Lee v. An CA2/8

INTRODUCTION

We are called upon to decide whether fewer than all of a decedent’s heirs have standing to seek, pursuant to section 3412 of the Civil Code, cancellation of a real property deed made by the decedent prior to his death. Based on the arguments and authorities presented to us, we conclude that they do. We further conclude that substantial evidence supports the trial court’s determination that the deed at issue was procured by undue influence, thus warranting cancellation. We therefore affirm the trial court’s judgment.

BACKGROUND

I. Factual Background1

When Pok S. Pak (Pak) died in 2017,2 he was survived by four adult children. Plaintiffs are three of those children. The fourth is not a participant in these proceedings. Pak’s children all share the same mother, to whom Pak was married until her death in 1991.

Because the facts relevant to An’s appeal are narrow and undisputed, we rely primarily on the trial court’s recitation of the facts in its statement of decision. (Granowitz v. Redlands Unified School Dist. (2003) 105 Cal.App.4th 349, 352 [relying on statement of decision where facts are undisputed].) In considering whether substantial evidence…