Griswold Receivers

09/02/2026

Before seeking a receiver, municipal attorneys need a clear understanding of the property, its enforcement history, and the risks it poses to the community.

Principal factors to consider are:

• Documenting the property's condition and outstanding code violations
• Establishing the need for receivership
• Identifying all stakeholders and notice requirements
• Defining the receiver's powers and duties
• Nominating a qualified receiver

Careful planning can chart a clearer course toward rehabilitation, compliance, and enhanced public safety.

08/27/2026

A vacant single-family home in Chino sat under active code enforcement since 2022 before being red-tagged. The registered owners had died, their heirs couldn't remediate it, and squatters kept cycling through despite the red tag.

Inside, the house had unpermitted electrical work, exposed extension cords standing in for real wiring, a failing roof, and a rodent infestation active enough to leave droppings throughout.

Richardson Griswold was appointed receiver under the California Health & Safety Code. His team cleared the property and completed a full rehabilitation, then sought court authorization to sell once it was determined that was the best path available.

The property is now in the hands of a new owner, and the neighborhood has one fewer vacant house drawing squatters back in.

Watch the transformation: https://na2.hubs.ly/H07tpR30

Learn more about Health & Safety Receivership services: https://www...

08/25/2026

Some substandard properties remain unsafe despite repeated notices and enforcement efforts.

A Health & Safety receivership provides a court-supervised process for addressing conditions that threaten occupants and the surrounding community.

After the court appoints a receiver, the receiver takes control of the property and carries out the responsibilities defined by the appointment order. Depending on the property, the work may include securing the site, arranging temporary relocation, removing hazardous materials, correcting unpermitted construction, restoring essential utilities, and supervising rehabilitation.

The process creates a path toward code compliance, safer conditions, and the productive use of the property.

08/20/2026

By the time a city considers receivership, it may have already spent significant resources on inspections, citations, legal action, and police, fire or EMS responses. Despite those efforts, the property may still remain unsafe and out of compliance.

A Health & Safety receivership allows cities to recover the fees and costs spent toward bringing a property into compliance, and it is this element of cost recovery that makes receivership sustainable for municipalities.

Once appointed, the receiver manages the day-to-day work of securing the property, overseeing repairs, and restoring compliance under court supervision. The rehabilitation is funded through the property, not through taxpayer dollars, shifting the financial burden from the public to the property itself.

08/18/2026

Across 300 court appointments in 30 counties, Griswold Receivers has learned one principle: the appointment order is the foundation of every decision.

The scope and goal change from one appointment to the next. The work may involve securing a substandard property, preserving rents and profits, carrying out a judgment order, managing a court-authorized property sale, or operating a business during litigation.

Experience teaches receivers which questions to ask, what needs immediate attention, how to document the work, and when to seek further court direction.

Each case presents different circumstances, but the discipline remains the same:

* Understand the appointment order.
* Assess the asset.
* Coordinate the work.
* Remain accountable to the court.

08/13/2026

When co-owners reach an impasse over shared real estate, a partition action offers a structured path to resolution.

The process generally moves through five stages:

1. Filing the partition action: One or more co-owners petition the court to intervene and resolve the dispute.

2. Appointment of a partition referee: The court then appoints a neutral referee, defining the scope of their authority.

3. Management and preservation: The referee inspects the property, manages occupants or tenants, and collects rental income when applicable.

4. The sale process: The referee can retain a broker, establish a listing strategy, negotiate offers, and complete the sale under court supervision.

5. Accounting and distribution: The parties’ financial claims are evaluated before the net proceeds are distributed according to the court’s orders.

For co-owners, a neutral referee can break the gridlock and provide a more predictable way forward.

08/11/2026

A complete code enforcement record can exist while dangerous property conditions remain.

The record may document every violation without changing a single condition at the property. Occupants remain at risk, neighboring properties bear the impact, requests for service continue, and enforcement staff return to the same site.

When statutory requirements are met and prior enforcement has not brought the property into compliance, a Health & Safety receivership offers a court-supervised strategy. A court-appointed receiver can secure the property, coordinate rehabilitation, work with affected parties, and report progress to the court.

In the Balmoral House case, people and animals were living in RVs, cars, crawl spaces, tents, and a garage. San Diego Police received more than 80 calls related to the property between 2018 and 2020.

Through the receivership, the property conditions were addressed under court supervision while occupants were given a path toward safer housing.

If code enforcement alone has not been enough to move a property toward compliance, receivership is worth considering as a next step to address public safety concerns and restore stability to the surrounding community.

07/29/2026

A deadlocked business has two possible remedies, and they aren't interchangeable.

A provisional director is a surgical remedy. Under California Corporations Code § 308, the court appoints a neutral third party to take part in board or member decisions where the principals are deadlocked, and that party steps back once the deadlock breaks while the business keeps operating and the principals stay in their roles.

A receiver is a comprehensive remedy. Under Code of Civil Procedure § 564, the court appoints a neutral party to take control of the entity, running operations, managing cash flow, reporting to the court, and making decisions the principals no longer control.

The practical question for attorneys is whether the problem is a single deadlock or a broader failure of governance. Matching the remedy to that answer protects as much of the operating business, and as many jobs, as the litigation allows.

Read on to learn more: https://na2.hubs.ly/H06Y6xt0

A provisional director can evaluate complex business circumstances and make a decision that benefits all stakeholders as fairly as possible. 

07/23/2026

An assignment order is a powerful tool for judgment creditors within post-judgment enforcement.

Under California Code of Civil Procedure § 708.510, a court can order the third party who owes the debtor money (rent from a tenant, distributions from an LLC, commissions from a broker, accounts receivable from a business) to pay the creditor or a court-appointed receiver instead.

When a post-judgment receiver is appointed, assignment orders become part of the receiver's toolkit for tracing and collecting income.

For creditors with a stalled judgment and a debtor with identifiable income streams, this conversation can turn a judgment on paper into money collected.

Learn more: https://na2.hubs.ly/H06NBl40

Post-judgment receivers can use assignment orders to take over certain rights of judgment debtors so the judgment creditors can get what is owed.

07/21/2026

California Corporations Code § 308 authorizes a court to appoint a provisional director or manager to break corporate deadlock.

The remedy is faster and lighter. It keeps the business operating and the employees in place while the dispute proceeds toward resolution.

Learn more about provisional directors: https://na2.hubs.ly/H06NBvf0

A provisional director can evaluate complex business circumstances and make a decision that benefits all stakeholders as fairly as possible.