Deane

Gould, Sayre & Chavez, Federico C. Sayre, Gregory M. Bergman and Gregory A. Wedner for Real Parties in Interest.

OPINION

CROSBY, J.

The superior court overruled defendants' demurrer and expunged plaintiffs' lis pendens under Code of Civil Procedure section 409.2, requiring defendants to post a $50,000 bond. Defendants seek extraordinary relief, claiming (1) the demurrer should have been sustained without leave to amend because a licensed broker failed to sign the real estate commission agreement and (2) the lis pendens should be expunged under Code of Civil Procedure section 409.1.

In 1978, Selma Allen, a licensed real estate salesperson, assisted Jurjen Van Der Wal in the acquisition of 23 acres of undeveloped land in Laguna Beach. [1] Before escrow closed, Van Der Wal agreed to form a partnership, Parksite Estates, with B.C. Deane Company, Inc. for the development and subdivision of the property for resale as luxury homesites. On August 3, 1978, before a formal partnership agreement was drafted, Allen, Van Der Wal, and Ben Deane signed a one-page handwritten contract giving Allen the exclusive right to list the property for sale in exchange for her assistance in developing…

The superior court overruled defendants’ demurrer and expunged plaintiffs’ lis pendens under Code of Civil Procedure section 409.2, requiring defendants to post a $50,000 bond. Defendants seek extraordinary relief, claiming (1) the demurrer should have been sustained without leave to amend because a licensed broker failed to sign the real estate commission agreement and (2) the lis pendens should be expunged under Code of Civil Procedure section 409.1.

I

In 1978, Selma Allen, a licensed real estate salesperson, assisted Jurjen Van Der Wal in the acquisition of 23 acres of undeveloped land in Laguna Beach. 1 Before escrow closed, Van Der Wal agreed to form a partnership, Parksite Estates, with B. C. Deane Company, Inc. for the development and subdivision of the property for resale as luxury homesites. On August 3, 1978, before a formal partnership agreement was drafted, Allen, Van Der Wal, and Ben Deane signed a one-page handwritten contract giving Allen the exclusive right to list the property for sale in exchange for her assistance in developing and subdividing the property. The agreement also obligated Allen to pay Charles Fischer a finders fee and provided she would…

I concur. But with respect to the question of the lis pendens, I would reexamine the constructive trust theory of Coppinger v. Superior Court (1982) 134 Cal.App.3d 883 [ 185 Cal.Rptr. 24 ], a questionable decision in my view. Although the majority sidesteps the issue by confining Coppinger to its facts, I would go further and expressly disapprove its holding.

Petitioners’ application for a hearing by the Supreme Court was denied April 3, 1985.