San Francisco Real Estate Litigation Lawyer: Case Review and Filing

A buyer facing a failed sale should check the signed contract, contingencies, deadlines, and cancellation notices. California Civil Code § 1624(a)(3) generally requires a written agreement or memorandum signed by the party against whom enforcement is sought, subject to recognized exceptions. The seller may have grounds to refuse closing if the buyer missed a condition. A buyer seeking a transfer order must also show readiness to perform. Check for contractual mediation, arbitration, or presuit notice requirements. Separate breach of contract litigation principles address material breach and recoverable loss.

Competing deeds raise title questions. An encroaching fence may support trespass. Driveway use may involve an easement rather than ownership. Compare the legal description, claimed interest, and actual use. A survey establishes measurements, not a final ruling on ownership.

San Francisco's Assessor-Recorder maintains recorded deeds, liens, and maps. Obtain the instruments and compare grantors, dates, legal descriptions, and easements. A parcel number can help locate records, but it does not replace the deed's legal description. A deed's recording does not establish that every transfer was valid. Surveys locate boundaries and improvements. Competing ownership claims may require older deeds or testimony.

Preserve signed agreements, escrow instructions, payment records, and original messages. Document notice delivery when a contingency or cancellation deadline is disputed. San Francisco Department of Building Inspection records may show permits and inspection history, but do not establish ownership. Transaction questions outside an existing lawsuit fall within broader California real estate lawyer services.

Damages require a legally recoverable loss caused by breach. Specific performance asks the court to enforce the transfer. California Civil Code § 3387 presumes money is inadequate compensation for breach of an agreement to transfer real property. That presumption is conclusive for a single-family dwelling the claimant intends to occupy, but only on the adequacy of damages. Contract enforceability, readiness to perform, and equitable defenses remain relevant.

A quiet title action resolves competing property claims. Under Code of Civil Procedure § 761.020, a verified complaint must identify the property, claimed title, adverse interests, and determination date. Section 762.060(b) requires naming recorded, known, or reasonably apparent adverse claimants. Section 761.010(b) requires recording a lis pendens immediately upon filing. Other cases may qualify under § 405.20 if they assert a real property claim, not merely monetary damages. Under § 405.32, a court must expunge a challenged notice if the claimant cannot establish probable validity.

Code of Civil Procedure § 527 permits qualifying requests for temporary relief against active encroachment. An injunction does not itself settle title. More detailed boundary dispute claims address trespass, easements, and encroachments.

Code of Civil Procedure § 392 generally places actions determining an interest in land in the county where it lies. San Francisco Superior Court's Civil Clerk's Office is at 400 McAllister Street, Room 103. Local Rule 2.11 generally requires electronic filing in covered civil cases, with exceptions. Department 501 handles law-and-motion matters involving property ownership, possession, acquisition, or damage, except construction defects. Non-eviction property discovery motions first go to Departments 301 or 302, then to 501 if unresolved. Department 501 requires courtesy copies.

Code of Civil Procedure § 337 generally gives four years for written contract claims, while § 339 generally gives two years for nonwritten contract claims. Section 338(b) provides three years for trespass or injury to real property, but continuing and permanent intrusions can have different accrual rules. Do not apply these periods automatically to quiet title or possession claims. California Rule of Court 3.725 requires filing and service of Form CM-110 at least 15 calendar days before the case management conference. Rule 3.724 generally also requires the parties to meet and confer at least 30 calendar days before the initial conference. Summons service has separate deadlines.