Legal Case Summaries

A federal appeals court has considered whether section 8(b) of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act ("RESPA") is a price control statute or a prohibition on unauthorized kickbacks to third parties.

Tyna Boulware ("Borrower") received a federally insured home mortgage loan from Crossland Mortgage Corporation ("Lender"). As part of the loan process, the...

A federal appellate court has ruled on whether a broker can recover commission payments from a property owner when the broker only had a contractual relationship with another broker.

Reisenfeld & Company ("Reisenfeld") represented a client who was interested in entering into two subleases on properties which had formerly held K Mart stores. The owner of the property,...

A California appellate has considered whether the state's "anti-spam" law violated the dormant Commerce Clause of the Constitution of the United States.

Mark Ferguson ("Consumer"), a resident of California, brought a lawsuit against Friendfinders, Inc. ("Advertiser") for sending him unsolicited advertising emails, commonly referred to as "spam....

A federal appellate court has considered whether payments received by a tax-exempt association from the publisher of the association's magazine derived from advertising revenue in the association's magazine should be treated as taxable unrelated business income or as nontaxable royalty income.

The Arkansas State Police Association ("Association"), a tax-exempt...

A federal appellate court has considered whether commissions earned but not paid to a broker prior to her filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy are considered property of the broker's bankruptcy estate.

Janet Lynn Parsons ("Debtor") was a real estate broker associated with Re/Max. As part of her arrangement with Re/Max, the Debtor paid a percentage of each commission she earned...

The Supreme Court of the United States has ruled on whether a 32-month building moratorium amounted to an unconstitutional taking of property by the government which entitled the affected landowners to compensation from the government.

Lake Tahoe is renowned for its clarity and beauty. However, during the last forty years, the lake has suffered a loss of clarity due to algae growth. In...

RMLS, a regional multiple listing service based in Portland, Oregon, has obtained a permanent injunction against a Canadian company that was stealing data from RMLS.

IMS Incorporated (a.k.a. Info Marketing Systems, Inc.), is a data processing company located in Ontario, Canada, a suburb of Montreal. As part of its business, IMS takes data from websites and repackages it into...

Rhode Island's highest court has ruled that a commercial real estate broker was not entitled to a commission after a tenant exercised its "right of first refusal" and purchased the premises, despite the fact that the broker had helped secure the offer which triggered the tenant's option to purchase.

Keyes Development Corporation ("Owner") owned a commercial...

In two separate opinions, a Rhode Island court has considered whether the state's property condition disclosure law required a buyer's representative or listing broker to disclose to buyer that the property had an erosion problem. An earlier decision in this case was previously summarized in The Letter of the Law- click here to read the earlier summary.

To summarize the facts,...

An Arizona federal court has considered whether an insurance company in that state can exclude mold from coverage when the mold is caused by an event covered under the policy.

Shirley Cooper ("Owner") was a homeowner who purchased a homeowner's policy issued by American Family Mutual Insurance Company ("Insurance Company"). In February 2001, the Owner's...