Real Estate & Property Law

Real Estate Closings in New York Can Be Downright Dangerous

Real estate closings in New York City can be contentious affairs, where fights erupt over small details and imagined slights. Lawyers and brokers all have their war stories, and the New York Times recounts a few of them. A spouse, unhappy when she learned the price her husband had negotiated…

Apr 30, 2012 6:29 PM CDT

Supreme Court Won’t Hear Challenge to New York Rent Control Regulations

The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear a challenge to New York’s rent control regulations. A plaintiff in the Fifth Amendment case was James Harmon, a former prosecutor who runs a corporate investigations firm. The high court denied cert today, SCOTUSblog reports. Harmon inherited his New York brownstone in…

Apr 23, 2012 2:12 PM CDT

Widow Argues for Right to Keep Husband Buried in Backyard

A widow in Chester, Conn., is asking the state supreme court to allow her to keep her husband’s remains buried in her backyard. A lawyer argued the case for 82-year-old Elise Piquet on Tuesday, report the Hartford Courant, NBC Connecticut, Fox News and the Associated Press. Piquet disagrees with Chester…

Apr 18, 2012 3:41 PM CDT

Suit Claims Ghosts in Rental Home Justify Return of Security Deposit

A couple in Toms River, N.J., claim in a lawsuit that they are entitled to a refund of their security deposit because their rental home is haunted. Josue Chinchilla and Michele Callan report seeing flickering lights and hearing slamming doors, footsteps and whispering voices, the Asbury Park Press reports. And…

Apr 17, 2012 10:30 AM CDT

Crowell & Moring Sued; Ex-Client Claims $15M Lost Due to Embezzlement by Then-Associate of Law Firm

A former real estate client has sued Crowell & Moring for malpractice, contending that it lost $15 million as a result of the actions of an inadequately supervised New York associate who jumped off the tracks of standard law practice. In addition to the $15 million it could cost to…

Apr 13, 2012 11:25 AM CDT

2 Top Real Estate Partners Exit Herrick Feinstein in NY for Hunton & Williams

Two top real estate partners have left Herrick Feinstein in New York for Hunton & Williams. Carl Schwartz, who worked on some of the city’s biggest deals as chair of his now-former law firm’s real estate practice group, will now chair his new firm’s New York real estate practice group.…

Apr 13, 2012 10:08 AM CDT

Historic Board OKs Savannah Law School’s Planned Home in Hospital; 300-Year-Old Tree Will Be Saved

Transformation of a historic hospital into Savannah Law School’s new home has been approved by the Savannah Historic District Board. Plans to renovate the 1819 facility, in stages, are also expected to preserve a 300-year-old oak tree in front of the Candler Hospital on Drayton Street, the Savannah Morning News…

Apr 12, 2012 7:20 PM CDT

Lawyer and Disbarred Attorney Among Latest 14 Defendants to Take Pleas in Federal HOA Fraud Case

A lawyer and a disbarred attorney are among the latest 14 defendants to take pleas in a federal homeowner association fraud case in the Las Vegas area. Participants in the alleged scheme are accused of taking control of HOA boards, property managers and general counsel in order to forward their…

Apr 9, 2012 6:35 PM CDT

Federal Judge Socks Minn. Lawyer with $50K Sanction, Plus Opponent Attorney’s Fees

A Minneapolis lawyer has been socked by a federal judge with a $50,000 sanction, for what the jurist describes as an illegitimate business model based on repeated frivolous filings, delay and forum-shopping. William Butler’s conduct required a substantial sanction, wrote U.S. District Court Judge Patrick Schiltz, because “he has not…

Apr 5, 2012 8:57 PM CDT

A Year After Fla. Foreclosure King’s Law Firm Collapsed, Many Cases are Still Sputtering or Stalled

A year after an attorney known as Florida’s foreclosure king closed his once-mighty law firm, many of the 100,000 cases he reportedly abandoned are still sputtering their way through the legal system or even stalled entirely. Meanwhile, David J. Stern remains licensed and in good standing. His attorney says he…

Apr 2, 2012 4:53 PM CDT

HOA Could Face Hefty Bill If Sued by Trayvon Martin’s Family or Asked to Pay Shooter’s Defense Costs

Attorneys who represent homeowner associations say residents of the Florida development in which an unarmed teenager was shot and killed last month by a neighborhood watch captain could be looking at a hefty bill if Trayvon Martin’s family pursues a wrongful death claim. “They may wind up getting sued and…

Apr 2, 2012 4:29 PM CDT

Disbarred Ga. Real Estate Closing Attorney Faces Federal Charges re Alleged $1.5M Fraud

A Duluth, Ga., attorney disbarred in 2009 was arrested Friday morning on charges that he covered various personal expenses by misappropriating as much as $1.5 million from real estate closings, beginning in 2007. Neal Landers, 45, is expected to be arraigned Friday on charges including bank fraud, money laundering and…

Mar 30, 2012 4:20 PM CDT

2nd Lawyer Takes Plea in NJ Tax-Lien Bid-Rigging Case; Federal Probe Is Ongoing

A second lawyer has taken a plea in a federal case over alleged collusive bidding in sales of tax liens in New Jersey. Robert E. Rothman, 59, a lawyer and owner of Rothman Realty Corp. in Englewood, pleaded guilty today in federal court in Newark to bid-rigging at auctions between…

Mar 27, 2012 10:02 PM CDT

2 Lawyers Targeted in Nev. Homeowner Association Fraud Probe Are Found Dead Within a Week

Two Nevada lawyers who were targeted in a federal investigation of claimed widespread corruption among Las Vegas area homeowner associations have been found dead within a week of each other. The body of David Amesbury, 57, who pleaded guilty in October to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and conspiracy to…

Mar 27, 2012 4:05 PM CDT

Lawyer Who Is Also a Rabbi Takes Plea in Mortgage-Fraud Case, Will Give Up Practice for 1 Year

After beating the rap in an earlier trial, a Connecticut lawyer has taken a plea in a mortgage-fraud case. Rabbi David Avigdor, 58, pleaded guilty this week to making a false statement on to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development concerning a real estate closing, the New Haven…

Mar 22, 2012 9:05 PM CDT