Real Estate & Property Law

1991 ABA Journal Real Estate & Property Law articles.

Former Fla. Appeals Judge Charged in Mortgage Fraud Case

In a sad day for a man who made history as the first black graduate of Stetson University’s law school and the first black judge in his county’s circuit court, a former Florida appellate judge was criminally charged today with mortgage fraud. The filing in federal court in Tampa also…

Jul 23, 2009 9:04 PM CDT

‘Big Brother’ Amazon Deleted Orwell E-Books, Some Say; Lawyer Threatens Suit

In what some consider an Orwellian remedy, Amazon eliminated from users’ Kindles last week electronic copies of the classic George Orwell books Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four after determining that that they were sold without proper authority. Although the Internet retailer also refunded the 99-cent purchase price, the move elicited…

Jul 21, 2009 7:41 PM CDT

Working With Foreclosure Consultants Can Get a Lawyer Burned

As the recession puts a dent in legal work along with just about every other segment of the economy, many attorneys are being tempted by a business opportunity that shows no signs of slacking off: working with foreclosure consultants. Foreclosure consultants, also known as loan modification agencies, advertise that they…

Jul 19, 2009 1:10 PM CDT

Buyers of Former Meth Homes Battle Ailments, File Suits

Possibly tens of thousands of homes have been used to make methamphetamine, causing health problems and financial worries for new owners and unsuspecting landlords. The New York Times chronicles the problems of homeowners Rhonda and Jason Holt, whose three babies became listless and struggled with breathing problems after they bought…

Jul 15, 2009 3:18 PM CDT

Lawyer Caught Up in Harlem’s Real Estate Bust

The plight of lawyer Craig Charie helps illustrate the real estate bust that is gripping the gentrifying Harlem neighborhood in New York. The New York Times focuses on a single block of the neighborhood where developers snapped up town homes with plans to renovate them and sell them for a…

Jul 8, 2009 4:07 PM CDT

The Journal’s Sea Change

I write to compliment you on your excellent article on the Alaska fishing industry and its accident record, “The Cemetery Sea,” May. The extensive research writer Lynda Edwards did made your article informative, interesting and readable. Your article far exceeded the usual ABA Journal articles, which lack depth and background…

Jul 2, 2009 4:00 AM CDT

Chicken Not-So-Little

If, five years ago, you asked members of local government in a major city what was likely to be one of the hot-button issues of today, it is unlikely that chickens would have made anyone’s top-10 list. But since that time, the “locavore” movement has taken off and, with it,…

Jul 2, 2009 3:30 AM CDT

Playing with Fire

Working with foreclosure consultants can get a lawyer burned

Jul 2, 2009 2:00 AM CDT

Ackerman Seeks to Expand Condemnation Niche, Opens D.C. Office

Responding to increased client demand for help with condemnation and eminent domain proceedings initiated in the nation’s capital, Bloomfield Hills, Mich.-based Ackerman Ackerman & Dynkowski has opened a new part-time satellite office in Washington, D.C., and expects to make it a full-time office by year’s end. “Washington, D.C., is one…

Jun 25, 2009 10:52 AM CDT

7 Fla. Firms Launch Foreclosure Bar Group, But Is It Active?

A group of law firms across Florida have reportedly banded together to form the Florida Foreclosure Defense Bar Association. The aspirational aim of the bar group—whose members are bankruptcy and foreclosure lawyers—is to assist families facing foreclosure and give them ready access to information about their rights. The group also…

Jun 24, 2009 12:46 PM CDT

DOJ Enters Fray Over Geronimo Skull Possibly Held By Yale Secret Society

In a filing on behalf of three high-level government officials—including President Barack Obama—who are named as defendants, the U.S. Department of Justice seeks to dismiss a federal lawsuit by descendants of the Apache warrior chieftan Geronimo that also names Yale University and a longtime secret society as defendants. The plaintiffs…

Jun 22, 2009 11:35 PM CDT

3 Laid-Off Ohio Lawyers Struggle to Find Work; 2 Others Land New Jobs

How bad is it out there right now for laid-off lawyers seeking new jobs? An article in Crain’s Cleveland Business today paints a depressing picture. Attorney Keith Barton lost his job as an in-house attorney at a nonprofit a few weeks before Christmas. He’s trying to get a solo practice…

Jun 22, 2009 9:13 PM CDT

Man Allegedly Impersonated Dead Mom in Unusual Grand Larceny Case

In a case unusual both for its facts and its application of criminal law, a New York man was indicted today on 47 counts for allegedly impersonating his dead mother to collect some $115,000 in benefits. “Mark Twain said truth is stranger than fiction and this is a great example…

Jun 17, 2009 8:10 PM CDT

Chicago Title Suit Warns Lawyers About Relying on Title Reports

An unusual lawsuit filed against a veteran New Jersey real estate attorney by a major title insurance company has caused fellow practitioners to sit up and take notice. Although the suit was dismissed and it appears that the defendant attorney, Albert Birchwale, did nothing wrong, the Chicago Title Insurance Co.…

Jun 16, 2009 5:07 PM CDT

Is Toilet Planter Trash? Legal Showdown Looms in Clash Over City Cleanup Plan

What municipal officials in Lakemoor, Ill., consider trash is personal art as far as Tina Asmus is concerned. And she’s hired a lawyer to make a federal case out of the issue. Specifically, the potential constitutional clash concerns the two toilet planters she has placed outside her home. With a…

Jun 16, 2009 12:04 AM CDT

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