Real Estate & Property Law

Appraiser in $41M Georgia Fraud Explains US Mortgage Meltdown

A real estate appraiser who pleaded guilty to helping defraud mortgage lenders of at least $41 million in a Georgia “flipping” scheme to inflate home values details in his recent testimony against co-defendants the industry problems that led to a nationwide mortgage meltdown. Faced, like other appraisers, with a choice…

Jan 17, 2008 4:57 PM CST

Garrison Keillor Files Suit Against Neighbor

A dispute between Garrison Keillor and his neighbor doesn’t have a Lake Wobegon ending: The host of A Prairie Home Companion has filed a lawsuit seeking to block a home addition. Keillor’s suit says the addition to his neighbor’s home in their historic district will “impair or destroy protected historical…

Jan 16, 2008 3:18 PM CST

Women Got More Subprime Mortgages

Women were more likely than men to receive subprime mortgages in recent years, according to studies by consumer and housing organizations. While some of the disparity can be accounted for by factors such as the lower incomes earned by women, overall, compared to men, it appears that discrimination–especially against women…

Jan 16, 2008 12:07 AM CST

Court Bans Bad Neighbor from Living in His Own Home

A man who reportedly made his next-door neighbors’ daily lives a hellish experience for years is now banned from residing in his own home. After 40-year-old Carl Bridson finishes serving a six-month sentence for harassment, he will only be able to visit his home for brief periods scheduled in advance,…

Jan 10, 2008 5:05 PM CST

Estate Headache: Selling High-Priced Family Home

Seemingly, heirs might be happy to hear that they have inherited a share in a family home worth millions. But in actual practice, handling such estates can prove a major headache for the lawyers, real estate agents and other professionals involved. Especially if Mom and Dad—who are the usual source…

Jan 8, 2008 10:14 PM CST

State Street Corp. Readies for Lawsuits Related to Subprime Losses

State Street Corp. is reserving $618 million to fund legal and other costs after customer complaints that they were improperly exposed to investments in subprime mortgages. The CEO of the unit subject to the complaints, State Street Global Advisors, is being replaced, the Wall Street Journal reports (sub. req.). The…

Jan 3, 2008 3:43 PM CST

Flanked By Marshals, Federal Judge Visits Troubled Trailer Park

In an unusual firsthand look at the conditions of a trailer park, U.S. District Judge Stephen Larson trekked through muddy roads, accompanying inspectors at Duroville on the Torres Martinez Indian Reservation. At issue are purported dangerous conditions at the mobile home park. Larson, flanked by marshals carrying assault rifles and…

Dec 21, 2007 7:11 PM CST

Subprime Problems Boost Securities Class-Action Suits

The subprime mortgage debacle is fueling an increase in shareholder class-action lawsuits. Two reports have reached that conclusion, despite some differences in the numbers reported. The New York Times reports that 198 class actions were filed through Dec. 15, an increase of 58 percent over last year, citing a study…

Dec 21, 2007 12:38 PM CST

$1.2M Paid in R.I. Lead Paint Suit

More than two years after DuPont agreed to pay $12 million and clean up 600 homes in order to settle a lead paint lawsuit brought by the state of Rhode Island, the first of the money is being distributed. Several children’s health and educational projects will split $1.2 million of…

Dec 18, 2007 11:26 PM CST

Law Firm May Be Liable for Earlier Errors

A divided California appeals court has upheld a malicious prosecution claim against a law firm that apparently resulted from conduct of the plaintiff’s lead counsel. LaFave & Rice argued, essentially, that it didn’t know of alleged defects in the case, which was filed by another law firm, but the panel…

Dec 18, 2007 6:10 PM CST

Fed Seeks to Restrict Subprime Lending

After a national foreclosure crisis, the Federal Reserve has introduced proposed new regulations that, if adopted, would restrict subprime mortgage lending and essentially require lenders not to give borrowers mortgages that they clearly can’t afford to repay. The proposed regulations require more disclosure from lenders, define specific practices as misleading…

Dec 18, 2007 4:31 PM CST

No Signs for Big Mich. Law Firm

A well-known law firm in Grand Rapids, Mich., would like to put up street-level signs to help clients find their five-floor downtown offices. But that’s not possible, because the bank from which Warner Norcross & Judd rents its office space has already taken up all the available ground-floor sign space,…

Dec 14, 2007 10:11 PM CST

‘Finders Keepers,’ Says Contractor Who Found $182K in Walls

A contractor who found $182,000 in cash in a homeowner’s bathroom walls has hired a lawyer and threatened a lawsuit asserting a right to the money. Contractor Bob Kitts was rehabbing an 83-year old Cleveland home when he found some of the Depression-era cash in the walls and called homeowner…

Dec 14, 2007 3:34 PM CST

Bianca Jagger Evicted in NYC

Rock legend Mick Jagger’s ex-wife has been evicted from the rent-stabilized New York City apartment she has called home for 20 years, potentially allowing the landlord to up the ante from the mere $4,600-per-month regulated rent that Bianca Jagger was paying to a fair-market rate. The 62-year-old model-turned-activist had been…

Dec 13, 2007 10:10 PM CST

Realtors Win, FTC Loses Multilist Case

An administrative law judge in Washington, D.C., has sided with a Realtor group against the Federal Trade Commission, in one case in an ongoing national legal battle over efforts by Realtors to protect their turf from discount brokers. Realcomp II Ltd., of Farmington Hills, Mich., near Detroit, does not have…

Dec 13, 2007 9:19 PM CST