Judge: Elaine W. Mandel, Case: SS022245, Date: 2023-03-09 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: SS022245    Hearing Date: March 9, 2023    Dept: P

Tentative Ruling

Canico Capital Group, LLC v. Olympic 2000 Investments Group, Case No. SS022245

Hearing Date March 9, 2023

Canico Capital Group, LLC’s OSC re: Application for Sale of Dwelling

Canico Capital Group holds multiple judgments against defendant Avraham Hassid, totaling $3,762,510.61. Alleging Hassid made no payments, Canico moves for a sale of Hassid’s dwelling to satisfy the judgment. Hassid argues the sale cannot proceed because there are senior liens attached to his dwelling which prevent Canico’s judgment being satisfied by a sale.

A judgment creditor applying for sale of a dwelling must comply with various requirements of Cal. Code of Civ. Proc. §704.760. The amount of the homestead exemption is capped by Cal. Code of Civ. Proc. §704.730. When an application is made, the court shall determine the amount of the homestead exemption and will order a sale of dwelling subject to the exemption unless the court determines the sale of the dwelling would not be likely to produce a bid sufficient to satisfy any part of the amount due on the judgment. Cal. Code of Civ. Proc. §704.780.

Canico argues Hassid’s property is appraised at $5.2 million, so a sale would satisfy the homestead exemption of $100,000, outstanding property taxes and senior deeds of trust of $1,379,394.25 and Canico’s judgment liens for $3,762,510.61.

Canico admits the property is encumbered by a senior $5.5 million deed of trust recorded in favor of Nasser Saghian on September 11, 2012. Motion exhibit P. If the property is sold subject to this lien, by Canico’s own calculation, there will be no funds to satisfy the outstanding judgments once the Saghian deed of trust is paid off. Canico argues Saghian’s lien is a sham. Canico argues Saghian did not loan Hassid any money, and his lien was only recorded to block a sale of the property, preventing Canico from collecting on its judgment. Canico argues the Saghian lien should be treated as $0, allowing all other liens to be satisfied upon sale of the dwelling.

The court takes judicial notice of case no. 21STCV45128, Canico Capital v. Hassid, et al., pending in department 50 in Stanley Mosk Courthouse and scheduled for jury trial on May 17, 2023. In that action, Canico seeks a judicial declaration as to the validity of the Saghian lien. See complaint in 21STCV45128 ¶¶14, 17, 38.

There are overlapping issues in these actions, as both question the validity of the Saghian lien. The Mosk action was filed December 10, 2021, a year before Canico filed its application for sale of dwelling and raised the issue of the validity of Saghian’s lien in this court. If the court determined the validity of the Saghian lien, it would risk issuing a ruling in conflicts with the outcome of the Mosk action. Since both courts are asked to resolve an identical issue, this court defers to the earlier-filed action. The motion is continued to a date following the outcome of 21STCV45128. The court declines to rule on the evidentiary objections in light of the court’s order.