Espinoza

We accepted this case on defendants’ petition to transfer the appeal from the appellate division of the Orange County Superior Court. Plaintiff Maria de Jesus Lagunas Espinoza (landlord) owns property rented to defendants Gudelia Calva and Jorge Soqui (tenants). The trial court granted judgment in favor of landlord in her action for unlawful detainer against tenants. The appellate division affirmed the judgment.

The thrust of tenants’ appeal is that the rented unit was uninhabitable. Tenants also complain of procedural irregularities. The record consists of an engrossed statement pursuant to California Rules of Court, rule 8.756 and exhibits referenced therein. We assume that, because the exhibits are referenced, they were admitted into evidence. Although the briefs contain various facts by references to other documents in the superior court file, such as the pleadings, we are limited by the record and matters which we may judicially notice. (In re Carpenter (1995) 9 Cal.4th 634, 646 [ 38 Cal.Rptr.2d 665 , 889 P.2d 985 ] [“[a]ppellate jurisdiction is limited to the four comers of the record on appeal. . .”].)

We can take judicial notice of the fact the pleadings were…