Real Estate & Property Law

Tough Times for Expert Witnesses Sued By Own Clients for Negligence

It may soon be harder to find experts to testify as witnesses in civil litigation if a trend toward allowing their own clients to sue them for negligence continues. Courts in California and Utah recently recognized the validity of such suits in cases concerning, respectively, a real estate appraisal and…

May 12, 2008 8:48 PM CDT

Subprime Suits Face Hurdles in the Form of Two Supreme Court Decisions

Recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions may make it more difficult for shareholders suing over subprime losses to prove their claims. A lawsuit against Morgan Stanley’s chief legal officer offers the traditional kind of allegations, the New York Times reports. The action contends the company held back information about its exposure…

May 8, 2008 12:16 PM CDT

Fla. Tree Owners Win Citrus Comp Class Action, But Get Only $11.5M

Plaintiffs’ counsel had hoped for $50 million or so. But a Fort Lauderdale, Fla., jury effectively awarded less than $5 million to 58,000 Broward County homeowners who had sought additional state compensation for more than 130,000 trees destroyed during a failed campaign to eradicate citrus canker. The total verdict was…

May 7, 2008 5:42 PM CDT

Restaurant Sex Violated Permit, Pa. Appeals Court Says

Live sex between patrons is not an accessory use permitted under a Philadelphia restaurant permit, a divided Pennsylvania appeals court has ruled. “The majority said sexual activity was not subordinate to dining at Club Kama Sutra because the establishment’s pricing structure seemed more in keeping with that of a sex…

May 6, 2008 6:50 PM CDT

Congress May Urge Mortgage Principal Reductions for Struggling Homeowners

As housing price declines steepen and mortgage default rates rise, Congress is considering legislation to give struggling homeowners an alternative to foreclosure in what many are calling the worst real estate market in a quarter century. Under a proposal by Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass, the Federal Housing Administration would be…

May 6, 2008 4:54 PM CDT

Lenders Freeze Home Equity Lines, Avoiding Possible Chapter 13 Cuts

Instead of providing the expected financial cushion in tough economic times, home equity lines are disappearing just when some owners—including attorneys—were relying on being able to use them. Jerry Tao, a part-time lawyer in Las Vegas, is in better shape than most—he made more than $500,000 last year, and never…

May 6, 2008 4:14 PM CDT

A Few Small Law Firms Handle Most Minnesota Foreclosures

Call them foreclosure factories, if you will. But two Minnesota law firms handle nearly half of the mortgage foreclosure work in the state—earning, one partner says, as little as $50 per case. Wilford & Geske, a small law firm in Woodbury, handles about 5,300 mortgage cases annually, amounting to a…

May 5, 2008 5:08 PM CDT

Feds Rev Up National Mortgage Fraud & Securities Probe

Federal prosecutors in at least five major cities throughout the country are reving up for a more expansive investigation of possible widespread fraudulent practices by mortgage lenders and investment banks. Prosecutors in Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York and Philadelphia, with the help of the FBI and the criminal division…

May 5, 2008 4:11 PM CDT

Celebrity Foreclosure Case: Jose Canseco

The national mortgage meltdown is reportedly affecting even major league baseball stars. Jose Canseco, 43, who retired from MLB in 2001, told Inside Edition he has lost his Encino, Calif., home after the TV show reported that it had foreclosure documents showing he owed $2.5 million on it, reports Reuters.…

May 1, 2008 9:48 PM CDT

Foreclosure Crisis Hits New Highs

The mortgage meltdown continues, as foreclosure statistics released yesterday by RealtyTrac make clear. Filings nationwide have more than doubled, compared to the first quarter of 2007, and are up 23 percent since the last quarter of 2007. That translates to one in every 194 homes receiving at least one foreclosure…

Apr 29, 2008 10:38 PM CDT

Couple Loses Suit Claiming Realtor Let Them Overpay for Home

A California couple who claimed their real estate agent failed to tell them they were overpaying for their home have lost their lawsuit. Marty and Vernon Ummel had contended their agent didn’t disclose that other homes in the neighborhood were selling for $100,000 less than the amount they paid, the…

Apr 28, 2008 1:08 PM CDT

How the Rich are Different: As Foreclosure Looms, They Can Pay

The mortgage meltdown includes even some homeowners in the nation’s most affluent communities. But the rich, as F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote, are different than the rest of us. They have more money (as Ernest Hemingway is said to have noted), and hence may well be able to pull out of…

Apr 25, 2008 10:21 PM CDT

Suit Accuses N.Y. Real Estate Firm of Bias Against Parents

A class action lawsuit filed yesterday claims a New York real estate firm discriminates against families with children. Jamie Katz and Lisa Nocera, an emergency room physician, filed the suit against Brown Harris Stevens, the New York Times reports. They say the firm refused to show them one rental unit…

Apr 25, 2008 12:18 PM CDT

Landlords Charged in Calif. Rental Rage Case Cut Hole in Tenant’s Floor

Two landlords are facing felony charges after allegedly waging a war of terror in an effort to persuade a San Francisco tenant to move out and harassing two other tenants who sought to pay reduced rent. Software engineer Kip Macy, 33, and real estate agent Nicole Macy, 32, were charged…

Apr 24, 2008 8:02 PM CDT

Legal Remedies Lacking re Unpaid Condo Ass’n Fees

Add another issue to the list of troubles created by the subprime mortgage meltdown: unpaid condominium association fees. In Florida, half of the nearly 500 condo and homeowner associations that responded to a recent law firm survey said foreclosures have created a revenue shortfall. Meanwhile, many owners who do pay…

Apr 22, 2008 3:10 PM CDT