INTRODUCTION
In California, the basic principles followed governing title to real property were derived from England’s
Common Law generally implemented by case law known as stare decisis. This term is Latin for "to stand by a
decision". Stare decisis is applied as a doctrine to bind a trial court by higher court decisions (appellate and
supreme court) that become precedents on a legal question raised in the lower/trial court. Reliance on such
precedents is required of lower/trial courts until a higher court changes the rule.
California has a 150-year history of development and evolution in the way its courts have applied legal
principles regarding the title to real property and the conveyance/transfer of the title. These legal principles also
apply to the encumbering of title to real property through mortgages or deeds of trust and to provide notice of
and to evidence monetary claims against the title in the form of liens. This history is documented by the
enactment of constitutional provisions and statutes and by a long line of case law. In the absence of some
specifically applicable constitutional or statutory provisions, the Common Law/case law prevails.