Today is May 17, 2012

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Wagenseller Law Firm

Summer 2006 Update

As summer comes to a close, we want to thank our clients and friends who we have been working with to solve their problems and grow their businesses. Below is an update on legal developments and our cases. We are a full- service real estate and business law firm focused on getting our clients the results they seek. We hope you enjoy this update. Feel free to call if there is anything we can help you with.

In the News

• Legal Update
• What We Are Working On…
• Summer Reading Suggestion

Legal Update

In the case of City of Santa Monica v. Gonzalez (2006 SOS 3349; publication ordered June 27, 2006), the California Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s ruling appointing a receiver of an apartment building and approving the receiver’s recommendation to demolish the structure despite the property owner’s desire to rehabilitate. Noting that Health and Safety Code section 17980.7© provides for the receiver to “take full and complete control of” a substandard property and that Mr. Gonzalez had been on notice for 15 years of substandard conditions, the court held that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in approving the less expensive and more profitable demolition and sale of the property, even though the owner wanted the more expensive and less profitable rehabilitation of the property.

The court also denied Mr. Gonzalez’s claim that he was entitled to a continuance of the hearing based on his lack of counsel at the hearing, noting that he did not provide an ‘excusable circumstance’ for not having an attorney. The moral of the story, of course, is to make sure you have a good attorney who can help you navigate the legal system.

What We Are Working On…

We have filed suit against Ameriquest Mortgage Company and its sister company, Town & Country Credit Corporation, on behalf of a client owed over $240,000 in fees. We have been retained to help a client who fell victim to identity theft and was denied a construction loan on a development project based on improper credit reports showing discharged credit card debts. We continue to work on behalf of a warehouse tenant whose attempt to purchase the warehouse pursuant to an Option to Purchase was rebuffed by the seller. We recently completed several depositions of the defendant’s principals. We are pleased to note that our client, Weiland Brewery Restaurant, has opened Weiland Brewery Underground at the City National Plaza in downtown Los Angeles. We were pleased to help Weiland Brewery negotiate its lease for the space.

Summer Reading Suggestion

Over Labor Day try lounging on the beach with James Randel’s Confessions of a Real Estate Entrepreneur: What It Takes to Win in High-Stakes Commercial Real Estate. While the title may overstate the ‘high stakes’ discussed in the book, it is an enjoyable read full of stories about the author’s investment experiences. The basic areas of real estate purchasing are covered in a non-technical way and the stories prevent the book from being boring. It is neither a textbook nor a ‘Make a Million With No Skills or Money’ book. The book is good for new investors but is still interesting for more sophisticated real estate ‘entrepreneurs’.