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Hoku Lele, LLC v. City and County of Honolulu

Opinion of the Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals

The Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals, in a unanimous panel opinion authored by Judge Foley, held that a "zoning verification" by the Director of the City and County's Department of Planning and Permitting is not a "action...more

Governmental Actions That May Assist Insurance Recovery for Superstorm Sandy Claims [UPDATED]

Following the widespread destruction caused by “Superstorm Sandy,” the governors of New York and New Jersey declared states of emergency and issued numerous emergency executive orders and directives. Some of these orders have...more

Proposed “Homeless Person’s Bill Of Rights And Fairness Act” Will Have Huge Impact On Government And Business

California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act, Civil Code Section 51, generally provides that all persons within California are free and equal, regardless of their sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability,...more

Court of Appeal Grants Petition for Rehearing in School District Parcel Tax Case

The court of appeal in Borikas v. Alameda Unified School District (--- Cal.Rptr.3d ----, Cal.App. 1 Dist., December 6, 2012; re-hearing granted January 7, 2013) held that the school district did not have the authority to...more

Eighteen Counties Will Send Out Revaluation Notices in 2013

Counties in North Carolina are required to revalue real property every eight years; however, some counties chose to do so in shorter intervals. According to the North Carolina Department of Revenue, eighteen counties are set...more

Cook County property owners can cut property tax bills by filing a protest in 2013

Each year, the Cook County Assessor reassesses one-third of the nearly 1.8 million parcels in Cook County. For 2013, the 13 townships located in the north and northwest sections of Cook County will be reassessed starting in...more

District Council 50 of the Intn'l Union of Painters & Allied Trades v. Lopez

General Contractors Association of Hawaii's Amicus Curiae Brief in Support of Respondent/Defendant-Appellee

This case involves contractors' licensing and whether the holder of a specialty renovation license is entitled to do certain specialty renovation work as "incidental and supplemental" to that license. The Hawaii Intermediate...more

The ASTM Standard Practice for Phase II Environmental Site Assessments

Originally published in the Environment Reporter, 43 ER 3080, 11/30/2012. Phase II Site Assessments - This article reviews the background of the revised Phase II Environmental Site Assessment Standard issued in...more

U.S. EPA Issues New Guidance on Bona Fide Prospective Purchaser Defense for Tenants

The United States Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") released revised guidance on the applicability of the bona fide prospective purchaser ("BFPP") defense to tenants under the Comprehensive Environmental Response,...more

City May Adopt Housing Element Revisions Inconsistent With General Plan If City Also Adopts Timeline To Correct Inconsistencies

Recently, the Fourth District Court of Appeal in Friends of Aviara v. City of Carlsbad affirmed the trial court’s judgment directing the City of Carlsbad to adopt a timeline for proposed changes to its general plan that would...more

Resilient Masonry Buildings — Saving Lives, Livelihoods and the Livability of Oregon’s Historic Downtowns

Originally published in the Historic Preservation League of Oregon (“HPLO”) Special Report on October 25, 2012. The Purpose of the Preservation Roundtable; Why This Matters; Executive Summary; Background & Definition of...more

Rogers Towers: More Changes in Store for the Hud-1

Many of you will remember the sweeping revision of the venerable HUD-1 form which went into effect in 2010 as well as the hours of retraining that we all went through to understand it....more

Get Hurricane Sandy Help From Insurers and FEMA

Many homeowners may just be starting the insurance claims process after Hurricane Sandy’s visit to the east coast that left over 100 dead and millions more displaced or without electricity. After surveying the wreckage,...more

New Jersey Property Owners Who Suffered Significant Damages as a Result of Hurricane Sandy May Be Entitled to Property Tax Relief

Any property owners in New Jersey who have suffered substantial damages to their real property as a result of Hurricane Sandy should be entitled to tax relief pursuant to New Jersey law. Specifically, N.J.S.A. 54:4-35.1...more

State Insurance Department Responses to Superstorm Sandy

Superstorm Sandy caused a considerable amount of property damage along the East Coast and will result in a substantial influx of related insurance claims. In response, the insurance departments of those states hit hardest by...more

Crucial Legal Issues in the Recovery from Hurricane Sandy

A massive effort is underway to repair the damage to public and private entities caused by the windstorm and water surge associated with Hurricane Sandy. Once the immediate emergency restoration stage has been completed, the...more

Property Taxes Impacting Ballot Access and FOIA Requests

Issues related to property taxes extend beyond levies, collections, assessment appeals and refunds. Two recent decisions, one from the Illinois Supreme Court and the other from the Illinois Appellate Court, examine the...more

Who Pays? Insurance Coverage for Property Damage

Probably the most controversial and difficult to apply of all the 2010 amendments to the Common Interest Ownership Act (CIOA) are the changes to the manner in which property damage costs and insurance are allocated. Two...more

Illinois Property Tax Appeals and Practice in Collar Counties

On November 1, 2012, I was on panel discussion for the Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education seminar on Real Estate Taxation covering the topic "Tax Assessment Appeals & Practice in Cook County and Collar...more

Contract Rescission: “As-Is” Clauses and Misrepresentation

While there are some similarities between the buying and selling of residential real estate and the buying and selling of commercial real estate, the duty to disclose in residential real estate transactions does not similarly...more

Getting Help for Hurricane Sandy Destruction

Hurricane Sandy is putting a beatdown on the North Atlantic states today, with flooding and wind damage already occurring in some areas and the storm expected to intensify into the evening. Some 60 million people live in the...more

Freddie Mac Market Survey Has Good News for Construction: News Release of the Week

Florida's construction industry may find some good news in the latest survey results releaed by Freddie Mac this week, which appears today in our News Release of the Week (emphasis added)...more

What you need to know today about Municipal Improvement Districts (Presentation)

In This Presentation: Municipal Improvements Act; The Governing Body and MID; Authorized Improvements; Common Questions; Criteria for the MID; Common Questions; and Boundary Issues. Excerpt from Municipal...more

Comment Period on the Integrated Mortgage Disclosure Rules Ends November 6, 2012 by Brian Gallogly, Esq.

As a component of its “Know Before You Owe” project and pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”), the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (the “CFPB”) issued its proposed...more

Comment Period on the Integrated Mortgage Disclosure Rules Ends November 6, 2012 by Brian Gallogly, Esq.

As a component of its “Know Before You Owe” project and pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”), the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (the “CFPB”) issued its proposed...more