a judge will adhere to the partnership agreement to guide the final resolution.

Speak with a California Business Attorney Today

Partnership disputes in Los Angeles are just one of the many reasons why it is so important to have a comprehensive agreement in writing before embarking on an alliance with others. If you need help navigating your partnership dispute in California or if you want legal support for drafting an agreement, please call the Los Angeles business attorneys at Leiva Law Firm to schedule your free consultation at (818) 519-4465.

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