In Part One of this blog post, I discussed an article recently published by CRE – The Counselors of Real Estate entitled, “The Coronavirus, the End of the Cycle, and U.S. Commercial Property Markets: Early Thoughts.” In this Part Two, I will continue my discussion of the long-term issues facing the real estate sector as
General Legal Issues
Part One: Short-Term Issues Facing the Real Estate Sector, Courtesy of the Coronavirus
CRE – The Counselors of Real Estate recently published an article entitled “The Coronavirus, the End of the Cycle, and U.S. Commercial Property Markets: Early Thoughts.” The article provides excellent insight into the current headwinds that the economy and more particularly, the real estate industry, are facing from the perspective of an economist. Below is…
Five Points to Consider When Leasing Construction Equipment
As the construction industry starts to rebound from a down market, rentals of project equipment are on the rise. Whether you are an owner, principal contractor, or specialty trade subcontractor, you may very well be renting equipment for use on an upcoming project. Here are five important points to bear in mind:
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Gunfire Leaving Your Property? You Might be a Nuisance
Ohio’s Twelfth District Court of Appeals issued an interesting opinion earlier this year that wove together issues of statutory interpretation, expert testimony, property rights and nuisance. The end result? If you have bullets flying off your property, you might be strictly liable for nuisance.
Before the court in Batelle Memorial Inst. v. Big Darby Creek was…
Supreme Court Rules Beach Additions Not Compensable Takings
Truckloads of sand will begin cascading across hurricane-battered beaches along the Destin and Walton County shorelines, thanks to a recent 8-0 decision by the Supreme Court. Coastal homeowners originally sued Florida arguing that the Beach Erosion Control Program (BECP) would cause the value of their homes to decline, turning their “oceanfront” property into “ocean view&rdquo…
Don’t Be Anyone’s Lunch !
I often think of an African proverb shared by Kip Reader, Managing Partner of Ulmer & Berne:
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AFA Does Not Mean Discounting Fees
Everyone is talking about Alternative Fee Arrangements (AFAs). Some clients are demanding it; some firms market themselves as special because they will consider it; some attorneys are frankly scared of it because they think all it means is that they will be required to discount their fees.
In reality, an AFA is nothing more…
Legal Certainty
Long before ‘billable hour" accounting became the norm in law firms, lawyers would price projects based upon what was fair to both the client and the lawyer. That is not to say that billings based on time is unfair, only that it can be unpredictable. Billable hour accounting dictates accountability which is and will remain…