Columns & Departments
Landlord & Tenant Law
Yellowstone Injunction Denied for Failure to Move on Time
Features

While Economy Recovers, Commercial Real Estate May Be Due for a Correction
Before investors get too carried away by the news of recovery in commercial real estate, they should pause to ask themselves, "what are we recovering from?"
Columns & Departments
Co-ops and Condominiums
Residential Owners Have Claim for Inadequate Quality of Hotel Unit
Features

Migrating Businesses Help Grow South Florida CRE Market Despite, and Because of, the Pandemic
The South Florida office market has seen a shift due to COVID, with some downsizing and modifications of office buildings, but the influx of new potential tenants has helped mitigate any potential downsides other markets may have seen.
Features

Federal Class Action Available for Delay In Recording Mortgage Satisfaction
Because the Second Circuit held that a bare violation of New York's Mortgage-Satisfaction-Recording Statutes without a demonstration of actual injury conferred federal jurisdiction, a mortgagor now has the ability to bring a class action in federal court.
Columns & Departments
Landlord & Tenant Law
Tenant Did Not Establish Fraud to Warrant Application of DHCR's Default Formula Four-Year Lookback Rule Applied to Rent Determinations But Not to Determination of Rent-Stabilized Status Tenant's Impossibility and Frustration of Purpose Defenses Rejected Tenant's Frustration of Purpose Claim Survives Neutral Appraiser Entitled to Examine Previous Appraisals
Features

Say it Ain't So! Tortious Interference with a Sublease By a Master Landlord
A South Carolina appellate court recently affirmed a trial court's decision that a landlord had tortiously interfered with a sublease by terminating the master lease after a fire damaged the subject building and such landlord was liable to the subtenant for punitive damages.
Columns & Departments
Real Property Law
Exclusion for Zoning Regulations Bars Title Insurance Claim Transfer of Residential Properties Not a Fraudulent Transfer Property Owner on Constructive Notice of City's Relocation Lien Fraudulent Transfer Finding Upheld
Features

Second Circuit Expands Federal Class Actions for Mortgagors
The Second Circuit recently held that a bare violation of mortgage satisfaction recording statutes without a demonstration of actual injury conferred federal jurisdiction, meaning that a mortgagor now has the ability to bring a class action in federal court. Thus, statutes designed to be merely remedial in nature can now be used punitively against lenders and servicers.
Columns & Departments
Co-ops and Condominiums
Summary Judgment Premature on Discrimination Claim Defect In Recording Insufficient to Defeat Mortgage Priority
Need Help?
- Prefer an IP authenticated environment? Request a transition or call 800-756-8993.
- Need other assistance? email Customer Service or call 1-877-256-2472.
MOST POPULAR STORIES
- The 'Sophisticated Insured' DefenseA majority of courts consider the <i>contra proferentem</i> doctrine to be a pillar of insurance law. The doctrine requires ambiguous terms in an insurance policy to be construed against the insurer and in favor of coverage for the insured. A prominent rationale behind the doctrine is that insurance policies are usually standard-form contracts drafted entirely by insurers.Read More ›
- A Lawyer's System for Active ReadingActive reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.Read More ›
- The Brave New World of Cybersecurity Due Diligence in Mergers and Acquisitions: Pitfalls and OpportunitiesLike poorly-behaved school children, new technologies and intellectual property (IP) are increasingly disrupting the M&A establishment. Cybersecurity has become the latest disruptive newcomer to the M&A party.Read More ›
- Abandoned and Unused Cables: A Hidden Liability Under the 2002 National Electric CodeIn an effort to minimize the release of toxic gasses from cables in the event of fire, the 2002 version of the National Electric Code ("NEC"), promulgated by the National Fire Protection Association, sets forth new guidelines requiring that abandoned cables must be removed from buildings unless they are located in metal raceways or tagged "For Future Use." While the NEC is not, in itself, binding law, most jurisdictions in the United States adopt the NEC by reference in their state or local building and fire codes. Thus, noncompliance with the recent NEC guidelines will likely mean that a building is in violation of a building or fire code. If so, the building owner may also be in breach of agreements with tenants and lenders and may be jeopardizing its fire insurance coverage. Even in jurisdictions where the 2002 NEC has not been adopted, it may be argued that the guidelines represent the standard of reasonable care and could result in tort liability for the landlord if toxic gasses from abandoned cables are emitted in a fire. With these potential liabilities in mind, this article discusses: 1) how to address the abandoned wires and cables currently located within the risers, ceilings and other areas of properties, and 2) additional considerations in the placement and removal of telecommunications cables going forward.Read More ›
- Guidance on Distributions As 'Disbursements' and U.S. Trustee FeesIn a recent case from the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, In re Paragon Offshore PLC, the bankruptcy court provided guidance on whether a post-plan effective date litigation trust's distributions constituted disbursements subject to the U.S. Trustee fee "tax."Read More ›