Real Estate & Property Law

2 teens face criminal charges, accused of allowing a drunken friend to drive

Two unidentified Connecticut teenagers have been criminally charged, accused of allowing a 17-year-old Glastonbury High School student they knew to be “highly intoxicated” to operate a sport-utility vehicle. Soon after Jane Modlesky took the wheel of the 2008 Honda Pilot in the early hours of July 14, the star lacrosse…

Dec 6, 2013 6:20 PM CST

Museum seeks dismissal of woman’s claim to stolen Renoir

The Baltimore Museum of Art is asking a federal judge to dismiss a Virginia woman’s claim to a tiny Renoir painting she says she bought in a “box of junk” at a flea market in 2009 for $7. The museum, in a motion for summary judgment Tuesday, says the 1879…

Dec 5, 2013 11:30 AM CST

Did town show disparate-impact bias in taking over buildings?

A housing discrimination case from New Jersey could lead to one of the biggest decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court’s term. On the other hand, if it proceeds like another recent fair housing case, it could end up a dud. The justices granted review of Mount Holly v. Mount Holly…

Dec 1, 2013 9:49 AM CST

DOMA’s demise brings new challenges

The U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision U.S. v. Windsor on same-sex marriage is presenting some new challenges to law firms serving the gay community. A wave of aging LGBT baby boomers is stirring a sea of complex legal questions over nursing home care, inheritance and even potential guardianship abuses, thanks…

Dec 1, 2013 9:10 AM CST

Demolition contractor charged with murder in Philadelphia building-collapse case

A demolition contractor faces multiple third-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter charges over deaths that occurred when a Philadelphia building collapsed earlier this year. Griffin Campbell was accused by District Attorney Seth Williams of being the “center of culpability” in the case. However, the DA said a grand jury investigation continues,…

Nov 26, 2013 12:15 AM CST

What JPMorgan did wrong: 2006 meeting and ignored warnings spurred $13B settlement

A statement of facts negotiated as part of a record $13 billion settlement announced on Tuesday details how JPMorgan Chase misled investors when packaging mortgage securities. JPMorgan hired a third party to review mortgages purchased from lenders for securitization, but ignored warnings and included faulty loans in the pools without…

Nov 20, 2013 3:25 PM CST

Closing attorney indicted in claimed mortgage-fraud and identity-theft scheme

A New Jersey lawyer has been indicted along with two other defendants in a claimed scheme to defraud residential mortgage lenders of $873,000 by submitting mortgage applications in the name of individuals whose identities authorities say had been stolen. Attorney Stephanie Hand, 49, practices in Newark and was the lawyer…

Nov 7, 2013 10:10 PM CST

This ‘unassuming’ career prosecutor developed the theory used to sue Wall Street banks

Justice Department officials are crediting a federal prosecutor in Los Angeles for developing the theory used to file civil suits against banks for practices blamed for the mortgage meltdown. Leo “Lee” Weidman is “an unassuming 69-year-old career prosecutor, toiling away in anonymity 3,000 miles from Washington,” but his idea of…

Nov 1, 2013 10:45 AM CDT

Food truck vendors dig in for a piece of street turf against brick-and-mortar restaurants

Entrepreneur Greg Burke ekes out his living hawking sausages and breaded-and-fried meat sandwiches aboard the Schnitzel King, a food truck he operates in Chicago. But he says restrictive local ordinances make it tough to keep his head above water. So Burke is suing the city for what he contends are…

Nov 1, 2013 8:00 AM CDT

Foreclosure king ‘created chaos on the courts’ and should be disbarred, referee says

A Florida lawyer once dubbed the “foreclosure king” should be disbarred for failing to supervise law firm personnel who mishandled foreclosures and filed improperly notarized paperwork, a disciplinary referee has concluded. The lawyer, David Stern, closed his firm in 2011 amid lost work caused by robosigning allegations, notifying judges by…

Oct 31, 2013 4:29 PM CDT

Graffiti artists win TRO blocking NYC building demolition

Gerald Wolkoff and his G&M Realty firm may own the New York City land on which they plan to construct a 1,000-unit luxury apartment project. But the Visual Artists Rights Act grants 16 artists a copyright in a landmark collective graffiti project there known as 5Pointz, a federal district court…

Oct 29, 2013 7:55 PM CDT

State AG backtracks, says he should have investigated whether there was underage drinking at party

Maryland’s attorney general, Douglas F. Gansler, opposes underage drinking and has urged parents to take responsibility to prevent it. But when it came to a high school graduation party attended by his own son, held in a beach house in Delaware, the AG felt it wasn’t his job to serve…

Oct 25, 2013 4:25 PM CDT

RESPA wrongdoing? Consumer agency claims law firm paid kickbacks through joint-venture title firms

A Kentucky law firm is in the crosshairs of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for its operation of nine title insurance companies. The bureau sued the six-lawyer Louisville firm, Borders & Borders, on Thursday, claiming the title companies were used to pay kickbacks for work referrals, report the Wall Street…

Oct 25, 2013 12:45 PM CDT

Viral video of man toppling rock in state park catches attention of disability claim defendant

It hasn’t been a good month for Glenn Taylor. First the Boy Scout leader from Utah was featured, along with another leader, toppling an ancient boulder in a state park in a video they themselves posted that went viral. Taylor told the Los Angeles Times the two men took action…

Oct 21, 2013 6:10 PM CDT

Hospital sues to boot ‘belligerent’ patient from acute-care bed

A Connecticut hospital has filed a state-court lawsuit against a “belligerent” patient, contending that she refuses to comply with a discharge order and continues to occupy her acute-care bed at the facility. Margo Smith has been examined by the St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center’s psychiatry department and “deemed to…

Oct 18, 2013 7:10 PM CDT