Case Results

Just below, I’ve briefly detailed a handful of successful case results from the past – for various real estate and  business litigation issues.

Client owned a nightclub that for 16 years was reliant upon the neighboring property for parking for the Client’s business. Client’s business was heavily reliant upon the parking, and without it revenues would have drastically declined. The owner of the neighboring property sold the property, and the new owner objected to the Client’s use of parking on the neighbor’s land. The Client hired Mr. Levy to file a legal action to obtain a court order confirming a prescriptive easement, a legal theory which is extremely difficult to prove.

Result: Robert filed and aggressively prosecuted the prescriptive easement lawsuit and settled the case, obtaining the client a long-term parking license agreement, thereby accomplishing all of the client’s goals

Client discovered after obtaining a survey of their property, that their neighbor was using a portion of the rear of the Client’s property.

Result: Mr. Levy successfully negotiated a revocable easement agreement for Client and neighbor.

Clients were defrauded out of $80,000 from their real estate agent. Mr. Levy, by aggressively litigating the Clients’ claims, obtained a judgment against the real estate agent, obtained a settlement from the real estate agent’s broker, and subsequently recovered the balance owed the Clients, including interest, from the California Department of Real Estate (DRE) Recovery Account Fund, a fund available to consumers who are defrauded by real estate licensees.

Client lent his life savings to a friend and was given a second mortgage against the friend’s home. The friend disappeared and did not repay the debt. Client discovered that the friend had over-encumbered the property, and that the loan he had made to his friend was unsecured. Mr. Levy successfully prevented the first mortgage from proceeding with the foreclosure sale, documented and coordinated a foreclosure of the client’s second mortgage on the friend’s property, resulting in the client obtaining title to the property. Mr. Levy then was successful in negotiating a significant principal reduction on the first mortgage which allowed the client sufficient equity to borrow money against the property to make improvements to the property, which now is rented out with positive cash flow.

Result: Rather than losing his life savings, the client is now the owner of an investment property which will produce a positive cash flow for many years to come, and eventually the potential of making a profit through reductions in the amounts owed on the first mortgage and appreciation.

Client’s former long-term girlfriend claimed that she was entitled to 50% of the property the client acquired during the time that the two lived together under the Marvin Doctrine.

Result: Mr. Levy successfully negotiated a cash settlement for an amount that was less than what the attorney fees would have been in proceeding to trial.

Client purchased a vacant commercial property. Sometime after purchasing the property, client discovered that an adjoining property owner had fenced in a significant portion of the client’s property. After the client pulled down the fence, the adjoining neighbor filed a lawsuit and a Motion for a Court Order to re-erect the fence. The adjoining landowner claimed that the fence was there for as many as 40 or more years and therefore the fenced-in area belonged to the adjoining landowner under the concept of easement by prescription. Mr. Levy successfully opposed the Motion filed by the adjoining landowner, and negotiated a full settlement of the case.

Result: The Court confirmed that the neighbor had no easement of any type and that the entire disputed area belonged to the client.

Client had entered a non-traditional real estate sales contract, where the client was selling a residence to a buyer who could not obtain financing to consummate the transaction. Therefore, the parties agreed that the client would maintain title to the property, and that the buyer would have a pre-determined amount of time to purchase the property through installment payments. Buyer proceeded in making a series of installment payments which accumulatively constituted a significant sum of money. The dispute was whether or not the buyer had defaulted on the final group of payments, or whether or not the client had refused to accept those payments and refused to deliver title. The buyer filed a lawsuit to compel the client to deliver title of the property to the buyer. Mr. Levy negotiated a settlement which gave the buyer a fair amount of time to make the remaining installment payments, plus a significant extension fee, which if not paid, the buyer would be divested of any interest in the property as well as all the payments already made. The buyer defaulted under the Settlement Agreement, and Mr. Levy filed a Motion to enforce the Settlement Agreement.

Result: Prior to the Court ruling on that Motion, Mr. Levy was successful in negotiating a further settlement payment to the client, including another significant extension fee and an additional significant sum in consideration for the forfeiture that would have otherwise resulted if the Court had ruled in the client’s favor on the Motion.

Clients had lost their home in foreclosure and the lender had commenced a Court action for unlawful detainer to recover possession of the property from the client. Mr. Levy was successful in negotiating immediate dismissal of the unlawful detainer action and negotiating with the lender to rescind the foreclosure sale.

Result: The clients were able to keep their home and to negotiate an equitable loan modification with the lender, even though the lender had already previously foreclosed on the property.

Client sold his business utlizing a written business sale agreement containing a covenant not to compete. Years after the sale, the buyer sued the Client contending that the Client breached the covenant not to compete in the Agreement.

Result: Mr. Levy successfully represented the Client in defeating the buyer’s claims and recovered an award for the Client’s attorney’s fees and costs.

Former employee/member of management team of Client, who had a written employment contract with Client that had expired and was not renewed by Client, sued Client to recover monies that he had not earned and were not authorized by the written agreement.

Result: Mr. Levy defended the action for Client and obtained a non-monetary settlement for Client, which allowed the Client to economically dispose of the action.

Client entered a verbal partnership agreement with another individual to purchase a piece of commercial property, which would later be developed or sold. Client provided over $200,000 to the partner towards that property. The partner obtained title to the property in his name alone. The partner later denied the agreement with the client, claiming that at best the client had made a loan to the partner.

Result: Through filing and litigating a partnership dissolution lawsuit, Mr. Levy obtained a very favorable settlement for the client, who received the equivalent of at least 50 % of the value of the property at the time.

Client claimed that he was a shareholder in a corporation, even though there was no written documentary evidence of the client’s interest in the corporation.

Result: Through aggressive litigation, Mr. Levy was successful in negotiating a significant cash settlement for the client.

In California, judgments may be renewed every ten years.  The Court renewed a significant judgment against a Client, but the renewal occurred past the ten year deadline.

Result: Mr. Levy successfully prosecuted a Motion with the Court to vacate the Renewal of the Judgment, thereby terminating a $2,000,000 plus judgment against the Client, which freed up over $2,000,000 of equity in the Client’s property.