Hon. MICHELLE R. ROSENBLATT (Ret.) 

Representative Cases 

Real Estate - Landlord/Tenant 

• Plaintiff owner of mobile home park claimed property management company and onsite landlord neglected, caused property damage, breach its fiduciary duties, allowed a theft of rents and that once a new management firm was hired, the revenue from the property and the conditions at the property increased greatly.
  
• A pre-litigation dispute in which the parties signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) to purchase a 50% interest in several properties subject to a right of first refusal (ROFR) by the owner of the other 50% interest. The disputed language in the LOI related to a fee to the proposed buyer should the ROFR be exercised, and whether the seller was bound.
  
  
• Buyer of residential property claimed that Seller failed to disclose drainage issues, construction defects, and noise/nuisances, and sought rescission or compensation. Seller claimed lack of knowledge of the defects and that the noise and issues that Buyer said were nuisances were de minimis and not something they should have been required to disclose.
  
  
• Plaintiff alleged that Defendants wrongfully foreclosed upon her commercial property despite irregularities in the foreclosure process and wrongfully ignored mortgage payments for the sole purpose of being able to take the property for themselves and sell it at a great profit. Plaintiff alleged fraud and Business & Professions Code section 17200 claims.
  
  
• Plaintiff apartment owner sued Defendant developer of adjoining hillside property alleging breach of a temporary easement agreement. Defendant alleged the work was timely completed and the TEA was not breached. Additionally, survey showed Plaintiff’s property was built on a small part of Defendant’s land and the parties resolved title as part of their settlement.
  
  
• Settled dispute in which the tenants sued the landlords for a violation of the LA Rent Stabilization Ordinance, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and unlawful business practice for eviction of tenants under the Ellis Act, but then renting the units as short-term vacation rentals using an online platform.
  
  
• Numerous tenants on multiple properties owned by landlord alleged habitability claims, including code violations.
  
  
• Pre-litigation dispute over breach of lease and misrepresentation relating to contracts involving the development of land for growing cannabis in California.
  
  
• Dispute between commercial tenant and landlord over an option to purchase, whether the landlord was able to sell the property to a third party, and which party was responsible for contamination remediation.
  
  
• Easement dispute in which neighbor claimed nuisance.
  
  
• Commercial tenant in a textile dye and finishing company claimed a right of first refusal to purchase a property. He filed an action for breach of contract and specific performance to compel the owner to sell him the property because, in reliance on the promised right of first refusal, he invested thousands of dollars to improve the property. The owner claimed tenant was in default on its rent, affecting the right of first refusal, and additionally that tenant caused hazardous substances on the property so that if the owner allowed tenant to purchase the property it was not owner’s responsibility to remediate the hazardous substances.
  
  
• Landlord sued for breach of commercial lease involving buildout for a gym. Tenant alleged misrepresentation by the landlord as to gym customer parking as required by the city.
  
  
• Lessee in short term rental of an estate home asserted the owner was liable for breach of lease, negligence and bodily harm from mold and water intrusion.
  
  
• Numerous cases involving multiple tenants in multi-unit apartment buildings suing current and former landlords for habitability, negligence and nuisance. Allegations included housing violations, substandard conditions, water leaks, mold, cockroaches, vermin, lack of hot water, broken screens and windows and other substandard conditions.
  
  
• Homeowner claimed construction defect and disgorgement for contracting without a license where homeowner claims that a flooring contractor acted as a general contractor and did not complete the work in a timely manner. Flooring contractor cross-complained for defamation, breach of contract, indemnity and contribution by sub-contractors, and asserted that it acted as a construction manager only as well as a licensed flooring contractor, not as a general contractor.
  
  
• Construction defect, including allegations of breach of contract, misrepresentation and construction defect by the homeowner, breach of contract by the general contractor against homeowner and for indemnification by the subcontractors.
  
  
• Sellers attempted to cancel purchase-sale agreement. Buyers claimed fraud and breach of contract.
  
  
• Pre-litigation dispute in which claimant maintained that landlord failed to fix water leaks maintain the premises, resulting in mold. Claimant alleged that as a result, she and her children developed respiratory ailments.
  
  
• Alter-ego liability was alleged against the landlord by Plaintiff tenants who obtained a judgment against the management company for breach of habitability.
  
  
• Several disputes over the enforcement of purchase-sale agreements or the return of deposits
  
  
• Dispute between the county assessor and a company that purchased hotel property regarding the property tax assessment. The primary disagreement was over the valuation approach taken by the purchaser versus the valuation method used and adopted by the assessor.
  
  
• Action for fraud, concealment, breach of fiduciary duty and negligent
  misrepresentation against the broker and seller alleging failure to disclose in the Transfer Disclosure Statement CC&Rs that would prevent Plaintiff from construction of the property in the way he planned, and alleging he made his intentions known to the real estate broker during the sale proceedings but that the broker and seller did not properly disclose the CC&Rs.
  
  
• Commercial unlawful detainer brought by a retail mall lessor.
  
  
• Commercial unlawful detainer in which tenant business defended asserting breach of lease for failure of the landlord to have construction of the building complete by the start date of the lease, and retaliatory eviction.
  
  
• Breach of lease, intentional interference with prospective advantage, intentional interference with contractual relations, constructive eviction, breach of covenant of good faith and fair dealing. The property in dispute was a multi-acre large parcel commercial horse facility used for boarding, lessons and summer camp. Lessee alleged a failure to disclose a serious horse disease on the property, issues regarding water to the property, zoning and building permits.
  
  
• Action for declaratory relief, damages for negligence and injunctive relief. The prior owner of a multi-family dwelling obtained an easement for ingress and egress from the prior owner of the adjoining property, now owned by plaintiff. Plaintiff alleges that rather than using the property as zoned by the City, the defendants used the property as a motel or boarding house for short stay rentals. The renters allegedly blocked the easement with their vehicles, parked on the easement, made loud noise,  engaged in drinking and in physical altercations on the easement. Plaintiffs, among other things, sought to extinguish the easement.
  
  
• Dispute with the city over the just compensation for a sewer backup on plaintiff’s property and whether the city was liable for an alleged loss in the fair market value of the house.
  
  
• Dispute for quiet title against a claim of adverse possession. 
  
• Action followed the foreclosure of a partially completed condominium construction project after default on a construction loan. One dispute was over the right to the settlement proceeds as between the purchaser of the condominium project at a nonjudicial foreclosure and the original investors following the settlement of a lenderliability lawsuit between the bank that issued the real estate loan and the condominium developer whose condominium project went into foreclosure allegedly due to misdeeds by the bank. Another dispute was whether there was an oral agreement between the condominium developer and the purchaser of the project not to interfere with the foreclosure or challenge title to the property.
  

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Case Manager: Christie Woo
Email: christieteam@adrservices.com