Real Estate & Property Law

Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy is charged in 2014 cattle-graze standoff as he heads to Oregon protest

After Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy and militia supporters prevailed in an armed 2014 standoff concerning cattle trespassing on federal land, the government wasn’t in any hurry to bring criminal charges. However, when Bundy traveled this week to Portland, Oregon, in a reported plan to support two of his sons after…

Feb 12, 2016 11:20 AM CST

Doctor gets 30 years to life in landmark prosecution over patient OD deaths

A former California physician was sentenced Friday to 30 years to life in a landmark Los Angeles drug prosecution. Dr. Hsiu-Ying “Lisa” Tseng, 46, gave up her license to practice medicine in 2012, after she was charged in three patient overdose deaths. Prosecutors say her second-degree murder case is the…

Feb 5, 2016 5:00 PM CST

16 are federally indicted in takeover of Oregon wildlife refuge

Four remaining occupiers of a federal wildlife refuge in Oregon have been indicted over the monthlong armed takeover, along with a dozen others. In an indictment (PDF) unsealed Thursday, they are charged with conspiracy to impede federal officers through intimidation, threats or force, a felony, the Oregonian reports. The defendants…

Feb 4, 2016 4:10 PM CST

Group goes undercover at 13 law firms to show how US laws facilitate anonymous investment

Fifteen out of 16 Manhattan lawyers captured on video in a group’s undercover operation—including a then-ABA president—offered advice on how an African official could buy pricey Manhattan real estate without revealing his identity. An investigator for a group called Global Witness posed as an adviser to an African minister of…

Feb 1, 2016 5:00 PM CST

SCOTUS to hear takings case of Wisconsin cabin owners

Four siblings who own a vacation cabin by Lake St. Croix in Wisconsin will have their takings case heard by the U.S. Supreme Court. The court agreed to hear the case earlier this month, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. The siblings are represented by the Pacific Legal Foundation. The cabin…

Jan 26, 2016 5:45 AM CST

Snowboarder who survived avalanche could be charged with trespassing

Snowboarder Christian Michael Mares says he survived an avalanche at Northern California’s Sugar Bowl Resort last week by swimming to the top. Now, blamed for venturing into a closed area of the ski resort and setting off the snowslide, he faces a potential trespassing case, reports the San Francisco Chronicle.…

Jan 22, 2016 10:25 AM CST

Seattle mayor OKs ‘safe lots’ where those living in vehicles can park them

Using emergency powers that allow him to bypass some planning and zoning approvals that ordinarily would be required, Seattle’s mayor has ordered two “safe lots” to be established on public property that will provide parking spaces for those living in their vehicles. Up to 50 spaces will be available at…

Jan 20, 2016 4:40 PM CST

9th Circuit blasts judge who ruled for rancher, boots him from grazing-rights case

A federal appeals court not only vacated and reversed portions of a judgment in a high-profile Nevada grazing-rights case on Friday but booted the trial judge from the case on remand. Saying that U.S. District Judge Robert Clive Jones had displayed bias against the federal government and grossly abused his…

Jan 19, 2016 12:10 PM CST

Goldman Sachs OKs $5B settlement of civil claims over toxic mortgage bonds

One of Wall Street’s best-known financial institutions has agreed to pay more than $5 billion to settle claims that it sold toxic bonds based on residential mortgages between 2005 and 2007, as the nation’s mortgage market was about to go into a meltdown. The agreement in principle by Goldman Sachs…

Jan 14, 2016 5:00 PM CST

US focuses on money laundering in real estate with new reporting requirements

The U.S. Treasury Department has announced it will begin to require disclosure of some people who use cash to purchase real estate through shell companies in two areas known for high-priced properties. The effort to combat money laundering is beginning with reporting requirements for sales above $3 million in Manhattan…

Jan 13, 2016 10:25 AM CST

Attorney takes plea deal in marijuana ‘grow house’ case

A Raleigh, North Carolina, attorney accused of playing a role in a marijuana “grow house” operation and using his law office to help prepare fraudulent applications for bank loans has taken a plea deal. Joseph Lee Levinson pleaded guilty Friday to a federal conspiracy count concerning false statements made to…

Jan 12, 2016 2:15 PM CST

Disbarred lawyer faces likely prison time after admitting theft of more than $1M from 2 clients

Disbarred by consent in 2010, a former New York lawyer is now facing likely prison time after admitting to stealing more than $1 million from two ex-clients. Janice Jessup, 68, pleaded guilty to grand larceny Monday in Nassau County Court, Newsday (sub. req.) and the Associated Press report. Prosecutors said…

Jan 12, 2016 2:15 PM CST

Hackers are stealing closing funds by intercepting lawyer-client email, experts say

Hackers are intercepting email between lawyers and clients, as well as real estate agents and their clients, in an effort to steal closing funds. The scheme has been successful in at least 91 cases involving the theft of an average of 112,000 pounds, a British newspaper reports. And a San…

Jan 11, 2016 4:15 PM CST

DLA Piper to close Tampa office

DLA Piper will close its Tampa, Florida, office early next year. The closing was confirmed in a prepared statement Tuesday from firm spokesman Josh Epstein, the Daily Business Review reports. The firm will transfer its Tampa lawyers and support staff to its Miami office, where it has excess space, the…

Dec 22, 2015 4:50 PM CST

Lawyer and 5 others face charges in claimed mortgage-fraud scheme

A Rhode Island lawyer has been criminally charged, along with five other defendants, in a claimed mortgage-fraud scheme between 2007 and 2014 involving over a dozen properties in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Louis Marandola, 41, is accused of conspiring with others, including a real estate agent, loan workers and an…

Dec 17, 2015 4:00 PM CST