Real Estate & Property Law

Think the Mortgage Meltdown Has Made All Lenders Warier? Think Again

Despite the much-publicized mortgage meltdown of recent years, some lenders apparently still haven’t learned their lesson. In a decimated neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago, homes have been selling lately for around $350,000. But simply driving by and looking at the boarded-up older homes that can be seen throughout…

Aug 17, 2010 7:57 PM CDT

Another Judge Refuses to Accept SEC Deal, Says She Is ‘Baffled’ by Pact

A second judge has balked at a settlement between the Securities and Exchange Commission and a major bank. This time the judge was Ellen Huvelle and the bank was Citigroup, accused of misleading investors about some $40 billion in subprime investments, according to the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal…

Aug 17, 2010 1:11 PM CDT

Suit Claims Real Estate Agent Used Lawyer’s Home for Sexcapades

A Minnesota lawyer and his pastor wife claim in a lawsuit that their real estate agent used their home for “unauthorized sexual escapades” while they were in London for a working holiday. The suit filed by Adam and Sarah Bunge says Coldwell Banker Burnet had to spend more than $7,000…

Aug 16, 2010 2:38 PM CDT

Banker Pleads Guilty in Robin Hood-Like Scheme to Help Borrowers

A Chicago-area banker has pleaded guilty to federal bank fraud charges in connection with a Robin Hood-like scheme to make it seem as though customers were keeping up with the payments on their delinquent loans. Jeffrey Gonsiewski, a former vice president at First Security Trust & Savings Bank in suburban…

Aug 13, 2010 4:04 PM CDT

Today’s Mortgages Are Designed for Yesterday’s Borrowers, Law Prof Says

Traditional 30-year mortgages work well when borrowers have stable, long-term jobs. But in today’s economy, unemployment and job switches are more common, and mortgages need to change along with today’s changing workplace, a law professor argues. Writing in the New York Times, University of California at Los Angeles law professor…

Aug 13, 2010 10:30 AM CDT

Judge Weighs ‘Radical’ Tactic to Help Homeowners Suffering from Foreclosure Blight

An Ohio judge has ordered Fannie Mae to pay restitution to neighbors living near a foreclosed home after finding the mortgage giant guilty of housing code violations. Judge Raymond Pianka of Cleveland’s Municipal Housing Court is holding a hearing on Thursday to determine whether neighbors suffered economic losses because of…

Aug 12, 2010 11:00 AM CDT

Fla. AG Probe: Did 3 Law Firms Get 1,000s of Foreclosure Judgments By Possible Wrongdoing?

The economic crimes division of the Florida attorney general’s office is investigating whether possible wrongdoing by three law firms may have played a role in obtaining thousands of mortgage foreclosure judgments. “On numerous occasions, allegedly fabricated documents have been presented to the courts in foreclosure actions to obtain final judgments…

Aug 11, 2010 11:33 PM CDT

Yale Secret Society Skull and Bones Wins Lawsuit Over Geronimo’s Remains

A student secret society at Yale University has won a court battle, at least for now, over remains of the Apache warrior Geronimo that a member or members of Skull and Bones allegedly stole from his grave at a prisoner-of-war cemetery at Fort Sill, Okla., around 1918, and brought to…

Aug 11, 2010 5:49 PM CDT

Retired Wachtell Partner’s Prenup Precludes Share in 7-Figure Income for ‘Playmate’ Ex-Wife

A retired litigation partner at Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz can keep the lion’s share of his income and assets after a brief marriage to a former Brazilian model he met at a “European Playmates” agency, a Connecticut appeals court has ruled. A prenuptial agreement between attorney Peter McKenna, 72,…

Aug 6, 2010 7:46 PM CDT

‘Like Hamsters in a Cage’: Foreclosure Firm Cut Corners to Make Money, Story Says

Junk fees, corner-cutting and an indifference to human misery helped a Florida lawyer make a mint in a high-volume foreclosure practice, reports Mother Jones in an unflattering profile of the legal industry enforcing bank mortgage rights. Largely focusing on attorney David Stern, the lengthy Mother Jones article says one opposing…

Aug 4, 2010 11:05 PM CDT

Insurance Guru Eugene Anderson Dies; Known for ‘Triple Trigger,’ Hitchhiking to Harvard

As a foster child growing up in Portland, Ore., in the 1930s, on farms and in an orphanage, Eugene Anderson must have seemed an unlikely prospect for success as a New York lawyer. However, he not only put himself through the University of California, Los Angeles, but with the help…

Aug 2, 2010 7:30 PM CDT

RICO Suit Seeks Billions from David Stern and His Foreclosure-Mill Law Firm

A racketeering lawsuit seeking class action status and, potentially, up to billions of dollars in damages has been filed against a Florida lawyer and his foreclosure-mill law firm. Also named as a defendant is a bank-created company that, the complaint alleges, owned a criminal enterprise which operated to violate homeowners’…

Jul 30, 2010 6:55 PM CDT

Sued for Alleged Unpaid $359K Legal Bill, Client Pursues Counterclaim Seeking $628K Refund

A suit filed by Constantine Cannon seeking $359,000 plus interest and punitive damages for work performed for a client family and its real estate business has put the law firm in peril not only of being out-of-pocket for the $359,000 but having to return another $628,000. In a counterclaim that…

Jul 29, 2010 7:11 PM CDT

Small Law Firm’s Big Back Office Delayed News of Less Work, Securities Suit Contends

A high-volume Florida foreclosure practitioner has been an early adopter of a businesslike model of law practice, in which a back-office company handles much of the litigation preparation work for his law firm. Now David J. Stern is also an early example of the potential pitfalls that can arise in…

Jul 28, 2010 6:34 PM CDT

Homeowners Ass’n Loses Parking Case, Must Pay Owner’s $187K Legal Bill

A battle over whether a Florida homeowner could park his pickup in his own driveway racked up over $187,000 in legal bills for the unswerving owner by the time the Eagles Homeowners Association appealed a Hillsborough Circuit Court ruling in his favor. And now the association has not only lost…

Jul 28, 2010 5:18 PM CDT