Guillama, Esq., Joseph A.

Ron was instrumental in creating the dual agency disclosure now used in real estate transactions.  He was appointed by the DRE Commissioner to head a task force in charge of drafting dual agency language.  Ron helped draft many of the standard real estate purchase contracts in use today and instigated the inclusion of mediation and arbitration clauses in those contracts.  He served as board attorney for the Board of Realtors for Sunnyvale, Los Gatos, and Los Altos.  He was instrumental in negotiating the merger of six real estate boards, now know as Silicon Valley Association of Realtors, and served as board counsel for over 20 years.

Ron has served on many California Association of Realtors (C.A.R.) committees and has represented the National Association of Realtors (N.A.R.).  He taught real estate law and advanced real estate law at the junior college level and continuing education courses for attorneys.  He also teaches Real Estate Sales Transactions at a local law school.

The San Jose Mercury News published Ron's bi-weekly Real Law columns from 1995-2005.  In his column, Ron offered insight and advice about both common and unusual issues and situations in the Bay Area real-estate market which often led buyers, sellers, and agents into litigation. 

NOTABLE LITIGATION

James H. Baron, as Receiver v. Fire Insurance Exchange, et al.  (Santa Clara County Superior Court Case # 1-03-CV-817085, Court of Appeal, Sixth District Case #  H029830).  Successfully represented a Court-ordered Receiver in a case against a major insurer for its failure to pay complete coverage on a fire insurance policy.  The insurance company's adjuster had referred the Receiver to a contractor allegedly on its approved contractor's list.  The Receiver hired the contractor to perform the fire damage repairs on the insurance carrier's recommendation.  The contractor walked off the job, absconding with a portion of the insurance benefits which had been paid.  The carrier then refused to pay further policy benefits and denied further coverage, refusing to pay even the policy benefits it had agreed were owing forcing the Receiver to hire a new contractor funded by Receiver certificates.  After a two-week jury trial, the jury awarded damages plus $1.5 million in punitive damages.  After the Receiver then successfully moved for an award of attorney's fees, a total judgment of $2.1 million was entered against the insurance company.  The award was successfully affirmed on appeal in a published decision. 

Blickman Turkus v. M-F Downtown Sunnyvale, LLC (Santa Clara County Superior Court Case No. 1-03-CV-814344).  Successfully defended major developer, Mozart Development Company, against commission claim purportedly earned for procuring a commercial tenant who, after signing a written Lease, two years later refused to occupy the premises or pay rent.  The developer was able to defeat the commission claim by convincing the Trial Court, in two separate Summary Adjudication Motions, that the term rent commencement in the Commission Agreement with the broker constituted a condition precedent of payment of the commission and required actual payments of rent by the tenant which had never been paid. 

Hartzheim v. Valley Land (binding arbitration): Our client, a commercial tenant in an Auto Mall, exercised its option to extend the term of the lease.  The lease provided for a certain method of calculation as to the rent during the option period.  A dispute arose between the parties as to the fair market value of rent.  After a 2-day binding arbitration, our clients secured a rental rate in accordance with the evidence presented by our office and significantly less than that proposed by the landlord. 

Aguiar v. Walker, et al. (Santa Clara Superior Court Case No. 1-04-CV-012791).  Successfully defended a claim made by a co-owner in a home that the parties purchased together back in 1986.  After 20 years of co-owning the property together, the one co-owner claimed that the other co-owner was a mortgage foreclosure consultant as defined by Civil Code 2945 et seq. and that she should now be entitled to void the original purchase and now become the sole owner of the property.  On the eve of trial, RHRC successfully obtained the rarely awarded terminating sanctions which eviscerated nearly the entirety of plaintiff's complaint leaving her with only a small breach of contract claim.  After trial, plaintiff lost her breach of contract claim and the defendant/clients prevailed on their counter claims for partition and breach of contract in addition to being awarded prevailing party attorney's fees.    

Nvidia Corporation, Inc. v. Extreme Networks, Inc. (Santa Clara County Superior Court Case No. 1-01-CV-803483). RHRC defended a multinational software company in a lease dispute. The settlement was confidential.

Stout v. Ince, et al. (Santa Clara County Superior Court Case No. 1-05-CV-049665, and subsequent binding arbitration). Prosecuted a rescission claim on behalf of property buyers against the seller of a vacant lot in Morgan Hill for violations of the Subdivision Map Act, Government Code Sec. 6649.32(a) and for mutual mistake of fact.  Specifically, after the buyers and seller closed escrow on the purchase agreement for the 2 1/2 acre parcel of land, and despite diligent investigation by the buyers before the close, it became evident that the lot had been created from a prior subdivision without the necessary approvals. The buyers  only discovered the violation as a result of engineering work they commissioned so that they could apply for and obtain building site approval.  After the violation was discovered, the County of Santa Clara, Planning Office, confirmed that the parcels were illegally divided and that Plaintiffs would be unable to obtain building site approval.  Following a two-day binding arbitration on their claims, the firm obtained a full rescission, damages and attorneys fees for the buyers in an amount in excess of $730,000.00.

Prevedello v. Marcus & Millichap (binding arbitration). Prosecuted an action by an apartment building owner against a large commercial broker for breach of fiduciary duty arising out of the sale of two apartment buildings in Sacramento. After the owner received an interim award of $1.5 million plus attorneys' fees, the parties reached a confidential settlement.

Chen v. Luu (Santa Clara County Superior Court Case No. CV761041). Defended a shopping center owner against a class action suit by 165 tenants seeking damages in excess of $20 million. The case settled for nuisance value after two weeks of trial.

Lewis v. Pico Ranch, Inc., et al. (Santa Clara County Superior Court Case No. 1-02-CV812971). Represented a purchaser of commercial property in San Jose who sued the seller for fraud and concealment for failing to disclose that the tenant was going out of business and rescinding its long-term lease. Sellers fraudulently concealed the tenant's letter to sellers advising them of its shutdown. After a two-week trial, the court tentatively ruled that the principals were liable for fraud and damages in excess of $1 million. Sellers agreed to settle for the full amount plus all attorneys' fees before the Court rendered its final opinion.

Zamani v. Simons (Santa Clara County Superior Court Case No. CV780611). Represented a business seller in an action against a shopping center landlord for unreasonably refusing to consent to a lease assignment. The firm obtained a jury trial award of $90,000 for general damages and a punitive damages award of $400,000, which was successfully upheld on appeal.

Smith v. DiNapoli (Santa Clara County Superior Court Case No. 1-03-CV009914). Represented seller of high-end residential property suitable for subdividing against the real estate broker who acted as a dual agent in the transaction (representing both buyer and seller). The agent failed to properly prepare the contract providing seller would be paid additional compensation upon approval of the lot split. Seller recovered almost $1 million from the broker.

PERSONAL

While in law school, Ron sold real estate part-time and managed several apartment complexes in Santa Clara and San Mateo Valley. After receiving his degree, Ron went into the United States Army as a captain, defending court-martial cases for two years. Ron is married and has three adult children. He has lived in Saratoga for the last 25 years. His hobbies include skiing, weight lifting, running, and backpacking.