Real Estate & Property Law

Davis Wright Settles Malpractice Suit for $30M Despite ‘Strong’ Position

A major Pacific Northwest-based law firm has agreed to settle for $30 million securities fraud and legal malpractice claims brought by investors in a failed company that oversaw dozens of senior housing complexes. Their Oregon state-court case contends Davis Wright & Tremaine and two other law firms prepared documents for…

Oct 22, 2009 9:46 PM CDT

Condo Rules & Compassion Argued as 55-Plus Community Seeks to Evict Girl, 6

Children aren’t allowed to live in houses in the Lakes Homeowners Association in Pinellas County, Fla., which is designated a 55-and-older community in accord with federal fair housing law. But Kimberly Broffman, now 6, has lived there with her grandparents since she was a baby. Originally, Judie and Jimmy Stotler…

Oct 22, 2009 6:24 PM CDT

Bright Light of New York Law School Aggravates Neighbors

It may initially have seemed like a bright idea to those in charge of the design. But neighbors are seeing the light at New York Law School’s new building in the Tribeca neighborhood of Manhattan. And they aren’t happy about it. A 24/7 continuous fluorescent glow from the five-story glass-covered…

Oct 22, 2009 5:45 PM CDT

Neighbor in Ritzy Co-op Sues Over Madonna’s ‘Blaring Music’ & Dancing

A neighbor in Madonna’s ritzy New York City apartment building has sued the co-op board over the famous pop singer’s alleged “blaring music, stomping and shaking walls.” Karen George contends that the board of the Central Park West building hasn’t done enough to keep a lid on the excessive noise…

Oct 19, 2009 7:12 PM CDT

California Will Pay Lawyers for Poor in Eviction, Custody Cases

Calif. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed a bill to fund public interest groups to provide lawyers for civil litigants in key cases. The pilot program is the nation’s first to provide representation for people in cases involving eviction, loss of child custody, domestic abuse and neglect of the elderly or…

Oct 19, 2009 5:07 PM CDT

No Recession in Real Estate Litigation, South Florida Lawyers Find

In the midst of a dismal real estate market, a 46-year-old Florida lawyer has found a full-time occupation. He focuses his practice entirely on real estate matters, often helping formerly hot-to-trot buyers recover at least part of the hefty deposits they made on condominium units under construction. A federal law…

Oct 16, 2009 5:25 PM CDT

6 Lawyers Among 41 Charged in $64M Mortgage Fraud Case

Updated: Authorities say six lawyers were among 41 individuals charged in a $64 million federal mortgage fraud prosecution that was announced today in Manhattan. Dubbed Operation Bad Deeds, the case also charges an accountant, three mortgage brokers, seven loan officers, and a residential property appraiser with wrongdoing concerning various alleged…

Oct 15, 2009 7:01 PM CDT

Commercial Lenders Bracing for Expected Wave of Defaults

It isn’t just in the residential real estate market that lenders financed projects based on dubious assumptions. In 2006, when two companies paid $5.4 billion for a huge apartment complex in Manhattan, lenders projected that net operating income for the high-profile acquisition would triple in five years, to $336 million.…

Oct 15, 2009 5:21 PM CDT

Messy Foreclosure Cases Likely to Make a Lot of Work for Lawyers

Refusing to vacate a landmark ruling in March that is likely to create a lot of work for real estate lawyers, a Massachusetts judge today held banks accountable for failing to timely file all the foreclosure paperwork that he said is required by state law. By doing so, however, Land…

Oct 14, 2009 10:56 PM CDT

Evicted Over Boyfriend’s Alleged Abuse, Woman Files Sex Discrimination Suit

After her live-in boyfriend allegedly threatened her with a gun, Kathy Cleaves-Milan called police and got a court order of protection against him. But when she informed the managers of the suburban Elmhurst apartment complex about the crime report, they evicted her, the 36-year-old tells the Chicago Tribune. A copy…

Oct 13, 2009 11:32 PM CDT

‘Toxic Titles’ Make Mortgage Foreclosures a Lot More Complex

Already dealing with a deluge of mortgage foreclosures, courts in Massachusetts now have a new problem. And, although litigation over the issue is farther along there than in a number of other states, it’s a growing concern that is also affecting other properties throughout the country. So-called toxic titles created…

Oct 9, 2009 8:27 PM CDT

3 Lawyers Among 12 Charged in $9M Mortgage Fraud Case

Add three more lawyers to the lengthening list of attorneys named as defendants in criminal mortgage fraud cases. Eric Finger, 44, Joell Barnett, 36, and Brandon Lisi, 36, are among 12 defendants charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud, following a joint investigation by federal and New…

Oct 8, 2009 8:35 PM CDT

Compassion Is No Reason to Delay Foreclosure, Appeals Court Tells Judge

A Florida appeals court has told a judge that “benevolence and compassion” are not grounds for delaying a foreclosure sale. “Although granting continuances and postponements are, generally speaking, within the discretion of the trial court, the ‘ground’ of benevolence and compassion … does not constitute a lawful, cognizable basis for…

Oct 7, 2009 12:28 PM CDT

Faced With Foreclosure, Homeowners Can’t Get Lawyers to Help

The foreclosure crisis is also a legal crisis, a new study says. When homeowners struggling to pay their mortgages try to find lawyers help them fight to hang onto their homes, many can’t do so, reports USA Today. Hiring a private lawyer to help with the complex proceedings can easily…

Oct 6, 2009 7:05 PM CDT

After 20 Years and $20M, Was $42M More Fair for 4 Months of Legal Work?

It’s been more than 25 years since Alice Lawrence asked Graubard Miller to help her liquidate her deceased husband’s share of a multi-million-dollar real estate empire. By 2004, she and her children had obtained $350 million in distributions, in a 22-year legal battle with his executor that racked up $18…

Oct 5, 2009 8:41 PM CDT