Real Estate & Property Law

Mortgage Meltdown Issue: Arson

Can’t pay the mortgage? Or is your car or truck about to be repossessed? A small but growing number of financially stressed consumers has found an innovative, albeit criminal, solution to this problem: arson. Apparently seeking to recoup at least some of their money via insurance fraud, cash-strapped consumers are…

Apr 21, 2008 10:20 PM CDT

FBI Expects Massive Rise in Mortgage Fraud Cases

The FBI is dealing with a deluge of new mortgage fraud cases in a real estate meltdown of unprecedented scope. At a Senate hearing earlier this week, Robert Mueller, the agency’s director, noted that the FBI now has more than 1,300 mortgage fraud investigations underway, reports the Associated Press. A…

Apr 18, 2008 7:04 PM CDT

Kirkland & Ellis Snags 3 Partners from Mayer Brown

One Chicago-based BigLaw firm reportedly has just raided another of three partners. Bruce Gelman, Thomas Geraghty and Joshua Hanna have left Mayer Brown are now practicing at Kirkland & Ellis, reports Legal Week. Gelman and Geraghty are tax lawyers, and Hanna specializes in real estate and private equity matters.

Apr 15, 2008 8:32 PM CDT

N.J. Agrees to Cough Up $1.8M for Demolishing Condo

Here’s the scenario that culminated in a $1.8 million settlement in New Jersey this week: Family takes plot of land that had been vacant for 20 years; developer builds condos; city condemns property to build new school; new condos are torn down; city no longer has money for new school;…

Apr 4, 2008 9:01 PM CDT

Troutman Sanders Seeks Sanction for Neo-Nazi’s Online Comments About a Partner

A partner with Troutman Sanders in Richmond, Va., testified Wednesday that a neo-Nazi’s online comments about his role in a fair-housing suit have upended his home life. Lawyer Kevin Mottley told a Norfolk federal court that after the post he and his wife began to get strange phone calls and…

Apr 4, 2008 4:31 PM CDT

Senate Kills Proposal to Allow Bankruptcy Judges to Rewrite Mortgages

A controversial proposal to allow bankruptcy judges to rewrite homeowners’ mortgages has died in the Senate. Sen. Richard Durbin had backed the bankruptcy change, but he agreed to table the proposal so it would not threaten a larger bill to help struggling homeowners, the New York Times reports. Lenders and…

Apr 4, 2008 12:25 PM CDT

Biff! Bam! Wallop! 2 Lawyers Duke it Out in Oregon Courthouse

Lawyers are used to being adversarial, but two lawyers in the Portland, Ore., area apparently elevated their conflict to an actual fistfight in front of a crowd of courthouse spectators last week. Attorneys David Lawrence and Aaron Matusick had just left a Multnomah County landlord-tenant court hearing Thursday when they…

Apr 2, 2008 4:36 PM CDT

‘Assembly Line’ Justice: Business Is Booming for So-Called Foreclosure Mills

The subprime mortgage crisis has been good news for the law firms sometimes known as “foreclosure mills.” Florida law firms that focus on foreclosure work are ramping up their hiring to cope with the big boom in business, the Tampa Tribune reports. In February alone, one law firm, the Florida…

Apr 1, 2008 4:48 PM CDT

Bad News for KPMG: ‘Scathing’ Report Blames Accountant for Lender’s Failure

A critical report by a lawyer and former SEC official breaks new ground by blaming a Big Four accountant for a failed subprime mortgage lender’s “improper and imprudent practices,” and is viewed as a likely signpost pointing toward potential mortgage-related litigation in a new arena. Investigating on behalf of a…

Mar 26, 2008 8:38 PM CDT

Justice Department Weighing Theories and Evidence in Subprime Crisis

Attorney General Michael Mukasey told reporters \Friday that lawyers at the Justice Department are reviewing information flowing in about the subprime crisis to see if there is a “larger criminal story.” Mukasey said the department hasn’t determined whether the problems merit a response like the corporate fraud crackdown that began…

Mar 24, 2008 6:32 PM CDT

Law Firms’ New Role: Loan Renegotiator

The mortgage meltdown is changing the role that lawyers play in the foreclosure process. As many complain that mortgage servicers are unwilling or unable to focus on the loan renegotiations that are needed to prevent an unprecedented number of owners from losing their homes, Fannie Mae is turning to a…

Mar 24, 2008 3:35 PM CDT

Small Pa. Law Firm Hit With $5.2M Overbilling Judgment

A Pennsylvania judge has ordered a small practitioner to pay a $5.2 million judgment, including $1 million in punitive damages, for charging unlawful attorney fees while collecting delinquent municipal and school district property taxes. Ruling in an unjust enrichment case, Judge Mark Bernstein of the Court of Common Pleas held…

Mar 17, 2008 7:27 PM CDT

Lawyers Blamed, Credited in Singers’ Foreclosure Cases

Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin is blaming a lawyer’s mistake for the near loss of her home, but pop singer Michael Jackson has his lawyers to thank for the rescue of his beloved Neverland Ranch. Franklin’s $700,000 Detroit mansion fell into foreclosure after she neglected to pay $445 in taxes…

Mar 14, 2008 12:23 PM CDT

Federal Money Mavens Propose New Mortgage Rules

Weighing in on the issue of the nation’s troubled mortgage market, a group of top federal economic policy-makers assembled by President George Bush is recommending stricter standards for the industry. The proposed new rules include tougher federal and state regulation of financial institutions; a national licensing system for mortgage brokers;…

Mar 13, 2008 9:08 PM CDT

Client to Real Estate Lawyer: Where’s My $2 Million?

A French client says he wired $3.8 million to a Miami Beach, Fla., real estate attorney’s trust account, with instructions to form six corporations and buy six condos by 2006. But then, when he changed his mind and wanted some $2 million of his money back, attorney Sally Sawh didn’t…

Mar 13, 2008 5:30 PM CDT