A borrower tried to stop a trustee's sale with a brand-new statute. It sold anyway.
What Cal. Civ. Code § 2924.13 requires of lenders, why this borrower says it was breached, and why it may not be law much longer.
Welcome to the first Case of the Week.
Every Wednesday, we read one California foreclosure case from the lender’s side of the table. What the borrower alleges. What it means for your file. What to do differently on the next one.
This week: a statute barely a year old gives a borrower a way to freeze a trustee's sale before it runs. This borrower invoked it two days out. The sale ran anyway.
Ramsey v. Cal. TD Specialists, Oak West 4, LLC
Court: LASC, Southeast District
Filed: May 4, 2026 (two days before the scheduled trustee’s sale)
Statute: Cal. Civ. Code § 2924.13
The borrower petitioned to enjoin a May 6 trustee’s sale on a second-position HELOC. His story: last payment September 2007, then nothing. No statements, no transfer notices, no contact from any servicer for more than 17 years. The loan was assigned three times. In December 2025, the successor lender, through its trustee, recorded a Notice of Default, and alongside it, a Certificate of Compliance under Cal. Civ. Code § 2924.13 swearing the servicer committed no unlawful practice under subdivision (b). The borrower says that’s false. He sought an injunction, equitable relief under Cal. Civ. Code § 2924.13(f), and fees.
Here is the part worth sitting with. Under Cal. Civ. Code § 2924.13(d), once a borrower petitions for relief before the sale, the court "shall enjoin" it until the petition is decided. He petitioned on May 4. Per the trustee's sale record, the sale was never postponed. On May 6, the property sold to a third party for $376,964.03. The case is still pending.
So, how does a sale, the statute was built to stop, close two days after the borrower pulls the emergency brake, and can he claw it back now that someone else owns the house?
🔒 Paid below: the takeaway and four lessons for lenders.
