Great news - we won round one!
Here's the Superior Court Judge's tentative ruling made yesterday, August 17, 2011 at 2 pm. It was not contested by the LMA's lawyer, so the hearing on the injunctive matter that was scheduled for today has been cancelled. YAY for our side! ~ martha
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Item 17 2011-00103789-CU-OR

Locke Management Association vs. Martha Esch

Nature of Proceeding:

Filed By:

Motion for Preliminary Injunction

Beede, Stephen J.

Plaintiff Locke Management Association’s Motion for Preliminary Injunction is denied.

Plaintiff is a non-profit corporation whose stated purpose, according to its bylaws, is “to

improve the economic well-being, preserve the cultural and historical integrity, and

manage the Town of Locke.” (Plf. Exh. 1.) The Town of Locke has been included on

the registry of national historic places “because of its unique status as the only town in

the United States built exclusively by the Chinese for the Chinese.” (Opening Memo.

1:3-4.) Plaintiff fulfills its stated purpose in part by enforcing Locke’s covenants,

conditions and restrictions (“CC&Rs”). The CC&Rs include a provision requiring any

owner wishing to sell property in Locke to first give notice to Plaintiff in order to allow

Plaintiff to exercise its right of first refusal to purchase any such property. (CCRs Art.

II, §2.8.) Plaintiff must give notice of any proposed sale to persons identified on the

“Locke Prior Residents, Descendants and Ascendants List” and the “List of Any

Individual that Would Like Notice of Available Properties,” and may assign its first

refusal right to any interested person responding to the Notice to the Lists.

Plaintiff alleges that on March 15, 2011, Defendant Martha Esch purchased property in

Locke despite Plaintiff’s having exercised its right of first refusal to purchase the

property itself. The subject property is designated for residential use only. Plaintiff

also alleges that, upon taking possession of the property, Defendant began making

alterations without Plaintiff’s permission and in violation of the CC&Rs, and using the

property for commercial purposes in violation of the CC&Rs. Plaintiff seeks a

preliminary injunction enjoining Defendant from altering the subject property or using

the subject property for any commercial purposes.

In deciding whether to enter a preliminary injunction, the court must evaluate two

interrelated factors: (1) the likelihood that the applicant will prevail on the merits at trial,

and (2) the interim harm that the applicant will likely suffer if preliminary relief is not

granted, as compared to the likely harm that the opposing party will suffer if the

preliminary injunction issues. (See, e.g., Langford v. Superior Court

(Gates) (1987) 43 Cal.3d 21, 28.) One of these two factors may be accorded greater

weight than the other depending on the applicant's showing. (See Commons Cause v.

Bd. of Supervisors (1989) 49 Cal.3d 432, 447.)

“[T]he party seeking the injunction must present sufficient evidentiary facts to establish

a likelihood that it will prevail.” (Tahoe Keys Property Owners’ Assn. v. State Water

Resources Control Board (1994) 23 Cal.App.4th 1459, 1478.) Here, Plaintiff argues

that Defendant “took possession and commenced to make alterations to the Subject

Property” and that Defendant “is in breach of the Use Restrictions…in that she is

purportedly changing the Subject Property from Residential to Commercial use without

any authority to do so.” (Opening Memo. 7:11-17.) However, Plaintiff presents no

evidence of Defendant’s alleged activities. The only items of evidence Plaintiff

presents in support of its motion are (1) copies of the bylaws of the Locke

Management Association; (2) the Town of Locke CCRs, and (3) a Sacramento County

ordinance describing the Locke Special Planning Area. (Plf. Exhs 1-3.) None of this

evidence pertains to the alleged alterations Plaintiff made to the property.

In opposition, Defendant presents evidence disputing that she has made any improper

alterations to the property. She presents evidence that she repainted a pink wall a

natural brown color that is permitted by the CC&Rs (Esch Decl. ¶3), cut a damaged

post flush with the roadway so it would not be a hazard (Esch Decl. ¶2), cut back

overgrown vegetation and removed rat excrement (Esch Decl. ¶5), and replaced a

hazardous propane tank at the request of the Sheldon Gas Company. (Esch Decl. ¶4;

Benge Decl.) Defendant states that she has made no other changes to the property.

(Esch Decl. ¶6.) Further, Defendant presents evidence that Plaintiff has never issued

any complaint or notice to Defendant that her activities were in violation of the CC&Rs,

as required by Section 8.10 of the CCRs. (Esch Decl. ¶9.)

Based on the evidence presented (and lack thereof), Plaintiff has failed to meet its

burden to show that it is likely to prevail on the merits and that Defendant’s activities

on the property are likely to cause interim harm to Plaintiff. The motion for preliminary

injunction is denied.

The minute order is effective immediately. No formal order pursuant to CRC Rule

3.1312 or further notice is required.

Biker out of the past at The Tourist Trap in Locke ~ Summer 2008

Jerry and his pet peacock Tilley ~ summer 2009

Charlie Sand early musical talents, summers 2009. Funny!

"Paint the Town" (first Saturdays 9 am to noon in Locke, CA)

May 7. 2011 "Paint the Town" participants pictured L-R: pat, martha, dottie, laurie, karin.

Sign Unveiling and First Jam at our new place in Locke, California

Optimistically - Charlie Sand

Come clay with us at the library!

Our next Tin Shed Jam is scheduled for Saturday, September 19, 2010. Call 916 776-1000 to RSVP.

Weekly Thursday Music & Art Jams 6 to 9 pm Walnut Grove, CA while the weather is nice.

By popular request, we're going to keep having more mixed bag jams in the little park at Market & C Streets in Walnut Grove, California - as long as the weather stays nice. Come on down and bring your guitar, saxaphone, bongos, whatever you have.
If you have time to bring a plate of food or some beverages, it won't be turned down. Thanks, Martha

Tin Shed Jam in Walnut Grove, California on June 5, 2010

We had another good jam last night at "The Tin Shed." Most of our musicians from the first two jams returned to play again and we had several musicians who recently heard about our monthly jams came to join us, as well - thanks to all of the musicians for participating! Thanks also to our venue hosts for running their bar and hot dogs stand for us and for the opportunity to play in their way cool Tin Shed!


more pics to come...

Tin Shed Jam

Self-Portraits Show & Contest 2010 ~ Our 4th Annual

Today's party in my garden was the most fun and well-attended one in the four years I've been hosting these annual self-portrait contests. The $100 cash prize proved to be a good stimulus that doubled the participation and added a lot more fun and competition to the show. Everyone got the chance to vote on five ribbon categories and the "Best of Show." When Ernie Wester and Mary, my daughter, finished tallying the votes, I got to announce the winners and hand out the ribbons. Congratulations to Poel Duenas, who was our big winner of "Best of Show" and the cash! Special category ribbon awards: Original - Jo Harding; Symbolic - Janice Horne; Realistic -
Poel Duenas ; Meaningful - Lynn . Many thanks to the 16 artists who participated and to their friends who joined us at the reception.

my upcoming jams...hope you can make some of them

Video link: Locke, California "Paint the Town" and Egg Hunt ...April 3, 2010

My poor old "Bessie," above flood stage, but needing a good scrub down after a long winter...

havin' a big jam ~ hope you can make it! for details, click here.

A great springtime day for bikers in Locke!

Painting of my daughter painting

stage 1


stage 2


stage 3


stage 4


stage 5


model's break


all done


best birthday i ever had!

Click here: Slideshow of my art students' field trip to the Art Foundry

My controversial garden plot

A letter was attached to my front door today, March 16, 2010, from the town manager, telling me i have to remove my wood chairs (2) and wood easels and small wood bookshelf where i store my garden tools and art supplies; and that the purpose for my garden plot is ONLY for gardening. I guess that means: no sitting on a chair is allowed and no painting at an easel is allowed. Sound a little ridiculous to you, too?

Finally, I had a good hair day!

Locke Map ~ zoom out to find your starting point

Driving Directions from Dai Loy Museum in 13952 Main St Walnut Grove, California to Al the Wop's in 13943 Main St Walnut Grove, California

Normal Day in Locke

Peter Picked a Perspective Paintout!

Painting Peter's house in Locke was a great study for painting what I saw, not what I understood.

January 1, 2009 9 a.m., Mary, 15, and Charlie, 18, painting along the American River. Photo by David Peterson.

Painting in shirtsleeves at the end of December in Locke, California. Can't do that in Minesota.


I left out the cemented-in garbage can...