Over the years in the course of my law practice I have probably reviewed over a thousand CC&Rs, sometimes called Declaration of Restrictions. Most, if not all, of the older Declarations prohibit the sale of property to African Americans and Asians, often described as “Negros” or “Mongolians,” at least in CC&Rs recorded in our local counties.

Most homeowners could never fathom strangers acquiring a portion of their property, obtaining a court order to sell it without their consent and depriving them of the value they’d accrued over years or decades of ownership. There are legal protections against that, Tasha D’Ascanio thought — until it happened to her.

The notorious “ABC” test continues to rear its head across the nation. This strict, worker-friendly test that is used to determine whether a worker is properly classified as an independent contractor as opposed to an employee has risen to fame primarily in California, with the Biden Administration close behind touting its intent to implement the test at the federal level.

Foreclosure / Dismissal: Trial court erred in relying on judicially noticed records from a prior foreclosure action in dismissing foreclosure complaint – Bayview Loan Servicing, LLC v. Brown, No. 2D20-1824 (Fla. 2d DCA Oct. 21, 2021) (reversing and remanding)

The United States District Court for the District of Montana recently upheld a Magistrate Judge's recommendation for summary judgment for a title company, finding that coverage terminated when the insureds conveyed the property to their trust. See Green v. Chicago Title Ins. Co., 2021 WL 4476446 (D. Mont. Sept. 30, 2021).

Modifying a loan can sometimes cause a loss of lien priority. It all depends on the facts underlying the modification, and even the original loan. A recent opinion by California’s Fourth Appellate District — SMN LO, Inc. v. M & A Enterprises, LLC — provides one interesting illustration of a lien losing its priority after a modification, although the problem had more to do with the original lien than with the modification.

A mechanics’ lien is an encumbrance on real property or a leasehold that acts as security for unpaid labor, material, or construction services that is typically available to contractors and subcontractors. In our second installment, we provided an in-depth overview of mechanics’ liens in DC. This month, we cover mechanics’ liens in Maryland.

The doctrine of adverse possession remains alive and well in Toronto despite the conversion of most properties into the Land Titles registry system many years ago. Under the Land Titles Act, properties are not generally subject to claims for unregistered ownership. However, claims for unregistered ownership interests that were created before the date of conversion into Land Titles may survive. In older Toronto neighbourhoods, where homes are often in close proximity, such ownership interests may have been created years before the properties were converted into the Land Titles system.

The six Wolastoqey communities in New Brunswick filed a new version of their title claim in court Tuesday, focusing on corporations such as NB Power and forestry giant J.D. Irving that exploit resources on their traditional lands.

Information security and privacy suffer from the same phenomenon we see in fighting COVID-19: "I've done my own research" syndrome. Many security and privacy practices are things learned second- or third-hand, based on ancient tomes or stuff we've seen on TV—or they are the result of learning the wrong lessons from a personal experience.

The FBI recently revealed an attempted drone attack on the American electric grid, via an electrical substation in Pennsylvania. Someone or some group modified a drone to dangle a length of copper that, if it hit high-voltage equipment below, would have caused a short circuit.

A former chief legal officer of now-defunct law firm LeClairRyan was sentenced Monday to 44 months in prison and ordered to pay a $10,000 fine after pleading guilty in July to obstructing an embezzlement investigation into his own fraudulent conduct as a bankruptcy trustee, the Department of Justice announced.

His former clients include real estate investors United American Land, Gatsby Enterprises and Miami-based Gran Sabana, as well as lawyers Louis and Jeanmarie Giordano. Since then, others have joined the suit, including landlords 118 Duane LLC and Decker Associates LLC, which are seeking $3.3 million, and Prince Street Holdings. Early investigations into Kossoff’s firm found that its accounts were nearly empty.

When you think about it, it’s somewhat of a miracle that the city of Dallas exists where it does — and that it even exists at all. One man is responsible for this, but he gets little credit for all that he did. That’s probably because the story of John Neely Bryan, our city creator, gets lost in the decades-long historical debate over whether the old log cabin on display downtown was really his. It wasn’t.

I chuckle as I stand outside the entrance of Chop Suey Books, where a clever sign above the door that clarifies the sale of “Used Books, Not Used Eggrolls” shows a cartoon tuxedo kitty and the words “Home of the Caturday Miracle.”

While selling your home to invest in Bitcoin isn't likely to be the first piece of advice from your financial advisor, a recent report from LendingTree compared the appreciation of home prices to the rise in value of Bitcoin. What the report found was homeowners could have made millions by selling their homes for Bitcoin.

History is rife with intellectual debate over the most fundamental aspects of existence—but sometimes, those feuds got a little out of hand. Here are 20 of the most outrageous scientific throwdowns.

At the turn of the 20th century, the Keweenaw Peninsula of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula became a boomtown as it developed into the first major copper mining region in the United States. Fortunes were literally made overnight.