East Bay Reg’l Park Dist. v. Griffin

Borel's trust states that, upon Borel’s death, a parcel of the trust’s real property is to be distributed to the East Bay Regional Park District for the purposes of establishing an agricultural park. Part of the property is also subject to an option agreement between Borel and Corrie. After Borel’s death, Corrie sought an order instructing the trustee to convey a portion of the property to him pursuant to the option agreement. The District opposed that petition, and filed a competing petition under Probate Code section 17200, seeking an order authorizing the trustee to distribute the property to the District and to receive an $800,000 loan on behalf of the trust. The probate court granted the District’s petition. The District subsequently petitioned the probate court (section 1310(b)) to authorize the immediate distribution of the land and acceptance of the loan while appeal was pending. The order granting that motion was also appealed. While those appeals were pending, the probate court held a trial and found Corrie’s option unenforceable. A third appeal followed. The court of appeal dismissed in part, noting that under section 1310(b), the actions taken by the trustee are valid, regardless of the outcome on appeal. The court affirmed that the option agreement is void and unenforceable. View "East Bay Reg'l Park Dist. v. Griffin" on Justia Law