Real Estate & Property Law

Real Estate Now Tops Legal Malpractice Claims List, ABA-Published Study Shows

For the first time, real estate matters are now the most-frequent subject of malpractice claims against lawyers, a new study has found. Results of a 2008-2011 survey of 53,000 insurance claims were announced Thursday by the ABA Standing Committee on Lawyers’ Professional Liability in conjunction with the National Legal Malpractice…

Sep 6, 2012 2:00 PM CDT

9th Circuit Says Los Angeles Can’t Treat Personal Belongings of Homeless Individuals Like Trash

Upholding a federal court’s injunction that prevented the city of Los Angeles from treating as trash the personal belongings that homeless individuals left unattended for a short time, a federal appeals court Wednesday said government workers could seize their property only if it is has clearly been abandoned, poses an…

Sep 5, 2012 8:34 PM CDT

Disbarred Lawyer Pleads Guilty to Extortion Attempt, UPL Re Emails to Tenant in Ex-NFL Player’s Home

A disbarred California lawyer who has repeatedly been accused of helping clients break into their foreclosed homes has taken a plea deal in another real estate-related case that will keep him out of prison. Michael T. Pines pleaded guilty to extortion, unauthorized practice of law and trespassing and was given…

Aug 31, 2012 7:25 PM CDT

Bank Sends Foreclosure Notice to Woman Who Made $70K in Payments for House She Didn’t Own

A Pennsylvania woman is suing her lender and a former lawyer for Ohio Bar Title Insurance after learning she has made nearly $70,000 in payments for a house she doesn’t own. Sheila Layo claims the lawyer, closing agent Richard Hallock, never recorded the deed or mortgage for her Scranton townhouse…

Aug 27, 2012 12:54 PM CDT

Co-Op Purchaser Made ‘Wise Lifestyle Decision’ to Back Out of Deal, But Must Lose $4.7M, Judge Says

The purchaser of a luxury suite at the Mark Hotel in Manhattan probably should have read the contract a little more closely. The “one-sided” contract requires the purchaser, Roberta Campbell, to forfeit her $4.7 million downpayment, despite her observation on inspection that the 14th floor suite lacked heat, hot water,…

Aug 23, 2012 11:00 AM CDT

Work Starts on New $213M Fla. Courthouse; ‘Good Riddance’ to ‘Sick Building,’ Says Chief Judge

There was little or no nostalgia for Broward County’s soon-to-be-former 52-year-old courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., as work began on a new $213 million building that will be constructed on the parking lot footprint for the current facility. Clad in attire ranging from hard hats to business suits and high…

Aug 21, 2012 10:37 PM CDT

After Losing 19 of 29 Lawyers, Firm Files for Bankruptcy Protection

In an effort to stave off eviction from its offices in downtown St. Louis, Moser & Marsalek has filed for bankruptcy protection. The firm, founded in 1925, has lost 19 of its 29 attorneys over the past two years and was taking steps to reduce its office space, the St.…

Aug 17, 2012 3:50 PM CDT

3 Law Firms Among 8 Defendants Sued in Ohio Class Action Claiming Mortgage Servicers Altered Docs

Six law firms are coordinating to represent seven Ohio homeowners in what they say could be a class action benefiting thousands of individuals harmed by falsified and fraudulent paperwork filed in foreclosure cases by mortgage servicers and those working for them. The Cuyahoga Common Pleas Court suit, which names three…

Aug 14, 2012 11:01 PM CDT

Oregon’s ‘Rain Man’ Reports for 30-Day Sentence in Rainwater Collection Dispute

An Oregon man began serving a 30-day sentence last week after he was convicted in July of maintaining illegal reservoirs on his property. But Gary Harringon continues to dispute the charges, saying he was only collecting rainwater and snowmelt, largely for fire protection for his 172-acre property in rural Eagle…

Aug 14, 2012 4:59 PM CDT

Foreclosure Law Firm Sues Bankruptcy Attorney Who Questioned Its ‘Systematic Overbilling’

A bankruptcy attorney who questioned a New York foreclosure law firm’s billing practices has been sued for defamation by the firm, Long Island-based Rosicki Rosicki & Associates. Peter Grubea, who has the highest volume bankruptcy caseload in the western region of the state, said in a March post on his…

Aug 13, 2012 4:04 PM CDT

New Legal Issue for Suspect in 12 Batman Movie Murders: Eviction Suit re His Booby-Trapped Apartment

An eviction action is probably the very least of James Eagan Holmes’ current legal problems. But he’s now a defendant in an eviction suit, in addition to the multiple murder charges he previously faced, following a Wednesday civil filing in Adams County, reports the Denver Post. The booby traps with…

Aug 9, 2012 10:49 PM CDT

How Is a Children’s Sandbox Different From a Planter? Seattle Forms Task Force to Mull Issue

Cited for putting a four-foot by eight-foot wooden sandbox too close to the street, a Seattle man fought back. Some urged Paulo Nunes-Ueno simply to tell the city the sandbox was a wooden planter, since they are allowed and a neighbor’s nearby planters look much the same, reports the Seattle…

Aug 6, 2012 3:35 PM CDT

NY Appeals Court Nixes Attorney Malpractice Case Over Failed Like-Kind Exchange

A New York lawyer cannot be held liable in a malpractice case over a tax-deferred real-estate exchange that failed to meet Internal Revenue Service provisions where there is no proof that the seller could have purchased additional property within a set time period as required, a state appeals court has…

Aug 1, 2012 3:52 PM CDT

Law Firm Is Target of First Civil Enforcement Action Filed by New Consumer Agency

A Los Angeles law firm is being targeted by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in its first civil enforcement action filed in federal court. The Gordon Law Firm is accused of charging homeowners upfront fees for loan modifications and then doing little or nothing to assist the clients, according to…

Jul 31, 2012 3:40 PM CDT

2 NY Lawyers Convicted in $25M Mortgage-Fraud Case

Two New York lawyers have each been convicted of 10 felony counts and acquitted of one felony count in what federal prosecutors described as a $25 million mortgage-fraud scheme. Aaron Rabinowitz and Matthew Burstein, both 40, could get a maximum of 30 years when they are sentenced in November. However,…

Jul 30, 2012 4:11 PM CDT