Jovaag v. Champion Mobile Notary CA6

Filed 7/22/13 Jovaag v. Champion Mobile Notary CA6 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SIXTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

JORY A. JOVAAG, H038661 (Santa Clara County Plaintiff and Appellant, Super. Ct. No. CV215896)

v.

CHAMPION MOBILE NOTARY et al.,

Defendants and Respondents.

This appeal is one in a series of appeals brought by Jory A. Jovaag related to the termination of her 29-year purported common-law marriage to Donald Ott, and Ms. Jovaag‟s action against Mr. Ott over the division of the couple‟s jointly held property.1 The present appeal is of the trial court‟s order sustaining Champion Mobile Notary‟s (Champion) demurrer without leave to amend. Ms. Jovaag, who is proceeding in propria perona, asserts on appeal that the trial court erred in sustaining the demurrer without leave to amend, because it applied the wrong legal standard and abused its discretion.

1 Jovaag v. Ott, Santa Clara County Superior Court No. CV119884.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE The underlying action for division of Ms. Jovaag and Mr. Ott‟s jointly held property was tried in May 2011. The court ruled in favor of Mr. Ott, and issued an injunction freezing all of Ms. Jovaag‟s accounts. Ms. Jovaag and Mr. Ott appeared for further hearing on the matter on May 16, 2011, and entered into a global settlement of all issues. On July 20, 2011, a judgment was entered in favor of Mr. Ott. Part of the judgment required Ms. Jovaag to execute an interspousal transfer deed of trust to real property. In January 2012, Ms. Jovaag filed a complaint against Champion, and Cathy Wong, a notary public, who notarized the interspousal transfer deed. The complaint alleged fraud, notary fraud, real estate fraud, and negligence in connection with the notarizing of the transfer deed. The basis of Ms. Jovaag‟s allegations is her belief that Ms. Wong conspired with Mr. Ott and Mr. Jensen to “ambush” Ms. Jovaag into signing the interspousal transfer deed knowing that she had never been legally married to Mr. Ott. On February 22, 2012, Champion and Ms. Wong filed a demurrer to the complaint pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 430.10, subdivision (f).2 On July 5, 2012, the court sustained the demurrer as to all causes of action alleged in the complaint, without leave to amend. DISCUSSION On appeal, Ms. Jovaag asserts the court applied the wrong legal standard in considering the demurrer and abused its discretion in denying her leave to amend the complaint.