Kobe Bryant’s parents apologize, get OK to auction some boyhood sports items

Litigation between basketball star Kobe Bryant and an auction house that reportedly gave his parents a $450,000 upfront payment to auction sports memorabilia from his youth has been settled. His parents, Joe and Pamela Bryant, have apologized and will be allowed to sell a small fraction of the items that…

Jun 11, 2013 4:28 PM CDT

3rd lawyer is federally indicted, accused of aiding developer in claimed real estate loan fraud

A third lawyer was federally indicted last week for allegedly aiding Arkansas real estate developer Brandon Barber in a claimed series of schemes in which Barber is accused of obtaining $200 million in loans, diverting some of the money to participants at closing and then hiding his assets in a…

Jun 10, 2013 11:00 PM CDT

Crane operator jailed in deadly Philadelphia building collapse; civil suits point finger at others

Following the fatal collapse last week of a building under demolition in Philadelphia, the crane operator is being held without bail on criminal charges. Sean Benschop, 42, faces six counts of involuntary manslaughter, 13 counts of recklessly endangering another person and one count of risking a catastrophe, reports CNN. Six…

Jun 10, 2013 4:30 PM CDT

Chat with lawyer neighbor leads to constitutional case over $600 city ‘weeds’ fine

A retired Chicago teacher had wanted to appeal the $600 fine she got last year for growing “weeds” in her prize-winning Chicago garden. (The prize, which was presented personally by former Mayor Richard Daley, includes a photo of Kathy Cummings’ yard.) But it wasn’t until Cummings chatted with a neighbor…

Jun 4, 2013 4:20 PM CDT

Attorney gets 30 months in mortgage case that brought down 2 lawyers and a paralegal

A Connecticut real estate lawyer and others with whom he schemed reportedly intended to sell upscale homes at a profit when they submitted fraudulent mortgage applications to get standard financing to pay off “hard money” purchase loans that carried high interest. But the real estate scheme in the state’s burgeoning…

Jun 3, 2013 11:05 PM CDT

Tenants take exception to tough tactics from low-rent landlords

Jun 1, 2013 6:10 AM CDT

Will ‘pedestrian scramble’ make it safer to cross downtown Chicago intersection?

As anyone who walks or drives in downtown Chicago knows, crossing the street, even in a crosswalk on a walk signal, can be a hazardous activity, as motorists—particularly when making a turn—frequently don’t yield the right or way. Meanwhile, a frustration for drivers is the many pedestrians who don’t hesitate…

May 31, 2013 5:15 PM CDT

Lawyer cites beautification exception in trespass law to justify takeovers of abandoned homes

Lawyer Edward Voci acknowledges that his theory has not been tested in an Illinois appeals court. But he believes squatters are meeting statutory requirements when they take over an abandoned property and make it better, the New York Times reports. Voci, who works with a group called Occupy Our Homes,…

May 30, 2013 1:08 PM CDT

Former state supreme court justice gets one year in bank fraud case

A now-retired Michigan supreme court justice was sentenced Tuesday to a year and a day in federal prison after pleading guilty to a felony bank fraud charge earlier this year. Prosecutors in the Ann Arbor case had sought a year to 18 months for Diane Marie Hathaway, 59, who reportedly…

May 28, 2013 7:40 PM CDT

Mentally disabled married couple gets housing, but landmark civil rights lawsuit will continue

Like any ordinary couple, Paul Forziano, 30, and Hava Samuels, 36, were looking forward to sharing a home of their own after they got married in April. But that was almost an impossible dream for the two, who are considered mildly to moderately mentally disabled and reside in separate nonprofit…

May 24, 2013 1:50 PM CDT

8 protestors arrested outside Holder’s former firm

Eight individuals were arrested Wednesday as they protested the U.S. government’s lack of prosecution of bank mortgage foreclosure activities in the lobby of Covington & Burling’s office building in Washington, D.C. Seven were charged with unlawful entry and one was charged with assaulting a police officer, reports NBC4 Washington. The…

May 23, 2013 2:47 PM CDT

T. rex suit takes Texas lawyer to NYC and Mongolia

A victory in civil and criminal litigation over the New York City auction of a smuggled Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton last year hasn’t just earned legal fees for Texas attorney Robert Painter. It’s taken him to Mongolia, where evidence was collected in the Gobi desert, and from his Houston law office…

May 22, 2013 2:05 PM CDT

Using Airbnb to rent apartments for short-term stays violates law, says NY judge

A New York man who rented his apartment for a three-day stay ran afoul of the city’s hotel law, an administrative law judge ruled Monday. Hearings for a similar law are pending in San Francisco, CNET News reports. Both matters involve the website Airbnb, a site that connects travelers and…

May 21, 2013 4:55 PM CDT

If you live in a glass house, you may not win a privacy suit over a photo display, lawyer says

Residents of an upscale apartment building in New York City are in an uproar over a photo display at an art gallery. On exhibit are candid shots of residents taken with a telephoto lens by an artist who lives in a building across the street. Those in the Zinc Building…

May 17, 2013 9:45 PM CDT

Man faces ‘deadly weapon’ bulldozer burglary case; his lawyer protests ‘extremely creative’ charges

A Washington state man pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to nine charges related to his alleged use of a deadly weapon—“to wit, a bulldozer”—to level the homes of neighbors during what prosecutors are calling a burglary. Barry A. Swegle could get as much as life in prison without parole if…

May 17, 2013 5:28 PM CDT