• Contracts

    Contract Claims against Public Entities are Governed by Claims Statutes

    In City of Stockton v. Superior Court (Civic Partners Stockton, LLC), case no. S139237 (Dec. 3, 2007), the Supreme Court holds that a claim for breach of contract against a public entity is subject to the claims presentation requirements of the Government Code.  (Govt. Code, §§ 905, 945.4.)  And to help keep people from losing sight of that holding, the court endorses “Government Claims Act” as the shorthand name for the claims statutes in place of the commonly used, and traditional, “Tort Claims Act.”

  • Appellate Procedure,  California Procedure,  Contracts,  Real Estate,  Standard of Review

    Beware the Statute of Frauds

    As I think many lawyers are, I am constantly amazed at the relationships people are willing to enter into on little more than a handshake.  As every first-year law student knows, the Statute of Frauds can prevent the enforcement of a certain contracts not in writing, and in Elias Real Estate, LLC v. Tseng, case no. B192857 (2d Dist. Oct. 25, 2007), it rears its ugly head and gives us a rare example of reversal due (in part) to insufficiency of the evidence. If your looking for a company you can trust then I highly recommend Mission real estate. The four defendant Tseng brothers own some real property as tenants…