Conflict of Laws › Commercial Real Estate

Arbitrate, don't surrender!

One-sided arbitration clauses don't survive judicial scrutiny in Maryland's state and federal courts. Maryland contract law will not enforce an arbitration clause lacking mutuality of consideration....more

United States of America v. Susquehanna Bank

Appellee's Brief

The Internal Revenue Service appealed a grant of summary judgment favoring Mr. Valkenet's client, Susquehanna Bank. The Maryland bankruptcy court granted the bank's indemnity deed of trust priority over IRS tax liens by...more

LIttle Nell, et. al. v. City of Houston, et. al.

Immunity and Jurisdictional Drainage Fee Flow Chart

Jurisdictional Flow Chart created in response to a Plea to the Jurisdiction filed by the City of Houston and Daniel Krueger, in his official capacity, claiming the 129th District Court of Harris County, Texas, has no...more

NH Supreme Court Rules That State Law Preempts Municipal Restrictions on Excavation Permitting

On November 9, 2012, the New Hampshire Supreme Court issued its decision in Town of Carroll v. Rines (“Rines”), invalidating certain municipal regulations that limited excavations....more

The Case For a Broad Pre-Emption Rule for CERCLA Contribution

Although some of the proposed tax plans and budgets being discussed in this election year suggest that the same dollar can be counted and spent multiple times, a growing number of courts have held that CERCLA response costs...more

Supreme Court Upholds the Right to “Credit bid” in RadLAX Gateway Hotel, LLC, et al. v. Amalgamated Bank

The secured lender industry experienced a collective sigh of relief on May 29 after the Supreme Court ruled in RadLAX Gateway Hotel, LLC, et al. v. Amalgamated Bank that credit bidding remains a viable option to protect...more

Partial “Dirt-for-Debt” Plans in Chapter 11: the “Indubitable Equivalence” Debate

One consequence of the depressed real estate market has been numerous Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases wherein the debtor seeks confirmation of a “dirt-for-debt” plan. In such a plan, instead of paying the secured creditor the...more

Local Air District Rule Requiring Development Sites To Reduce Amount Of Pollutants Emitted Not Preempted By The Clean Air Act

National Association of Home Builders v. San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District, No. 08-17309, (9th Cir., December 7, 2010) In NAHB v. San Joaquin Valley UAPCD, the United States Court of Appeal for the...more

Because of Federal Preemption, Project Owner Cannot Seek Indemnity from Architect for Failure of Design To Meet Fair Housing Act...

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit recently held that federal preemption precluded a project owner from seeking indemnity from its architect based upon the failure of the architect's design to meet the...more

From The Capital to the Courthouse

This paper analyzes the land administration policies in Ghana to determine what the impact on the real estate sector has been. Additionally, this paper will briefly analyze title insurance in the United States market and...more