A California partition action happens when one co-owner of real property wants to sell but other co-owners do not want to sell their ownership rights. Partition means division. The opposing co-owners have the absolute right by law to divide the property and sell their portion with the legal remedy of “Partition”.
Under California law, the elements required to prove a claim of conversion are: (1) the plaintiff's ownership or right to possession of the property; (2) the defendant's conversion by a wrongful act or in a manner that is inconsistent with the plaintiff's property rights; and (3) resulting damages.
It represents the legal grounds on which a plaintiff can bring a lawsuit against a defendant. A cause of action must include a legally recognized harm or injury caused by the defendant's actions or failure to act, as well as the necessary elements to establish liability, such as duty, breach, causation, and damages.
How Long Does a Partition Action Take? While most lawsuits in California are supposed to take two years or more, there are a number of steps that an experienced partition lawyer can take to ensure that a partition action takes in less time.
Here is an overview on how a partition action will play out in court. The party who wishes to initiate the action (the “Plaintiff”) must file a verified complaint for partition. The court will first determine the ownership interests of each of the co-owners.
The California Law Civil Procedure Code section 872.210 states anyone who wants to dissolve ownership that is jointly owned with another person has a legal right to sell his/her interest if desired. Eligibility for Partitions are: Inheritance that is usually family members who inherit real and personal property.
When filing a lawsuit in California, the original complaint may be either verified or unverified. If it is verified, the plaintiff makes assertions under the pains and penalties of perjury. A verified complaint also forces the defendant to respond to the lawsuit with a verified answer.
A partition action is filed in the Court by submitting a "complaint" that complies with all of the requirements of the Code of Civil Procedure. In California, almost all of the partition actions are filed by attorneys on behalf of parties because there are a number of technical legal requirements for filing a lawsuit.
You may respond to the complaint with a general denial or a specific denial. A specific denial responds to each allegation in the complaint individually. A general denial contains a blanket statement that all allegations in the complaint are denied.