Real Estate & Property Law

Criminal investigation of balcony collapse that killed 6 is ongoing, prosecutor says

A criminal investigation is ongoing over a balcony collapse at a Berkeley, California, apartment building earlier this month that killed six people and injured seven others. But Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley declined to identify the targets of the probe or the theory of the potential case, because it…

Jun 25, 2015 4:00 PM CDT

Judge sues neighbors over injuries she suffered in donkey attack

A Washington state judge has sued her neighbors over injuries she suffered in a donkey attack last year, alleging that they failed to warn her about a defective fence post and the animal’s “dangerous propensities.” For a decade, King County Superior Court Judge Julie Spector walked her two golden retrievers…

Jun 23, 2015 12:20 PM CDT

Settlement saves Sweet Briar; lawyer to be at college helm, along with new board members

A Virginia judge on Monday approved a settlement agreement intended to keep Sweet Briar College operational. With the help of over $12 million in promised donations from alumnae, the school will stay open at least one more year, the New York Times (reg. req.) reports. Thirteen of the 23 board…

Jun 22, 2015 4:10 PM CDT

Takings clause applies to personal property, SCOTUS rules in ‘major blow’ to set-aside programs

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the Fifth Amendment’s takings clause requires the government to pay compensation for takings of personal property. The court ruled in the case of raisin producers contesting a government set-aside program. SCOTUSblog calls the decision (PDF) “a major blow to government’s program of trying…

Jun 22, 2015 9:23 AM CDT

Will probe of balcony collapse that killed 6 lead to new apartment building standards?

Following a fatal porch collapse in Chicago over a decade ago that killed 13 people and injured dozens more, the city strengthened both its building code and its enforcement procedures. It appears that a similar process may now be underway in Berkeley, California, where a fourth-floor apartment balcony collapse Tuesday…

Jun 18, 2015 1:55 PM CDT

New court service alerts property owners when deeds or other documents are filed

For those willing to forge documents, stealing someone else’s home may not be difficult. Anyone who wishes to generally can file a document at the county courthouse, and most property owners likely would have no idea that a fraudulent claim to ownership had been made. However, some court officials are…

Jun 16, 2015 2:45 PM CDT

Letters from unknown ‘Watcher’ spark suit against seller of upscale home and title company

One of their reasons for purchasing a $1.3 million home in Westfield, New Jersey, was the New York City bedroom community’s reputation for safety, the buyers say. But a letter they received from “The Watcher” a few days after closing destroyed their sense of security, making it impossible for them…

Jun 16, 2015 1:20 PM CDT

Nelson Mullins opens NYC office, expands capital markets practice

A Southern regional powerhouse has planted its flag in New York City. Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough announced Monday that it has opened a Manhattan office with two partners who focus on real estate and corporate financial matters, reports The State. With the help of the new office in the…

Jun 9, 2015 11:00 AM CDT

Closing attorney gets 12 months for his role in mortgage-fraud scheme

A disbarred New Jersey lawyer was sentenced Thursday to a 12-month federal prison term for his role in a mortgage-fraud scheme. Federal prosecutors said Amedeo Gaglioti, 60, issued two sets of closing documents to conceal what was really happening in real estate transactions for which he served as a closing…

Jun 5, 2015 11:05 AM CDT

Man sued for sawing neighbor’s garage in half isn’t liable, judge rules

A Minnesota home buyer who discovered days after the property closing that his garage had been sawed in half has lost a civil suit against the neighbor who did it. Judge Lois Lang of Grand Rapids, Minnesota, ruled against home buyer Mark Besemann on May 29 because half of his…

Jun 4, 2015 8:08 AM CDT

Snake infestation forced home buyers from house, $2M suit alleges

Home buyers in Maryland claim in a $2 million lawsuit that they were forced to move out of their Annapolis home after spending nearly $60,000 in a fruitless effort to eradicate snakes that were nesting in the walls. The suit by Jeff and Jody Brooks, filed in Anne Arundel County,…

Jun 3, 2015 10:07 AM CDT

Man sues funeral home after wife’s casket somehow exits concrete vault and floats away in flood

When Richard Lee got a call telling him that his wife’s casket had floated about 100 yards from her Texas burial site because of recent flooding, he thought there must be some mistake. She was laid to rest in 2007 in a concrete vault, so how could that be possible?…

Jun 2, 2015 4:25 PM CDT

Insurer sued over claim it refuses to cover disabled homeowners who have pit bulls as service dogs

A major insurer is facing a federal housing discrimination case over its alleged refusal to provide homeowner coverage to individuals who have a pit bull as a service animal. Several Travelers insurance companies and two insurance agents are named in the suit brought by the Fair Housing Council of Oregon.…

Jun 2, 2015 1:50 PM CDT

Foreclosure-rescue law firm and others ordered to pay $27M, but their assets total only about $655K

A federal judge has ordered a Florida foreclosure-rescue law firm, its former managing partner and affiliated companies to pay a $27.7 million judgment for charging homeowners illegal upfront fees and failing to perform promised work for clients. However, the federal and state regulators who brought the suit are unlikely to…

Jun 1, 2015 1:20 PM CDT

Are house and trees covered in aluminum foil legal? City officials check the books

Piotr Janowski says the heavy-duty aluminum foil he recently unrolled onto his new rental home in Tarpon Springs, Florida, is the equivalent of gold leaf. Others aren’t convinced. At least one unidentified neighbor has complained to Janowski’s landlord and city code enforcement about the house and one or more aluminum-foil-encased…

May 29, 2015 3:25 PM CDT