Real Estate & Property Law

Innocent people face loss of their homes because of drug charges against family members

As many as 100 or more Philadelphia homeowners are losing their homes to civil forfeiture each year, and some of them may be innocent of any crime. The Philadelphia District Attorney’s office recovers more than $1 million a year from the real estate sales, Pro Publica reports. Though federal law…

Aug 12, 2013 11:05 AM CDT

Lawyers in multiple states face inquiry, or worse, over legal fees in mortgage foreclosure matters

Attorneys in multiple states are in the news due to alleged violation of rules concerning the fees they charged clients seeking mortgage modifications or concerns that they may have used questionable billing practices while representing lenders in foreclosure cases. In California, attorney Stephen Siringoringo was ordered by the State Bar…

Aug 9, 2013 10:30 AM CDT

New fair housing trial ordered over Craigslist ad touting ‘great bachelor pad’ apartment

A fair housing group has been granted a new trial in a suit against an apartment rental company that placed a Craigslist ad touting a rental unit as “a great bachelor pad for any single man looking to hook up.” The Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said a…

Aug 8, 2013 10:45 AM CDT

City moves forward with controversial mortgage rescue plan, backed by eminent domain power

A city in the San Francisco Bay area is the first in California to move ahead with a controversial approach to the problem of struggling homeowners having trouble paying mortgages on their upside-down homes. Richmond has asked the holders of more than 620 underwater mortgages—mortages in which the principal balance…

Aug 7, 2013 8:10 PM CDT

Gunman fired over 20 rounds at municipal meeting, killing 3; police say he hoped to slay lawyer, too

Updated: A 59-year-old man who had recently been evicted from his home after it was condemned for code violations reportedly opened fire at a Pennsylvania municipal meeting on Monday night, killing three and injuring at least three others. The alleged killing spree by Rockne Warren Newell at the Ross Township…

Aug 6, 2013 4:35 PM CDT

Ex-client sues law firm, says it withheld key info in real estate development project

An Ohio law firm has been sued by a former client, who blames alleged bad advice by Keating Muething & Klekamp for a decision of him and other investors guarantee more than $90 million in financing for a failed retail and office complex known as Kenwood Towne Place. The uncompleted…

Aug 5, 2013 10:10 PM CDT

Attorney-client privilege prevents associate from aiding AG’s law firm billing probe, partner argues

A Colorado lawyer who helped the state attorney general gather evidence in a billing probe of her law firm was its special counsel at the time, a partner testified in a Thursday court hearing. However, Susan Hendrick hotly denied that she had represented Aronowitz & Mecklenburg, and said she was…

Jul 26, 2013 1:18 PM CDT

At least one juror appears to snooze during CDO testimony in ‘Fabulous Fab’ securities trial

Jurors appeared bored and sleepy during complex testimony on Tuesday in the civil securities fraud trial of former Goldman Sachs Group vice president Fabrice Tourre, who once described himself as “Fabulous Fab” in an email. Tourre is accused of failing to tell investors about a client’s role in creating an…

Jul 17, 2013 2:50 PM CDT

Lawyer sues clients for $6K, is blasted by judge and told to repay $21K

A New York lawyer’s effort to win $6,239 in allegedly past-due legal fees from a client couple has backfired badly. A judge blasted Ronny Buni for filing a civil suit seeking to collect $6,239 more from a couple who had already paid him $22,371 to litigate against their co-op board,…

Jul 12, 2013 2:55 PM CDT

Privilege protects in-house law firm communications about malpractice claim from client discovery

When a law firm faces a possible malpractice claim by a current client, confidential communications between the lawyers working for the client and designated in-house ethics counsel about how to handle the potential malpractice matter are privileged, providing certain rules have been followed, a top state court says. Attorney-client privilege…

Jul 11, 2013 12:30 PM CDT

After $323,307 in federal court sanctions since 2011, lawyer now faces federal ethics investigation

William B. Butler, as a federal judge had requested, is already facing a state legal ethics probe in Minnesota. But in an unusual move the judge in charge of the federal court system in the state has also launched a federal ethics investigation of Butler, reports the Star Tribune. Last…

Jul 11, 2013 11:45 AM CDT

Both winning claimants to $150K veggie garden cash stash have died, so money will go to heirs

The mystery of how a $150,000 cash stash got into vegetable garden of a suburban Chicago home may have been solved. The money, found by an unemployed electrician in his yard in 2011, wasn’t stolen, as the owner of a nearby liquor store had hoped, following a robbery there, but…

Jul 3, 2013 4:15 PM CDT

Appeals court disqualifies BigLaw firm in big enviro case, says it can’t simply switch sides

Agreeing with a Minnesota trial judge who found a conflict of interest with a former Covington & Burling client could not be waived, a state appeals court has upheld its disqualification of the law firm from representing the state in a big environmental case against 3M Co. Although Covington argued,…

Jul 1, 2013 7:14 PM CDT

Elderly man who picked dandelions for food gets $75 ticket

Most agree, dandelions are a notorious weed. But some recognize that dandelion greens can contribute to a tasty and nutritious meal. Among the fans of the food is John Taris, a 75-year-old retiree who lives in the Chicago area with his wife on a $1,500-a-month social security payment. When the…

Jun 28, 2013 5:52 PM CDT

Jury awards $12.8M in negligence case against Stoel Rives and real estate leader

A jury in Utah has awarded $12.8 million in a negligence suit against Stoel Rives and a Salt Lake partner who chaired the national real estate practice group for the 400-attorney Portland, Ore.-based law firm. Former client David Bernolfo, who is represented by Michael Mihm of Ogborn Mihm, had asked…

Jun 28, 2013 10:20 AM CDT