Real Estate & Property Law

Did sergeant in ‘bikini barista’ sting help drive-through coffee shops operate as strip clubs?

An investigation by Washington state and federal authorities into claims of lewd behavior and prostitution by “bikini baristas” at drive-through Snohomish County coffee shops such as Java Juggs and Twin Peaks during the past several years hadn’t been going well. Suspicious investigators wanted to know why customers routinely paid $20…

Jun 27, 2013 7:20 PM CDT

Top regulatory counsel is off controversial case; four ‘reassigned’ lawyers are back on it

Following weeks of controversy over a disagreement between the general counsel for California’s utility regulator and four subordinate lawyers over the handling of an administrative case over a fatal gas explosion and fire in San Bruno, there has been a reversal of fortune. General counsel Frank Lindh, who at one…

Jun 27, 2013 6:30 PM CDT

City sues both owner and supplier of fertilizer plant that exploded

The city of West, Texas, has filed a product liability lawsuit against both the owner of a fertilizer plant where a fiery explosion detonated with the force of an earthquake in April and the chemical company that supplied it with ammonium nitrate, Courthouse News reports. Defendant CF Industries and two…

Jun 26, 2013 7:30 PM CDT

A ‘powerful victory’ for landowners? SCOTUS rules for property owner denied a building permit

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled on behalf of a Florida property owner denied a building permit because he refused to pay for drainage improvements on government land. Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. wrote the majority opinion (PDF) that found for Coy Koontz, Jr., who is representing the estate of…

Jun 25, 2013 6:29 PM CDT

10 years after fatal Chicago porch collapse, $16.6M case concludes

Almost 10 years ago, some 75 guests, including at least one attorney and a number of law students, were attending a summer party at a home in the trendy Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago. Shortly after midnight, a back porch on the third floor collapsed, falling into the basement level…

Jun 24, 2013 8:00 PM CDT

Federal judge sequesters 19 lawyers in jury room, tells them to ‘identify genuine issues’ by 2 pm

A federal judge put 19 lawyers in his Salt Lake City jury room on Monday morning and told them he hoped they would “identify genuine issues” in a nearly 40-year-old case over the prosecution of crimes on an Indian reservation by the time he returns to the bench at 2…

Jun 24, 2013 6:50 PM CDT

‘Landlords from hell’ get 4 years in felony plea, fake email went to lawyers on both sides

A California couple described by prosecutors as “landlords from hell,” who conducted a campaign of terror to evict existing tenants from a six-flat San Francisco investment property so they could rehab it, have accepted a felony plea bargain. Kip Macy, 38, a former software developer, and his wife, Nicole, 37,…

Jun 20, 2013 7:31 PM CDT

Fla. lawyer who disappeared turns himself in; feds say up to $8M in client funds is missing

A South Florida real estate lawyer who reportedly disappeared in early April along with between $3 million and $8 million in client escrow funds has turned himself in to the feds. FBI officials in Miami say Timothy P. McCabe surrendered Thursday morning in West Palm Beach, CBS Miami reports, relying…

Jun 20, 2013 4:45 PM CDT

SCOTUS accepts Fair Housing case, but it could be resolved in settlement talks

The U.S. Supreme Court has once again agreed to decide whether Fair Housing Act cases may be based on disparate impact analysis, and once again an agreement could derail the case. The court granted cert on Monday in a suit filed by residents of a predominantly minority neighborhood in Mount…

Jun 18, 2013 12:30 PM CDT

Controversial eminent domain approach to restructuring underwater mortgages gathers steam

A venture capital firm’s bid to help some struggling homeowners avert foreclosure by using the government’s eminent domain power to purchase their property at actual value is gathering steam. Several cities in California have agreed to pursue the idea, and others, including North Las Vegas, Nev., are pondering the plan,…

Jun 17, 2013 9:45 PM CDT

‘Valley fever’ fungus in local soil prompts request to judge to move thousands of inmates

A naturally occurring soil fungus in arid areas of Arizona and California is no problem for a number of people. But in others the fungus, which becomes airborne when soil is disturbed, causes “valley fever” symptoms that can range from aches and fever to death. The fungus, which has had…

Jun 17, 2013 4:30 PM CDT

Lawyer takes plea in ex-police officer’s $4.7M real estate investment swindle

A New York City lawyer has admitted he participated in a conspiracy with a retired city police sergeant to entice investors to put $4.7 million into a plan to develop a condominium project in the Dominican Republic–a project that doesn’t exist. Authorities said attorney Edward Adams and James Monahan almost…

Jun 13, 2013 3:30 PM CDT

11th Circuit: Money in Rothstein law firm accounts can’t be forfeited to feds

In a decision that may benefit ordinary creditors of a defunct Florida law firm and cost those swindled by its imprisoned former managing partner, Scott Rothstein, a federal appeals court has ruled that funds in Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler bank accounts are not subject to forfeiture by the feds. That means…

Jun 12, 2013 9:25 PM CDT

Lawyer gets 3 years for shooting at US census worker

After nearly five hours of deliberation, a jury sentenced a Texas lawyer on Tuesday to three years in prison for firing five shots in 2010 at a U.S. census worker as the woman was trying to get the house number at the lawyer’s residence in the Leander area. Attorney Carolyn…

Jun 12, 2013 5:55 PM CDT

Law firm suffers 7th traffic crash on its property, but 4-way stop is not forthcoming

For the seventh time in a decade, a small Iowa City law firm has been the victim of a traffic accident. In this latest incident, its front porch was damaged when a car involved in a collision skidded into its stone foundation. A limestone pillar will have to be replaced.…

Jun 12, 2013 5:10 PM CDT