Real Estate & Property Law

Wind farm sues feds to stop release of bird-death data to Associated Press

Flying eagles looking for prey are much like texting drivers behind the wheel. They don’t notice wind farm turbines in their flight path until it’s too late. However, such birds are under federal protection, and the Associated Press has been asking why wind farms, unlike oil and power companies, haven’t…

Nov 17, 2014 1:00 PM CST

Man who fell out of reclining chair during deposition loses negligence case against law firm

A New Jersey law firm was not liable for damages claimed by a man who fell out of a chair while attending his wife’s deposition, a state appeals court has ruled, affirming a summary judgment dismissing the case. At issue was whether Wolff Helies Duggan Spaeth & Lucas had a…

Nov 17, 2014 10:25 AM CST

Lawyer, 14 others charged in $20M ‘prince and pauper’ mortgage and welfare scheme

A real estate closing attorney and appraiser have been federally indicted, along with more than a dozen other individuals, in what the U.S. Attorney for Manhattan describes as a long-running $20 million “prince and pauper” mortgage and welfare fraud scheme. Attorney Martin Kofman, 53, is accused only of misusing his…

Nov 13, 2014 4:15 PM CST

‘Hunters’ targeted lawyer as ‘prey’ in fatal carjacking at upscale mall, retired detective says

As four suspects await trial in the slaying of a New Jersey lawyer during a carjacking last December in the parking lot of an upscale shopping mall, Dustin Friedland’s widow is pursuing civil litigation against the Mall of Short Hills and an ambulance company over his death. After a legal…

Nov 13, 2014 2:10 PM CST

Would-be condo developer sues residents who spoke out against project at city meeting

Updated: Residents of a Chicago suburb who spoke out at a public hearing against a proposed condominium project have been named, along with city officials, as defendants in a lawsuit filed by the would-be developer. The Cook County Circuit Court suit, which was filed by 400 West Talcott LLC, alleges…

Nov 11, 2014 10:35 AM CST

Court rejects housing discrimination rule that relied on statistical analysis

A federal judge has struck down a rule designed to make it easier for plaintiffs to file housing discrimination claims. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon in a decision Monday called the rule “yet another example of an administrative agency trying desperately to write into law that which Congress never intended…

Nov 3, 2014 4:15 PM CST

Lawyer is reportedly missing, along with over $3 million in trust account

A Canadian real estate attorney is missing, along with all but about $89,000, in U.S. dollars, of over $3 million in mortgage funds from institutional lenders that had been held in a trust account at the sole practitioner’s law firm, according to the The Law Society of Upper Canada. Credit…

Nov 3, 2014 8:05 AM CST

Towns across the country are blocking energy companies from fracking

On a hot June summer day this year, residents from the small farming town of Dryden, in upstate New York, gathered in front of the local courthouse to celebrate. The state's highest court had just ruled that their town could ban oil and gas development, including a controversial drilling method known as fracking.

Nov 1, 2014 5:15 AM CDT

Cities get mired in civil rights disputes in trying to deal with growing homeless populations

Mark Ryavec lives in a beautifully restored duplex in Venice Beach, the artsy beachfront neighborhood of Los Angeles.

He's about half a mile from the shore and even closer to Abbot Kinney Boulevard, a trendy artery filled with pricey restaurants and boutiques. Depending on which real estate website you consult, his improvements and recent gentrification in the area have pushed the property's value to roughly three or four times what he paid for it in 1989.

Across the street, one of his sometime neighbors lives in a van.

Nov 1, 2014 5:00 AM CDT

Venice Beach residents sue Los Angeles, saying existing laws regarding transients not enforced

Residents of the Los Angeles neighborhood of Venice Beach sued the city and county of Los Angeles today, alleging that they have illegally failed to control problems stemming from homelessness. The Venice Stakeholders Association, a community group, and individual homeowners Arthur Kraus, Jack Hoffman, Gary Harris, David Krintzman and Brad…

Oct 30, 2014 3:30 PM CDT

Are spirits, slayings or slurs ‘material defects’ homebuyers must be told of?

Understandably, every homebuyer wants to know as much as possible about a prospective residence. New roof? Check. Hardwood floors? Check. No liens or taxes owed? Check and check. No detail is too small to be ignored: Buyers have questions and, by golly, they want answers. That means real estate agents…

Oct 30, 2014 8:45 AM CDT

Attorney charged with stealing $720K in escrow, plus $700K from secret sale of law-firm real estate

A New York attorney has been arrested on charges that he stole over $1.4 million from his law firm. Steve Weinstock, 48, is accused of taking $720,000 from an escrow account that was supposed to be used to purchase New York City real estate and obtaining another $700,000 by secretly…

Oct 29, 2014 10:55 AM CDT

Former ‘People’s Attorney’ radio host is convicted in $10M mortgage-fraud case

A federal jury in Chicago has convicted former national talk radio show personality Warren Ballentine in a mortgage-fraud case that cost lenders nearly $10 million. Jurors deliberated less than two hours after a four-day trial, before convicting Ballentine on Friday of making false statements to lenders and bank, mail and…

Oct 24, 2014 1:50 PM CDT

Woman’s condo is sold at auction because of $95 overdue tax bill; she says she never received notice

A woman in Norcross, Georgia, says her home was sold at auction because she never received notice about an overdue tax bill of $94.85. Homeowner Xui Lui says she paid cash for her condo in 2011, but she didn’t pay the city tax the first year because she never got…

Oct 21, 2014 10:57 AM CDT

Former ‘People’s Attorney’ radio host is tried in $10M mortgage-fraud case over real estate closings

An Illinois lawyer is being tried in a criminal fraud case in federal court in Chicago, accused of cheating mortgage lenders out of almost $10 million by representing buyers he knew were not qualified to purchase at real estate closings.in and around the city. Warren Ballentine has said on Facebook…

Oct 15, 2014 10:00 AM CDT