REAL PROPERTY
In all of the law, there may be no subject more inherently complex than the law of real property. The traps for the unwary, and the snares and pitfalls, are the result of nearly a thousand years of the development of Anglo-Saxon law - protecting and preserving the rights in land ownership of those who had it from those who didn’t. The creation of a new State (California) in a new country (the United States) did little to make the situation any easier. At the time that California was ceded to the United States in 184__, by the treaty of Guadalupe- Hidalgo, the circumstances regarding land titles was quite confusing. To quote from the very first volume of the reports of the Supreme Court of California . . . [see prologue to 1 Cal. 1]
And some of these matters have occasional relevance even to this day in Napa County. Although the situation is gradually improving, surveys of country property have sometimes been frightfully difficult, with boundaries which are wildly different from survey to survey. Old timers used to say that was because more of the original survey boundaries were established in the bars on Main Street, during the cold winter months, than they were by accurate work in the field.
As history goes in California, Napa is one of our oldest settings. Indeed, the very first case ever considered by our Supreme Court occurred just south of the city of Napa. Our firm, though small by design, has deep roots in this county - and we recall the time when grapes were only a small part of our economy, following way behind cattle, grain, and orchard crops.
Over the span of 40 years, we have litigated all sorts of real estate problems in the Napa Valley. Jim Jones was trained by two brothers (Wes and Sheldon Rutherford) whose legal experience extended back through their attorney-father to the beginning of the 1900's. None of this makes us any smarter than other lawyers, but it does give us a good perspective on local real estate matters, whether they involve the purchase of a single family home, the creation of a conservation easement, or dealing with local government (Mr. Jones is a former Napa City Councilman, and Kelly VanCamp is a former Commissioner of the Napa Superior Court). Our firm has dealt with landlord-tenant problems as well as the creation of large subdivisions.
The natural concern for the protection of our wonderful Napa Valley has had the unintended consequence of making our land so expensive that it is very difficult for the people who work here to live here. Recognizing this local real estate problem, Jim Jones became a licensed manufactured home dealer, in order to be able to develop decent and affordable housing for low income families; once again illustrating our perspective on local real estate practice. In all that we do in real estate matters, we keep in mind that we are “Real Lawyers for Real People.” We try very hard to keep things as simple and cost effective as possible.
