Marriage of Chiu CA1/1

I. Factual Background and Pretrial Proceedings

The parties have been married twice. They were first married in May 1969 in China. Appellant emigrated to the United States in 1974 and has been employed by the Port of Oakland as a janitor since 1977.1 Respondent came to the United States to join him in 1979. Over time, appellant purchased several inexpensive properties with the goal of fixing them up in order to rent or sell them. The parties separated for the first time in March 1987. After the separation, appellant commenced a dissolution proceeding in Alameda County. A default judgment was filed in December 1988. The judgment addressed only one of the properties owned by the parties. Appellant married and divorced another woman between 1989 and 1991. The parties were again married in December 1992. They separated for the final time in June 1994. By then, they owned four properties in Oakland. On April 3, 2003, respondent filed a petition for dissolution of the second marriage. On May 9, 2005, respondent filed a complaint for joinder as to appellant‟s sister and brother-in-law. The complaint alleges that appellant, along with his sister and her husband, had bought a property…