SCHUMAN v. IGNATIN
This case involves a dispute among property owners in a general plan development of 68 homes in Los Angeles. The owners of one of the properties, Allan Ignatin and Janet Sobell (collectively, Ignatin),[1] want to build a house that other property owners believe would violate recorded restrictions (CC&Rs) governing the development. The owners of a neighboring property, Philip Schuman and Margaret McNulty (collectively, Schuman), filed a lawsuit against Ignatin, seeking to block the proposed construction. Ignatin cross-complained against Schuman and several other property owners, including Eric F. Edmunds, Jr. and Debora Edmunds (collectively, Edmunds), seeking a determination that the proposed house would not violate the CC&Rs. Edmunds, in turn, filed a cross-complaint against Ignatin, alleging that the proposed house would violate the CC&Rs, create a nuisance, and violate city codes and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
During a recess after the first day of a bench trial, Ignatin for the first time challenged the validity of a recorded amendment that purportedly extended the duration date set forth in the original CC&Rs, and asked the trial court to find that the CC&Rs expired on January 1, 1999, the original expiration date. The trial court made that finding, entered judgment in favor of Ignatin on Schuman's complaint, and dismissed Ignatin's and Edmunds's cross-complaints as moot. Schuman, Edmunds, and Ignatin all appeal: Schuman and Edmunds challenge, among other things, the trial court's finding that the CC&Rs expired, arguing that the applicable statute of limitations bars Ignatin's assertion that the amendment of the CC&Rs was invalid, and Ignatin challenges the dismissal of Ignatin's cross-complaint as moot. Court conclude that Ignatin's assertion of the invalidity of the amendment is time-barred. Accordingly, Court reverse the judgment and remand the matter for retrial, at which Ignatin may present other asserted defenses against Schuman's and Edmunds's claims and seek the relief sought in Ignatin's cross-complaint.
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