Real Estate & Property Law

Even zoning regulations can help fight obesity, law prof argues

If you want to solve the obesity epidemic, don’t pin your hopes on litigation and bans on supersized soft drinks, according to Stanford University law professor Deborah Rhode. Lawsuits over misleading marketing can be costly and subject to a political backlash, Rhode writes in an article published in the Virginia…

Oct 28, 2015 5:45 AM CDT

Feds ID suspect charged in national park spray-paint case by phone number included for co-worker

A California man accused of spray-painting vulgar messages on prehistoric Indian rock carvings at Sequoia National Forest allegedly told an investigator he was “very drunk” at the time. In fact, Christopher Harp, 58, said he was so drunk that he didn’t even realize the rock carvings were there as he…

Oct 26, 2015 3:10 PM CDT

Demolition contractor acquitted of murder, convicted of manslaughter in building-collapse case

A demolition contractor was acquitted Monday of murder. However, a Philadelphia jury convicted Griffin Campbell of six counts of involuntary manslaughter and other charges over a 2013 building collapse that left a half-dozen people dead and 13 injured. Campbell, 51, had insisted when he testified in the Common Pleas Court…

Oct 20, 2015 2:10 PM CDT

Lawyer charged with stealing $5.7M from clients over two-year period

A New York lawyer was arrested Monday on charges that he stole $5.7 million from seven clients over a two-year period. David Frankel, 50, turned himself in at the Nassau County district attorney’s office and is now being held in lieu of $300,000 bail. At issue is $5,769,281.17 deposited into…

Oct 20, 2015 10:15 AM CDT

Suit challenges landowner covenants requiring homeowners to be primarily ‘of German extraction’

A couple in Yaphank, New York, is suing the community group that owns the land beneath their house over a bylaw that requires homeowners to be primarily “of German extraction” and restricts marketing of the homes. Homeowners Philip Kneer and Patricia Flynn-Kneer filed suit on Monday in federal court over…

Oct 20, 2015 7:37 AM CDT

Judge is removed from office for living outside district and lying about doing so

A judicial discipline board had sought a six- to 12-month suspension. But the Minnesota Supreme Court on Wednesday removed a state judge from office, effective immediately, for living outside his district and lying, in a sworn statement in a re-election filing, about doing so. Anoka County District Judge Alan Pendleton’s…

Oct 14, 2015 12:25 PM CDT

Giant pine cone caused severe head injury, suit says; park officials post warning signs

A tourist taking a nap under bunya pines in a federal waterfront park in San Francisco suffered serious head injuries last year when he was struck by a falling 16-pound pine cone, a lawsuit says. Filed last month in federal court in San Francisco, it seeks $5 million in damages…

Oct 13, 2015 10:15 AM CDT

Murder trial begins for demolition contractor in ‘apocalyptic’ building collapse

An unusual murder trial has begun for a general contractor charged in the fatal collapse of a Philadelphia building. Having rejected the same plea bargain accepted by crane operator Sean Benschop, who is expected to be a star witness at trial, Griffin Campbell hopes to persuade a Philadelphia jury that…

Oct 1, 2015 4:00 PM CDT

Real-estate law firm plans 150 layoffs, will close its title company

A Florida real-estate law firm known for its foreclosure practice says it plans to lay off approximately 150 workers and close its title company operation. However, the Law Offices of Daniel C. Consuegra will continue in business, reports the Tampa Bay Business Journal. The planned layoffs were announced to the…

Oct 1, 2015 1:10 PM CDT

Are weeds protected by the First Amendment? Posner thinks not

A federal appeals court has upheld Chicago’s weed ordinance in an opinion that includes photos of native plants and an entreaty to lawyers to provide more background information about the litigants. The author of the Sept. 28 opinion (PDF) for the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge Richard…

Sep 30, 2015 5:45 AM CDT

NYC to hire more lawyers, nearly double $34M budget to battle evictions

Faced with a growing population of homeless individuals and families and a lack of good shelter options, the city of New York is planning to hire eviction defense lawyers. The city hopes this will help alleviate the problem by reducing the number of people that are forced from their homes,…

Sep 28, 2015 4:40 PM CDT

Small firm sanctioned nearly $282K by federal judge for pursuing frivolous case

A long-running case over Native American land rights has resulted in a steep sanction for a small Minnesota law firm. Known for its civil rights litigation, three-partner Mohrman, Kaardal & Erickson was ordered Friday to pay $281,906.34 in legal bills for its opponents. A federal judge said the firm had…

Sep 28, 2015 10:00 AM CDT

Attorney and intern face murder case in fatal messenger bag dispute; counsel cites self-defense

A San Francisco tenants right attorney and an intern who were charged with murder following a fatal confrontation over a messenger bag earlier this month are claiming self-defense. The two had gone out with co-workers to celebrate the conclusion of 21-year-old Pascal Krummenacher’s internship. He and Eviction Defense Collaborative staff…

Sep 18, 2015 7:35 AM CDT

Once-convicted lawyer turns tables on feds, seeks $215K for defense fees in $52M mortgage-fraud case

Convicted two years ago in a $52 million mortgage-fraud scheme, a New Orleans lawyer won a reversal of his conviction in July from a federal appeals court. Now David Mark hopes to get reimbursement from the government of some $215,000 in attorney’s fees and costs, due to alleged wrongdoing by…

Sep 14, 2015 2:30 PM CDT

Indicted lawyer accused of stealing $6M from clients

A California lawyer has been federally indicted on 25 counts, accused of misappropriating a total of nearly $6 million from three clients in South Korea. Stephen Young Kang, 46, was arrested by federal agents last month as he tried to board a flight to South Korea at Los Angeles International…

Sep 2, 2015 4:20 PM CDT