Real Estate & Property Law

Judge tosses CFPB suit claiming Kentucky law firm paid kickbacks through joint-venture title firms

A federal judge has sided with a Kentucky law firm sued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for alleged kickbacks for real-estate work referrals. U.S. District Judge Charles Simpson III found no violation of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act and tossed the suit against the law firm, Borders &…

Jul 17, 2017 11:27 AM CDT

ABA unveils free online tool to help veterans identify legal needs

Veterans who need help identifying legal needs in their lives can take advantage of a new online tool.

Legal Checkup for Veterans, a free website, is part of a signature initiative by ABA President Linda A. Klein to improve legal services for veterans, according to an ABA press release.

Jul 5, 2017 7:00 AM CDT

American attorneys partner to save endangered African wildlife

Working with a public interest law firm in Namibia and the ABA Section of State and Local Government Law, American attorneys set out to improve the country’s wildlife laws—and strengthen their enforcement—with the aim of saving more Namibian animals.

Jul 1, 2017 12:50 AM CDT

Judge orders law firm to pay $3.1M to condo association for negligence enabling contractor fraud

A Nevada judge has ordered a law firm to pay $2.4 million in damages and $700,000 in interest to a homeowners association for failing to supervise an associate who enabled contractor fraud. The law firm, Kummer Kaempfer Bonner Renshaw and Ferrario, is now known as Kaempfer Crowell, the Las Vegas…

Jun 30, 2017 2:11 PM CDT

Supreme Court rules against property owners in takings case

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday ruled against four siblings who contended zoning regulations constituted a taking of their Wisconsin vacation property.

The court ruled that there was no regulatory taking that required compensation to the landowners. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote the majority opinion (PDF).

Jun 23, 2017 9:28 AM CDT

How government actions, not personal choices, created segregated neighborhoods (podcast)

Richard Rothstein spent years studying why schools remained de facto segregated after Brown v. Board of Education. He came to believe that the problem of segregated schools could not be solved until the problem of segregated neighborhoods was addressed—and that neighborhoods were de jure segregated, not de facto.

Jun 21, 2017 8:30 AM CDT

‘Invasion of seclusion’ tort is alleged in suit over Zillow Zestimates

Updated: A suburban Chicago homebuilder has filed a would-be class action suit on behalf of Illinois homeowners over Zillow’s Zestimates of home values. The suit filed by CastleBldrs.com and its owners claims Zillow is committing the tort of invasion of seclusion and violating Illinois appraisal law, report the Chicago Tribune,…

May 23, 2017 10:02 AM CDT

Cities need more than foreseeable damages to file fair housing cases against banks, SCOTUS says

When determining if a municipality meets the Fair Housing Act’s definition of an “aggrieved person” for litigation, courts must determine if there’s a direct relationship between alleged conduct and actual harm, the U.S. Supreme Court found Monday. The consolidated cases, which allege that Bank of America and Wells Fargo engaged…

May 1, 2017 11:38 AM CDT

Controversial Supreme Court decision lands on the big screen

It’s rare to see a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision turned into a movie. But the case of Kelo v. New London uniquely galvanized a community, spurring one filmmaker to make it happen.

“It just seemed like a terrible affront to justice,” says Ted Balaker, who runs the film’s production company. Balaker helped cover the Kelo case for ABC News, where he worked at the time.

May 1, 2017 3:10 AM CDT

Foreclosure law firm accused of conspiring to inflate prices is mostly victorious at trial

The largest foreclosure law firm in Colorado has successfully fought civil allegations that it conspired with competitors and related businesses to fix prices and make more money on side costs, such as title insurance and foreclosure notices. Judge Morris Hoffman of Denver ruled on Tuesday that there was no conspiracy…

Apr 6, 2017 11:08 AM CDT

Law firm accused of allowing HOA ballot-rigging blames junior associate it assigned to the matter

A lawyer with a Nevada law firm argued in a malpractice trial on Tuesday that a first-year associate was to blame for allowing rigged elections at a homeowners association that was defrauded through the board’s award of construction contracts. The Las Vegas Review-Journal covered the opening arguments in the suit…

Mar 29, 2017 12:10 PM CDT

Federal judge tosses suit against property owner who shot down hovering drone

A federal judge in Louisville has dismissed a suit seeking damages against a property owner who shot down a hobbyist’s drone in 2015. Senior U.S. District Judge Thomas Russell dismissed the suit against self-described “drone slayer” William Merideth, citing a lack of federal subject matter jurisdiction, Ars Technica reports. The…

Mar 27, 2017 8:40 AM CDT

Sentencing date is set for lawyer in alleged short-sale scheme

Sentencing is set for April 28 for a New York lawyer accused in an alleged short-sale scheme in which homes were sold to new owners without paying off existing mortgages. The lawyer, Helene Stetch, pleaded guilty Jan. 9 to criminal possession of stolen property, according to Meris Campbell, a spokesperson…

Mar 17, 2017 4:25 PM CDT

Trial ends for foreclosure law firm accused of conspiring to inflate prices

A lawyer for the state of Colorado argued last week that Colorado’s largest foreclosure law firm conspired with competitors and related businesses to fix prices and maximize profits. The Denver-based Castle Law Group, along with the husband and wife team who ran it, are facing a civil suit that claims…

Feb 2, 2017 7:00 AM CST

7th Circuit strikes down ban on minors at gun ranges; SCOTUS shortlister wrote the opinion

A federal appeals court on Wednesday struck down restrictions on gun ranges in Chicago, including a categorical ban on minors at gun ranges. The Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned three regulations enacted after the city’s complete ban on city gun ranges was struck down in 2011. Judge…

Jan 19, 2017 10:26 AM CST