Yang v. Lee CA2/8

Filed 8/14/25 Yang v. Lee CA2/8 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION EIGHT

JEAN S. YANG, B339572

Plaintiff and Appellant, Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. 21TRCV00693 v.

DEUK LEE,

Defendant and Respondent.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Douglas W. Stern, Judge. Affirmed. Trustable Law, Gi Nam Lee for Defendant and Appellant. Law Offices of Richard Keavney, Richard P. Keavney for Plaintiff and Respondent. ____________________ Jean Yang sued to quiet title to her real property, which Deuk Lee had encumbered with a trust deed. Lee had obtained a money judgment a year earlier for the debt secured by the trust deed. Yang moved for summary judgment, arguing Lee could not

obtain a money judgment and then separately enforce the trust deed. The trial court correctly granted Yang’s motion. Citations are to the Code of Civil Procedure. I In 2009, Yang’s then husband Mark Yang borrowed $150,000 from Lee. Mark Yang is not a party to this appeal. For clarity and to differentiate him from Jean Yang, we refer to him simply as the debtor. In 2012, the debtor signed a note memorializing his $150,000 debt to Lee. On the same day, the debtor and Yang executed a trust deed in Lee’s favor on a property belonging solely to Yang. They signed the trust deed as “trustors.” Four years later, the debtor signed another note, revising the amount owed to Lee to $200,000, which included $50,000 in interest that had accrued. Yang did not sign the first or second note. Yang and the debtor divorced in 2018. Their divorce judgment assigned the entirety of the Lee debt to the debtor, and confirmed the real property was Yang’s sole and separate property. In 2019, Lee sued the debtor based only on the 2016 note. The debtor defaulted and the court granted Lee a judgment in the amount of $240,162.21. Yang later realized the trust deed was clouding her title. Her counsel wrote to Lee’s attorney, explaining this and asking Lee to remove the trust deed recording. He did not. II Yang sued Lee for quiet title, cancellation of cloud on title, and declaratory relief.