When to file a lis pendens--Martin Desmery, Partridge Snow & Hahn
A recorded lis pendens notifies prospective purchasers, encumbrancers, and transferees that there is litigation pending that affects the property. To curb abuses of the lis pendens process, the Legislature enacted amendments...more
In a December 2018 post, Money and Dirt covered a California Supreme Court case — Dr. Leevil, LLC v. Westlake Health Care Center — in which the Court held: “an owner that acquires title to property under a power of sale...more
Assumption of the Risk- Smith v. Be Fit with Michelle, LLC, 11th Dist. Lake, No. 2023-Ohio-3118. In this appeal, the Eleventh Appellate District affirmed the trial court’s decision to grant the defendant summary judgment...more
There are specific statutory rules governing liens. In Mississippi, for example, construction liens must be filed within 90 days of when work was last performed or labor, material, or services were provided. Then, a payment...more
CASES OF NOTE - LANDLORD UNABLE TO EVICT DESPITE TENANT DEFAULTS - Varano v. PDJM Land Trust LLC, et al. No. 1884CV02662, (Mass. Super. Ct. June 16, 2022) The Massachusetts Superior Court held that a commercial landlord...more
Who was here first? Louisiana Supreme Court clarifies the scope of the lis pendens defense for litigants involved in multiple lawsuits between the same parties on the same subject...more
One of the tools available in the real estate litigation attorney’s toolbox is a lis pendens, also known as a notice of pending action. A lis pendens is a document recorded at the County Recorder’s Office providing...more
Recent research I did on a case led me to the conclusion that Arizona law recognizes foreign litigation (i.e., a lawsuit filed outside of Arizona) as a justification for the recording of a lis pendens against real property...more
The filing of a Lis pendens is a vital tool for protecting a party’s rights in enforcing a purchase and sale agreement for real estate, but if the claim at issue falls within a mandatory arbitration clause, the party may not...more
A right of first refusal is a contractual right to purchase property that arises when the owner decides to sell. The holder of a right of first refusal has a preference to purchase the property over other purchasers....more
On February 3, 2022, New Jersey’s Appellate Division issued a decision for publication addressing the scope of the common law litigation privilege and, among other things, whether that privilege attaches to the filing of a...more
Howard, et al. v. Matterhorn Energy, LLC, et al. [6th Dist.] May 4, 2021 considered the Texas Citizens Participation Act as amended, effective on September 1, 2019....more
The Bullet Point: Ohio Commercial Law Bulletin Is my conduct a violation of the Consumer Sales Practices Act? Volume 4, Issue 18 October 2, 2020 Unconscionable arbitration agreement Klonowski v. Lynch, 8th Dist. Cuyahoga...more
In its decision last week in DeCicco v. 180 Grant Street, LLC, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) answered a previously open question, confirming that a defendant who successfully moves to dismiss a complaint in...more
In cases allegedly involving an interest in real property, the Massachusetts lis pendens statute, G.L. c. 184, § 15, allows the defendant to file a special motion to dismiss frivolous claims. If the trial court allows the...more
Real Property Update - HOA / Class Action: It was appropriate for trial court to narrow class to current homeowners as to counts seeking declaratory and injunctive relief, as former homeowners have no interest in relief...more
Real Property Update - Foreclosure / Standing: Where plaintiff was substituted in as a party plaintiff after original note was filed with the court, introduction of original note bearing blank indorsement into evidence at...more
Real Property Update - Quiet Title / Motion to Dismiss: Trial court not permitted to consider or take judicial notice of amended lis pendens and partial release of mortgage that were outside the counterclaim to which a...more
Today, Wachet Auf is possibly Bach’s best known cantata. It has been frequently used in movies and television, ranging from Mr. Holland’s Opus to Mad Men (in the episode Three Sundays) to Win Ben Stein’s Money. In real...more
Real Property Update- Deed Restriction / MRTA: Marketable Records Title to Real Property Act extinguished association's restrictions where restrictions were more than thirty years old, predating lot owner's root of title,...more
Real Property Update - Lis Pendens: trial court erred by not discharging lis pendens concerning real property because defendant did not grant an interest in the property, and plaintiff's claims did not allege requisite fair...more
Those of us with any significant history of practice in South Carolina have made an allegation or defended against an allegation of slander of title. Such allegations, and actions for slander of title, were significantly...more
Transactional lawyers who assist clients in the formation and restructuring of business entities, and the litigators who clean up the transactional lawyers’ occasional messes, each have lessons to learn from last week’s...more
REAL PROPERTY UPDATE - Lis Pendens: lawsuit to foreclose mortgage on real property is an action "founded on a duly recorded instrument" - National American Home, LLC v Deutsche Bank Nat. Trust Co., Case No. 4D17-2614 (Fla....more
REAL PROPERTY UPDATE - Foreclosure / Statute of Limitations: trial court improperly found that, because payments due under a note and mortgage were accelerated in a prior 2009 action, the second action filed over five...more