Case File for Counsel Review
Gasio v. Tran et al.
Orange County Superior Court · Case No. 30-2024-01410991-CL-UD-CJC
Section 3 of 8
The Notice
Three-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit

The Notice

A factual examination of the Three-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit served on June 21, 2024 — what appears on the face of the document.

Document at a glance

The document examined in this section is the Three-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit served on Michael Gasio at 19235 Brynn Court, Huntington Beach, CA 92648, dated June 21, 2024. This notice was the predicate document for the Unlawful Detainer action filed twelve days later in Orange County Superior Court (Case No. 30-2024-01410991-CL-UD-CJC).

This section presents only what appears on the face of the document. No legal conclusion is asserted. The governing California statutory provisions are cited for counsel’s convenience.

Document type
Three-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit
Dated
6/21/2024
Addressed to
Michael Gasio; DOES 1 to 5
Property
19235 Brynn Court, Huntington Beach, CA 92648
Amount demanded
$5,350.00
Period demanded
June 1, 2024 to June 30, 2024
Payee designated
Phat Tran c/o Wells Fargo Bank
Acct #1005959166
Payment location
Wells Fargo Bank
19840 Beach Blvd., Huntington Beach
Payment hours
M–F 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Sat 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Phone listed
(714) 390-2044
Signatory line
Typed name: PHAT L.K. TRAN
Attorney block
None present

Items appearing on the face of the document

The following items appear on the face of the served document. Each is described as it appears, with reference to the governing California statutory provision.

Item 1

The notice bears no signature

What the document shows Below the body of the notice, the document displays the typed name “PHAT L.K. TRAN” in plain text. There is no handwritten signature. There is no electronic signature notation (e.g., “/s/” or DocuSign envelope ID). There is no attorney signature block, no law firm letterhead, and no California State Bar number. The owner’s typed name is the only attribution appearing on the document.

California unlawful detainer practice treats the signature requirement on a notice to quit as an element of the notice itself. The leading authority is Liebovich v. Shahrokhkhany, 56 Cal.App.4th 511 (1997), which held that an unsigned notice to quit cannot support an unlawful detainer action.

Governing provision: Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 1161; Liebovich v. Shahrokhkhany, 56 Cal.App.4th 511 (1997)
Item 2

The payment account differs from the lease payment account

What the document shows The notice directs the tenant to make payment to Wells Fargo Bank, Account #1005959166, payable in person at the Wells Fargo branch located at 19840 Beach Blvd., Huntington Beach, during specified banking hours.
What the executed lease shows The executed Residential Lease dated April 26, 2024 (DocuSign Envelope ID 46CC8725-F790-DF11-96F5-604580068161), at Section 3.D.(2), specifies: “Rent shall be delivered to (name) BANK: WELLS FARGO, NAME: HANSON LE, ACCOUNT #: 3312943297.”

The payment account specified in the notice (#1005959166) is not the payment account specified in the executed lease (#3312943297). The two accounts are distinct. The notice’s account is held in the owner’s name; the lease’s account is held in the broker’s name.

Under California unlawful detainer law, the rent demanded in a three-day notice must be the rent due under the lease. A demand directing payment to an account other than the account established by the lease alters the payment terms unilaterally as a condition of cure.

Governing provisions: Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 1161 (notice content requirements); Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 10145 (broker handling of client funds)
Item 3

The payment method altered the lease’s payment mechanism

What the document shows The notice requires payment to be made by physically delivering funds in person to a specific Wells Fargo branch (19840 Beach Blvd., Huntington Beach) during designated banking hours (M–F 9:00 AM–5:00 PM; Sat 9:00 AM–2:00 PM).
What the executed lease provides The executed lease at Section 3.D.(1) provides multiple permitted methods of payment: “personal check, money order, cashier’s check, made payable to ___ , wire/electronic payment to ___.” The lease at Section 3.D.(2) specifies the bank account but does not restrict cure to in-person branch delivery.

The notice’s payment-method requirement is more restrictive than the payment-method options provided in the executed lease.

Governing provision: Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 1161
Item 4

The notice was served by the property owner, not by counsel

What the document shows The notice contains no attorney letterhead, no law firm address, no attorney signature block, and no California State Bar number. The only attribution on the document is the typed name “PHAT L.K. TRAN” (the property owner). The phone number listed (714-390-2044) is not associated with any law firm of record in this matter.

Steven Silverstein subsequently appeared as counsel of record for the plaintiff (the owner) in the unlawful detainer action filed July 3, 2024, twelve days after the notice was served. The notice itself does not reflect attorney involvement in its preparation or service.

Governing provisions: Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 1161; Cal. R. Prof. Conduct 1.1 (competence)
Item 5

The amount demanded did not credit the documented repair-and-deduct

What the document shows The notice demands $5,350.00 for the period June 1, 2024 to June 30, 2024. The notice does not reference, deduct, or otherwise account for the May 15, 2024 dishwasher purchase ($1,011.52) made by the tenant after the owner’s failure to repair the dishwasher first reported March 5, 2024.

California Civil Code § 1942 establishes the tenant’s repair-and-deduct remedy where a landlord fails to repair after reasonable notice. The remedy permits a tenant to make necessary repairs and deduct the cost from rent, up to one month’s rent.

The May 28, 2024 cashier’s check ($4,338.48) tendered the lawful net rent — the contractual $5,350 less the documented dishwasher deduction. The June 21, 2024 notice issued 24 days later demanded the gross amount as if no deduction had occurred and as if the May 28 tender had not been made. (The cure tender is examined in detail in Section 4.)

Governing provisions: Cal. Civ. Code § 1942 (repair and deduct); Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 1161
Item 6

The notice does not address Yulia Gasio by name

What the document shows The notice is addressed to: “MICHAEL GASIO; DOES 1 TO 5.” Yulia Gasio, named tenant on both the 2022 and 2024 executed leases and co-occupant of the property, is not identified by name. She appears, if at all, only within the “DOES 1 to 5” designation.

California unlawful detainer practice requires that all known occupants be named where their identity is known to the landlord. The 2024 lease (executed less than two months before the notice) names “Michael Andrew Gasio, Yulia Gasio” as tenants. Yulia Gasio’s identity was therefore known to the owner at the time the notice was prepared.

Governing provisions: Cal. Code Civ. Proc. §§ 1161, 415.46

The notice in its entirety

The full text of the served Three-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit, transcribed verbatim from the document received:

Three-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit · Verbatim transcription
3 DAY NOTICE TO PAY RENT OR QUIT TO: MICHAEL GASIO ; DOES 1 TO 5 LOCATED AT: 19235 BRYNN COURT, HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA 92648 WITHIN THREE (3) DAYS, excluding Saturday, Sunday, and court holidays, after the service on you of this notice, you are hereby required to pay the rent of the premises described above of which you now hold possession, amounting in the sum of: ($5,350.00) enumerated as follows: $5,350.00 Due on June 1st, 2024 for the period of June 1st, 2024 to June 30th, 2024 OR DELIVER UP THE POSSESSION OF THE PREMISES. YOU ARE FURTHER NOTIFIED THAT IF YOU DO NOT COMPLY WITH EITHER OF THE ABOVE, the undersigned does hereby elect to declare the forfeiture of your lease or under which you hold possession of the above-described premises and lessor will institute legal proceedings to recover rent and possession of said premises. THIS IS FURTHER NOTICE THAT DELIVERY OF POSSESSION OF THE PREMISES, OR THE PAYMENT OF THE AMOUNTS DEMANDED IN THIS NOTICE, MUST BE PAYABLE AS INDICATED AND DELIVERED TO THE PERSON INDICATED AS FOLLOWS. DATED: 6/21/2024 MAKE RENT PAYABLE TO: PHAT TRAN c/o WELLS FARGO BANK ACCT #1005959166 DELIVER RENT TO: WELLS FARGO BANK MAKE THE PAYMENT AT THIS ADDRESS: 19840 BEACH BLVD., HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA 92648 PAYMENT DAYS AND HOURS: MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM; SATURDAY 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM PHONE NUMBER: (714)390-2044 PHAT L.K. TRAN
Transcribed from the served document. The transcription includes all text appearing on the document, including punctuation as printed. The signature line displays only the typed name; no handwritten signature appears on the document received.
Scope of this section. This section presents only items appearing on the face of the served Three-Day Notice and the executed lease. The conclusion as to whether any item constitutes a defect sufficient to defeat the unlawful detainer action is a legal determination for counsel and the courts. The plaintiffs assert no such conclusion. Statutory citations are provided as reference points for counsel’s independent analysis.