Westbrook

Petitioner Robert Machris Westbrook (Westbrook), plaintiff below, petitions this court to compel the Superior Court of Riverside County to vacate its order expunging a lis pendens. Westbrook filed the lis pendens against a parcel of property comprising approximately 40 acres in Palm Springs, California, to which real party Peter F. Fairchild (Fairchild), the defendant below, has a ground lease.

Westbrook alleges he is entitled to a constructive trust over the property by virtue of a constructive fraud, consisting of the failure of Fairchild to make a will leaving all of his real and personal property to Westbrook.

The trial court granted Fairchild’s motion to expunge the lis pendens. The court ruled that Westbrook failed to demonstrate that the prosecution of the action and the filing of the lis pendens were in good faith and for a proper purpose. Westbrook contends the court failed to apply the applicable criteria for determining whether the maintenance of the action and the filing of the lis pendens were in good faith and for a proper purpose pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 409.1.

Facts

1. Relationship of the Parties

Westbrook is the grandson of Bessie…