Vanessa H. Widener

Vanessa has the privilege of serving as one of the Managing Partners of the Firm and is the Chair of the Real Property Title Insurance Practice Group. As a civil litigation attorney based out of the Firm’s Los Angeles office, her advocacy for clients takes her to jurisdictions throughout California. While litigation is her passion, Vanessa appreciates the benefit of striking a balance between litigation and resolution and looks for opportunities to find creative and early solutions to clients’ problems including engaging in alternative dispute resolution. Her robust practice involves a range of complex commercial and real property matters including prosecuting and defending actions on behalf of title insurers, escrows, real estate owners, and lienholders. While each case has its own nuances, Vanessa often handles disputes arising out of quiet title claims; neighbor disputes fueled by allegations trespass and nuisance; resolution of easements rights; challenges to real property ownership and validity of liens arising out of fraud and forgery claims; transactions involving liability of real estate brokers, escrows and title; probate and trust litigation matters including Probate Code 850 (quiet title) petitions; litigation against credit unions, financial institutions mortgage loan servicers and lenders arising out of a myriad of issues; and general business disputes. In addition to her litigation skills, Vanessa also represents insurers in connection with the investigation of claims and analysis of coverage under the policy.

Vanessa is an active member of the Title Insurance Litigation Committee of the Tort Trial & Insurance Practice section of the American Bar Association. She has held many leadership roles on the Committee including co-author of the Recent Developments in Title Insurance chapter of the Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Law Journal, Vice Chair of Membership and Vice Chair of Finance/Treasurer. She has been instrumental in securing speakers who are experts in the title insurance industry to participate in the Committee’s bi-annual meetings. On a local level, Vanessa is also an active member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association, Title Insurance Subsection of the Real Property Section and serves on the steering committee which curates content for continuing legal education seminars.

Vanessa is happiest when spending time with her family at their favorite spots, Disneyland and Green Valley Lake.

Education

• Pepperdine Law School
  • J.D. cum laude, 1999
• University of Southern California
  • B.S., with honors, Public Policy and Management, 1996

Admissions & Associations

Bar Admissions

• California

Affiliations

• Los Angeles County Bar Association, Real Property Section
  • Title Insurance Subsection, Steering Committee Member
• American Bar Association, Litigation Section
  • Real Estate, Condemnation, Trusts Litigation Committee
• Long Beach Bar Association
• Women Lawyers of Long Beach
• Women Lawyers of Los Angeles
• Chair, National Caucus of Title Insurance Litigators (2022-2023)

Speaking & Publications

Published Works

• 2014 Recent Developments in Title Insurance Law (pdf)
• 2015 Recent Developments in Title Insurance Law (pdf)
• 2016 Recent Developments in Title insurance Law (pdf)
• Equitable Subrogation—A-Shield to Protect the Lender’s Interest (pdf)

Speaking Engagements

• Speaker: Mortgage Bankers Association – Fraud Issues Conference and Quality Assurance Conference, 2008
• Speaker: California Mortgage Bankers Association – Western States Conference, 2008
• Speaker: National Business Institute – In-Depth Title Insurance Principles, 2012
• Speaker: American Bar Association, TIPS, Title Insurance Litigation Subsection– A National Survey of Cases on the Title Insurer’s Duty to Defend, Fall 2013
• Presenter: Title Insurers – Overview of the Marketable Record Title Act, 2015 and 2019
• Presenter: Los Angeles County Bar Association, Real Property Section, Title Insurance Subsection – Are Ratification, Estoppel And Unclean Hands Defenses To Claims That Instruments Are Void Due To Forgery? 2016
• Speaker: American Bar Association, TIPS, Title Insurance Litigation Subsection– Equitable Principles in Action, Fall 2018
• Speaker: American Bar Association, Title Insurance Litigation Committee Subsection – Webinar, Equitable Principles in Action, Spring 2019
• Presenter: Title Insurers – Probate, Conservatorship & Trust Litigation, 2015

Experience

• Successful Petition for Writ of Mandate to prevent issuance of order granting Motion to Expunge Lis Pendens which effectively prevented transfer of property pending resolution.
• Victory for real property owner following 3-week trial in which plaintiff was seeking to quiet title to commercial property amist claims of fraud and forgery and violations of international laws.
• Successfully defended owner in trial establishing status as a bona fide purchaser who acquired property from third party whose ownership traced back to a Land Sale Contract.
• Successfully defended lender in 4-week trial in confirming validity of lien encumbering residential property where security was challenged as a result of violation of the Subdivision Map Act.
• Successful resolution of neighbor dispute to resolve property line dispute in order to resolve issues of encroachments and violations of set-back requirements of Building Code.
• Motion for Summary Judgment granted in favor of reverse mortgage lender following challenge to validity of lien by family members claiming fraud and undue influence.
• Resolution of complex real property dispute involving 22-acre parcel of commercial property caught in the quagmire of the now-defunct California Redevelopment Agency and challenges to owner’s parking rights arising out of the Marketable Record Title Act, restrictive covenants and equitable servitudes.
• Successful representation of owner of commercial property in a barrage of challenges to title culminating in appellate court affirming dismissal of claims and confirming title in favor of owner. (Outfront Media LLC v. Mack (2019) Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 4977).
• Victory in favor of loan servicer/lender on demurrer which was affirmed on appeal to challenges to security based on claims of wrongful foreclosure. (Ramirez v. Arvest Central Mortgage Co. (2018) Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 8801).
• Representation of creditor in recovery of six-figure judgment lien including pursuit of recovery through judgment debtor examination, levies on bank accounts and litigation to establish real property available to satisfy judgment under Uniform Voidable Transfer Act.
• Summary judgment victory for lender in establishing equitable subrogation rights against challenge to loan arising out of claims of fraud and forgery.
• Successfully represented owner in highly-emotional easement dispute culminating in securing a desirable easement for the continued use of side yard area on the eve of trial.
• Negotiated express easement in favor of owners to secure access to their home across existing driveway.
• Successfully represent lender in protecting its security interests in connection with an eminent domain action relating to a taking for a flood control channel.
• Successful in obtaining dismissal of complaint on demurrer (affirmed on appeal in a published opinion) holding that alteration of deed to remove name of party that was listed without any percentage interest in residential property does not render subsequent deed void. (Published opinion: Lin v. Coronado (2014) 232 Cal.App.4th 696).
• Obtained reversal on appeal of summary judgment in an action arising out of two deeds of trust on the same properties where client’s $2.2 million dollar deed of trust was entitled to priority, because it was recorded before competing deed of trust was indexed. (Bank of E. Asia (U.S.A.) N.A. v. Javaherian, No. B242079, 2013 WL 206127 (Cal. Ct. App. Jan. 18, 2013), as modified on denial of reh’g (Feb. 7, 2013).)

Community Involvement

“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” — Mahatma Gandhi.

Volunteering is an important part of the lives of Vanessa and her family. She volunteers often with Meals on Wheels (Long Beach), Ronald McDonald House (Long Beach) and Save Our Beach (Seal Beach). She is privileged to serve alongside her daughter through National Charity League, a mother-daughter philanthropic organization, and together they have volunteered 100+ hours of community service each year. She has also volunteered alongside her son at the Orange County Food Bank, Holiday Baskets for military families and participating in local 5K race with Honoring Our Fallen. Vanessa also spearheaded the Firm’s participation in the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s Food From the Bar Campaign.

Awards

Recognized by the Los Angeles Business Journal as a “Top 100 Lawyer 2022”

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