Real Estate & Property Law

911 Call Captures Horror of Law Firm Blast; Injured Partner in ‘Good Spirits’

A man upset over a law firm’s representation of his son in a bitter property dispute repeatedly rammed his fuel-packed SUV into a North Georgia law firm on Friday before giving up and tossing a makeshift bomb through a window, a recently released 911 call reveals. “He keeps ramming the…

Oct 21, 2008 8:42 PM CDT

Dalton Bands Together to Aid Bombed Out Firm

As the northwest Georgia community of Dalton comes to grips with a suicide bombing at a law firm that left the main suspect dead and a name partner in critical condition, residents are rallying around the well-known firm. Housed in a two-story colonial home, McCamy, Phillips, Tuggle & Fordham, was…

Oct 20, 2008 7:13 PM CDT

Foreclosure Activity Free-Falls in Calif. Because of New Notice Law

Foreclosure activity in California plummeted in September, largely because of a new state law that requires lenders to contact homeowners in advance of foreclosure filings. So dramatic is the drop in activity—down 61.8 percent from August levels—that monthly foreclosure stats are worthless as barometers of housing market conditions, according to…

Oct 20, 2008 4:50 PM CDT

‘Suicide Bomber’ in Land Dispute with Son Targeted Law Firm

A bitter family property dispute is the reason a 78-year-old Dalton, Ga., man entered a law firm Friday morning and detonated a bomb, authorities say. The suspected bomber, Lloyd Sylvester Cantrell, was killed, and the firm’s name partner, James H. Phillips, 79, was badly burned when Cantrell threw a bomb…

Oct 18, 2008 1:35 PM CDT

Reversing Course, Illinois Sheriff Will Evict Residents of Foreclosures

After making media waves throughout the country with an unusual refusal to enforce court eviction orders in mortgage foreclosure cases last week, the sheriff of Cook County, Illinois, has backed down. Assured that new procedures would be implemented to protect innocent tenants from being evicted because their landlord hadn’t paid…

Oct 16, 2008 10:57 PM CDT

Did Signing Lease for Pa. Law Firm Make 2 Partners Personally Liable?

Although other partners of a dissolved Pittsburgh law firm were held personally liable for the balance due on the remainder of the five-year office lease, two former Titus & McConomy partners say they aren’t. That’s because they signed the lease on behalf of the law firm, not as individual partners,…

Oct 14, 2008 4:38 PM CDT

Buyers Sue Florida Law Firm Over Failed Condo Project

About 25 would-be buyers in a failed Florida condominium development are suing the law firm that held their deposit money, arguing it didn’t do enough to safeguard $2.5 million of their funds. However, a lawyer for the venerable Gunster Yoakley & Stewart law firm says it did nothing wrong in…

Oct 14, 2008 4:09 PM CDT

Jailed Over Brown Lawn, 66-Year-Old Returns Home to Beautiful Yard

As a struggling 66-year-old Florida homeowner went off to begin serving an open-ended contempt sentence for having a brown lawn last week, the president of his condominium association said Joseph Prudente brought the situation on himself. But strangers showed more compassion for Prudente’s plight—even though he had indeed ignored the…

Oct 13, 2008 11:48 PM CDT

We Won’t Evict Unless You Do Your Job, Illinois Sheriff Tells Lenders

In an unusual act of rebellion against an apparent defect in a number of foreclosure cases, the sheriff of Cook County has made national headlines this week by saying his officers wouldn’t enforce court orders and evict occupants of foreclosed homes in and around Chicago until lenders could prove that…

Oct 10, 2008 4:42 PM CDT

Despite S&L Debacle Decades Ago, Most Hard-Hit States Didn’t Amp Up Regulation

Despite the savings and loan meltdown that hit the country some 20 years ago, many states at the center of that maelstrom apparently didn’t learn the obvious lesson: Regulation is needed to keep dubious mortgage lending practices in check. Now, many of the same states that suffered the most from…

Oct 8, 2008 5:44 PM CDT

South Florida Lawyer Charged in Mortgage Fraud Case

A South Florida lawyer has been criminally charged along with two others who allegedly participated in a scheme to sell a house at a grossly inflated value to a “buyer” whose identity was stolen. Delaila Estefano, 35, was released on $75,000 bond after being charged last week with first-degree grand…

Oct 7, 2008 6:51 PM CDT

9 LA Lawyers Move from Sonnenschein to Seyfarth Shaw

A group of nine real estate and corporate attorneys are moving from Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal to the Los Angeles office of Seyfarth Shaw. The five partners in the group are expected to be joined today by four associates, according to a Seyfarth press release. “Seyfarth Shaw has long planned…

Oct 6, 2008 3:14 PM CDT

Subprime Cases: Up Up Up Up Up ...

The number of filings in federal court related to the subprime mortgage crisis are skyrocketing. In the last two quarters of 2007, 181 subprime cases were filed. In just the first quarter of 2008, 170 cases had already been filed. Source: First Quarter 2008 Update: Reaching New Heights Navigant Consulting…

Oct 1, 2008 8:40 PM CDT

As Real Estate Market Sank, Legal Malpractice Claims Rose

Although the worst of the mortgage meltdown was then still in the future, a ABA study of legal malpractice claims from 2004 to 2007 showed that related legal malpractice claims rose as the real estate market fell. Such legal malpractice claims are up about four percentage points, according to the…

Sep 30, 2008 8:46 PM CDT

House Nixes $700B Bailout; What’s Next for Regulators?

Developing: In a U-turn from initial predictions last week that emergency financial bailout legislation proposed by Bush administration officials would soon be enacted, the House today defeated the package by a 228-205 vote, creating, at least for the moment, a brave new world for federal regulatory agencies. U.S. Treasury Secretary…

Sep 29, 2008 8:20 PM CDT