Realtors Cite Supervisors for Lawsuit Help

Two realty boards have presented the Orange County Board of Supervisors with an appreciation plaque for its help in winning a court ruling that lifted restraints on resales of 491 homes.

The Saddleback Valley and North Orange County boards of realtors had been joined by the supervisors in a friend-of-the-court intervention that resulted in the expungement of lis pendens by Superior Court Judge Linda H. McLaughlin. Her May 31 ruling is under appeal to the state Supreme Court, according to Carlyle W. Hall, an attorney with the Center of Law in the Public Interest.

The lis pendens was a warning to subsequent buyers that title to properties could be clouded by a lawsuit brought by a renters’ group against Orange County officials for phasing out a low- and moderate-income housing program. A spokeswoman for the realty boards said the lis pendens created hardships for many homeowners who were unable to sell their properties.