Case summaries are provided for educational purposes only, and are not a substitute for legal advice by a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction. Case law may change over time, so be sure to confirm a case is still good law.
A California court recently considered whether a couple could recover damages from their neighbors and cellular phone companies for a 130-foot cellular phone tower adjoining their property.
Melvin and Brigitte Oliver (“Owners”) have lived on a 20-acre plot for over twenty-six years in the County of Butte (“County”), California. In 1990, their neighbor (“...
A 1999 decision by the Court of Appeals of Indiana interpreting that state’s fair housing laws illustrates that state fair housing laws may differ from the federal Fair Housing Act. (See Note below).
In late 1996, James Cain, Sr., and Martha Cain (“Renters”) applied to rent mobile home space. They had four children. The owners of the plot, County Line Park, Inc. (...
A federal court in North Carolina recently considered whether a town’s ordinance regulating the size, color, and content of real estate “for sale” signs was constitutional.
Beginning in 1994, the village of Pinehurst, North Carolina (“Village”) enacted a series of ordinances regulating the display of real estate For Sale signs. The Village is a resort...
The Supreme Court of Iowa recently decided whether a home owner can be a third-party beneficiary of a contract between an appraisal company and a lender.
Susan and Rollin Vogan (“Owners”) purchased an empty lot and obtained a construction loan from the MidAmerica Savings Bank (“Lender”) to finance construction of a home. The Lender was to release the loan...
The United States District Court for Maryland considered whether condominium complex’s owners and developers had violated both the ADA and FHAA.
Kevin Beverly, a handicapped individual, sued multiple parties for alleged violations of the Fair Housing Amendments Act (“FHAA”) and American with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). A nonprofit corporation that promotes...
In Golden Gateway Center v. Golden Gateway Tenants Association, California’s Court of Appeal, First District, determined that constitutional free speech guarantees do not extend to the activities of a tenant’s association in a large apartment complex.
Golden Gateway Center (“Landlord”) is an approximately 1200-unit complex composed of townhouses and high-rise...
A federal district court recently declared unconstitutional portions of a Rhode Island statute which imposed both civil and criminal penalties when public records were used “to solicit for commercial purposes.” The law was challenged by the Rhode Island Association of REALTORS®, Inc. (“RIAR”), and the Attorney General for Rhode Island, Sheldon Whitehouse (“...
A federal district court recently declared unconstitutional portions of a Rhode Island statute which imposed both civil and criminal penalties when public records were used “to solicit for commercial purposes.” The law was challenged by the Rhode Island Association of REALTORS®, Inc. (“RIAR”), and the Attorney General for Rhode Island, Sheldon Whitehouse (“...
In 1999 the Supreme Court of Virginia recently found that a landlord was not liable for negligence when an employee made sexual advances upon a tenant. In this case, Southeast Apartments Management, Inc., (“Landlord”), owned an apartment complex with approximately 200 units. The Landlord employed Douglas Turner (“Employee”) for approximately two months as a maintenance...