A real estate development deal has spiraled into a complex legal battle involving allegations of wrongful foreclosure, breach of contract, and fraud. On July 30, 2024, Rosa Cojulun filed a complaint in the Superior Court of Los Angeles County against Javier Perez.
The case revolves around a joint venture initiated in 2005 between Cojulun, her daughter Liria Melendez, Perez, and Victor Valle to develop a single-family home property in Sylmar. The project stalled during the late-2000s financial crisis and never progressed beyond initial stages. Years later, Perez attempted to foreclose on the property based on expenses he claimed to have incurred. In 2017, he purchased the property through a trustee’s sale with a credit bid reflecting his alleged costs. Cojulun and Melendez then sued for wrongful foreclosure and breach of contract, arguing that Perez had not spent the money he claimed and never intended to complete the project.
The jury awarded Melendez $400,000 in compensatory damages and an additional $1 million in punitive damages after finding Perez acted with malice or fraud. The court also voided the foreclosure sale and ordered an accounting of Perez's expenditures. However, complications arose when it was revealed that Melendez had filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2019 without listing her claims as assets. This led to questions about her standing to sue since her causes of action technically belonged to the bankruptcy estate.
Perez appealed the judgment on multiple grounds including lack of standing due to Melendez's bankruptcy filing, errors in jury instructions, excessive damage awards, and improper accounting orders by the trial court. The appellate court agreed that Melendez lacked standing but did not dismiss her cross-complaint outright. Instead, they stayed the appeal and remanded for further proceedings to allow the bankruptcy trustee either to assert or abandon Melendez’s claims.
As for Cojulun’s cause of action for accounting against Perez, it was reversed because it aimed at determining how much she owed him rather than any balance due to her. The court found no need for further accounting since evidence was already presented during trial.
Representing parties include David M. Marcus and Daniel J. Enowitz from Markus Watanabe & Enowitz for Perez; Alfred O. Anyia from Law Offices of Alfred O. Anyia for Cojulun; Christian I. Oronsaye from Ivycrest Attorneys for Melendez; with Judge Michelle Williams presiding over the Case ID: BC656279.