Tariwala v. Mack CA2/6

Filed 9/27/22 Tariwala v. Mack CA2/6

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 SIX

SAIFUDDIN TARIWALA et al., 2d Civ. No. B311232 (Super. Ct. No. 56-2017- Respondents and 00501406-CU-OR-VTA) Respondents. (Ventura County)

v.

KEITH MARTIN MACK,

Defendant and Appellant.

Appellant Keith Martin Mack (Mack) once owned two adjoining properties in Thousand Oaks. He lost title to one of the properties when he defaulted on a secured loan in 2011. Mack has spent the last decade frustrating the attempts of new owners to renovate or occupy the house on his former property. Saifuddin Tariwala and two other individuals (respondents) bought the house from the foreclosing lender in 2017.1 Mack

Tariwala’s co-respondents include Shabbir Saifee and a 1

party identified by the mononym “Husaina.”

immediately blocked physical access to the house by locking a gate that spanned their recorded driveway easement. Respondents sued and obtained a preliminary injunction prohibiting Mack from obstructing the easement pending trial. The court twice found Mack in contempt after he blocked entry with garbage, old appliances, and a shifting fleet of decaying cars and recreational vehicles. After trial, the court declared the easement valid and permanently enjoined Mack from obstructing respondents from accessing their property. Mack contends the doctrine of merger extinguished the easement as a matter of law. The trial court abused its discretion, he adds, by denying his mid-trial motion to amend his answer to raise adverse possession as a defense. We affirm. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND Mack owns a vacant parcel at 2957 Los Robles Road in Thousand Oaks (Mack property). Respondents own a small house on an adjoining lot at 2949 Los Robles Road (Tariwala property). A recorded easement over the Mack property provides the Tariwala property with its only access to the road (the easement). Mack and his family owned both properties for many years. Intra-family transfers and purchases resulted in Mack acquiring sole title in 2000. He lost title to the Tariwala property in 2011, however, after defaulting on a loan secured by a deed of trust. The foreclosing lender initially allowed Mack to remain on the Tariwala property so he could remove garbage, inoperable vehicles, and other personal items he had accumulated over the decades. Mack neither cleared the property nor vacated, forcing the lender to file an unlawful detainer and evict him in 2015.2