Calm Creek v. Juhan CA4/1

I.

INTRODUCTION

Appellants Ernestine Juhan and Dale Dawalt appeal from a final judgment issued in Respondent Calm Creek’s postforeclosure unlawful detainer action involving a residence that Juhan formerly owned in San Marcos, California. Dawalt is Juhan’s fiancé, who entered the unlawful detainer action by filing a prejudgment claim of right to possession. Appellants raise three issues on appeal, none of which is persuasive. They contend that the trial court erred by excluding, on res judicata and relevance grounds, Appellants’ evidence challenging title; excluding Appellants’ evidence of a lis pendens on the property; and awarding a monetary judgment against Dawalt, which Appellants claim is inconsistent with the court’s finding that Dawalt was not a tenant. Because the elements of issue preclusion were met, we conclude that the trial court did not err by excluding Appellants’ evidence pertaining to purported problems in the chain of title. Further, because the lis pendens related to a previously dismissed lawsuit and not to the present action, the trial court did not err by excluding it on relevance grounds. Finally, because Dawalt filed a claim of right to possession, which…