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Joseph Diliberti, a local Vietnam veteran and artist, has been battling San Diego tax authorities for the past seven years, but the conflict may come to an end on Friday. The LA Times ran this story today about the planned March 18th auction of Diliberti’s San Diego County home.

Here on the Griswold Law Blog, we use the terms “Health & Safety Code Receiver” and “Real Property Receiver” quite a bit in our articles about the different types of situations where a court-appointed receiver can provide a remedy for problematic structures (i.e. abandoned properties or slumlord-owned properties). However, receivers can be appointed by the Court to rehab non-residential properties as well. Two example scenarios are explained below:

Continuing in our series about money judgment collection, here’s another option for how judgment creditors can collect from debtors. We’ve already discussed wage garnishments, bank levies and even what to do if you don’t have any information on the debtor’s assets. Another common method of collection involves placing a lien on the judgment debtor’s real property.

Abandoned properties hardly stay “abandoned” for long. If a property is uninhabited, it’s susceptible to takeover. Vandals, taggers, squatters and transients can move in and out, staying for the night—or for longer. A once-empty house can transform into a house covered in graffiti and trash in a matter of weeks. Vermin could move in as well and spread throughout the neighborhood. Abandoned properties make neighborhoods less safe and drag down property values for the other houses on the block.

In the last article on money judgment collection, I provided some information on how a judgment creditor could garnish the wages of the judgment debtor. If the judgment creditor has some knowledge about the debtor’s assets, he or she can also potentially levy on a bank account.

The Department of Consumer Affairs defines a habitable rental unit as a rental unit that substantially complies with building and safety code standards that materially affect tenants' health and safety. The landlord is required to make any and all repairs in order to make the unit habitable because all leases and rental agreements contain an implied warranty of habitability.

In the last post on this topic, I suggested that the judgment creditor first try asking the judgment debtor to pay the amount to satisfy the judgment. If getting the debtor to satisfy the judgment willingly is out of the question, it is time for the creditor to assess the debtor’s assets. In the best scenario, the creditor has some knowledge of the debtor’s assets and finances, even if only in a very general sense. For example, if the creditor knows the debtor is currently employed, then they can try to garnish the debtor’s wages.

The Online Etymology Dictionary reports that the word “slumlord” came into popular use in 1953, but it derived as a portmanteau of “slum landlord,” which had been used as early as 1893. Needless to say, slumlords’ neglect is not a new problem.