Summers v. Superior Court (Tan)
Facts: Three property owners co-own a property. The owners disagree on the percentage of each owner’s interests. The first owner is granted a partition action to divide the property according to their interests and sell it, but the owners’ interests are not determined.
Claim: The first owner seeks to sell the property and hold the sale money in escrow until the disputed ownership interests are resolved, claiming the property’s ownership interests were already determined since the three owners agree they jointly own the property.
Counterclaim: The second and third owners claim selling it first is untimely since each owner’s interests need to be determined before the property can be sold when an owner is entitled to a partition.
Holding: A California court of appeals holds the first owner may not sell the property since each owner’s interests in the property need to be determined before it is sold when an owner is entitled to a partition. [Summers v. Superior Court (Tan) (June 1, 2018)_CA5th_]
