Landlord/Tenant: Property Caretaker And Listing Agent, After Foreclosure, Were Not Landlords So As To Provide Fee Entitlement Under Civil Code Section 789.3(d)

Fee Entitlement Was Not Established Factually.

            In Neff v. Boschee, Case No. B302775 (2d Dist., Div. 6 Apr. 20, 2021) (unpublished), former tenants who were ousted after a bank foreclosure sought attorney’s fees against a property caretaker and a listing agent, even though nothing established they were landlords of the property even though they did obtain a modest jury verdict on certain theories.  The trial court denied attorney’s fees to prevailing parties against the fee opponents, under Civil Code section 789.3(d), because nothing established that they were landlords.  The 2/6 DCA agreed, because the defendants were merely a post-foreclosure caretaker or a real estate listing agent involved in post-foreclosure activities—neither were landlords.