Homestead Savings v. Superior Court

Petitioner successfully resisted a motion to summarily adjudicate issues connected with its defense of a lawsuit arising out of real estate transactions. However, the trial court’s order adjudicated against petitioner certain subissues not specifically targeted by the motion for summary adjudication. By its petition, which we have determined to have been timely filed, petitioner prays for an order vacating this summary adjudication. We conclude that the court abused its discretion in adjudicating issues not specified in the motion.

The details of the underlying transactions need not be explained in this opinion. It is sufficient to say that the parties entered into transactions under which Homestead Savings (Homestead) was to provide the funds to Dividend Development Corporation (Dividend) for development of several parcels of residential real estate. The parties dispute whether the arrangements were part of a joint venture between them or were merely loans from Homestead to Dividend. One feature of the “Fremont” agreement was Homestead’s right to “buy out” Dividend’s interest in the property if Homestead did not approve of the terms of any sale proposed by…