A contentious real estate dispute has culminated in a decisive court ruling, leaving the defendants' arguments unsubstantiated and their appeal dismissed. On August 21, 2024, Yvonne T. Anderson filed a complaint in the Superior Court of Los Angeles County against Allen B. Ciego and others, challenging the legitimacy of a quitclaim deed for a property in Los Angeles.
In 2018, Anderson initiated legal action against Ernest G. Ciego, Allen B. Ciego, Monica R. Morgan, Shelmadine M. Mariano, and Eddieson M. Ciego, asserting that they had coerced her mother, Ella Ciego, into signing over her property through threats and harassment while she was mentally incompetent. Anderson claimed sole ownership of the property based on an agreement with her mother that stipulated the transfer of ownership upon Ella's death in exchange for Anderson co-signing a loan to repair and improve the property.
The case saw a settlement in January 2021 where both parties agreed to share the costs to bring the property current with its lender and remove it from foreclosure proceedings before selling it and splitting the proceeds equally. However, enforcement issues arose leading Anderson to file multiple ex parte applications throughout 2022 to enforce this settlement agreement.
The court granted these applications on August 17 and October 13 of 2022 and eventually appointed a receiver on November 23, 2022, to oversee the property's sale after continued non-compliance by the defendants.
Despite appealing these orders, the defendants failed to present coherent legal arguments or support their claims with relevant citations or law references as required by appellate procedures. Their briefs were described as "haphazard" and "disjointed," lacking any substantive legal basis or demonstration of prejudice resulting from alleged errors.
The appellants accused Anderson’s counsel of dishonesty and claimed judicial bias without providing substantial evidence or cogent argumentation. They also made unsubstantiated allegations about conspiracies involving forged agreements and illegal sales.
Ultimately, due to their failure to meet basic appellate requirements such as clearly identifying appealable orders or summarizing significant facts from the record accurately, their appeal was dismissed. The court affirmed all prior orders dated August 17, October 13, and November 23 of 2022.
Judge Rupert A. Byrdsong presided over this case in the Superior Court of Los Angeles County under Case No. 18STCV04291. Attorneys Jason M. Stone and Scott J. Kalter from Stone & Sallus represented Yvonne T. Anderson successfully throughout these proceedings.