Brian Carter and the firm successfully concluded, by settlement agreement, a long saga of a case arising out of oral dealings with a developer that purchased real property adjoining the firm’s clients’ property in Ukiah. One of the most poignant lessons to be learned from this case is that if a developer ever approaches you about a possible agreement regarding real property, and the developer says “let’s not get the attorneys involved,” run away as quickly as you can. This litigation revolved around a number of events, including the developer’s boundary line adjustment by which he attached 80 landlocked acres to 80 acres benefited by a deeded easement, the County’s approval of the BLA despite non-satisfaction of the conditions placed thereon by County Counsel, the developer’s filed complaint over an alleged oral agreement by the clients to pay unspecified amounts for road improvements, a second lawsuit over matters including the effect of the BLA, the clients’ cross-complaint for quiet title, an anti-SLAPP motion by the developer and a lengthy appeal following denial thereof, and then a complicated agreement with the City of Ukiah and the developer regarding development of the developer’s and the clients’ property. Clients should always appreciate the importance of, and value added by, having counsel involved from the beginning, to create written agreements and otherwise create clarity and certainty that deters or prevents future litigation.