Under Civ. Code 2924(d)(1) and (2), the recording of a notice of default, notice of sale and trustee’s deed upon sale are privileged. The cases are split on whether the privilege is absolute or qualified. Here, it was unnecessary to decide between them since judicial notice of the recorded documents showed a clear chain of title leading to the deed of trust and one defendant’s status as its trustee. This gave the defendants justifiable grounds for believing they had a right to foreclose despite plaintiff’s wild deed to the property. As the recorded documents negated malice, the trial court did not err in sustaining defendant’s demurrer without leave to amend.
California Court of Appeal, Second District, Division 2 (Hoffstadt, J.); June 26, 2017; 2017 WL 2729834