Law Commons^™

Keeping Current - Probate, Claire Hargrove, Paula Moore, William P. Lapiana, Jake W. Villanueva

Articles & Chapters

No abstract provided.

Moral Rights: The Anti-Rebellion Graffiti Heritage Of 5pointz, Richard H. Chused

Articles & Chapters

No abstract provided.

Land Use Regulation As A Framework To Create Public Space For Speech And Expression In The Evolving And Reconceptualized Shopping Mall Of The Twenty-First Century, Gerald Korngold

Articles & Chapters

Much has been written lately about the “death” of malls and large-scale shopping centers. The data show, however, that the great numbers of these malls and centers are not going extinct but rather are undergoing an evolution from the fortress-type, retail-focused mall of the 1970s to a twenty-first century model better attuned to current tastes of citizens and consumers. There are indeed significant challenges, including purchasing trends, troubled brick and mortar retail, increased online sales, and living choices. But despite some shock-value headlines, the data show that the number of malls and large centers continue to increase. Moreover, owners are …

Ancillary Agreements In Real Estate Transactions, Andrew R. Berman, Barry Hines, Everett Ward

Articles & Chapters

No abstract provided.

An Empirical Study Of Modification And Termination Of Conservation Easements: What The Data Suggest About Appropriate Legal Rules, Gerald Korngold, Semida Munteanu, Lauren Smith

Articles & Chapters

The acquisition of conservation easements by nonprofit organizations (“NPOs”) over the past twenty-five years has revolutionized the preservation of American land. Recently, however, legislatures, courts, practitioners, and commentators have debated whether and how conservation easements should be modified and even terminated. The discussion has almost always been on a theoretical level without empirical grounding and has sometimes generated much heat but little light. The discussion has lacked the necessary empirical context to allow legislatures and courts to thoughtfully develop resolutions to these issues free from sloganeering and posturing.

This article provides and analyzes a previously uncollected dataset that offers guidance …

Governmental Conservation Easements: A Means To Advance Efficiency, Freedom From Coercion, Flexibility, And Democracy, Gerald Korngold

Articles & Chapters

Over the past twenty-five years, courts and commentators have recognized and upheld conservation easements as an important vehicle to preserve natural and ecologically sensitive land, focusing primarily on easements held by nonprofit organizations (NPOs). During the same period, courts and commentators have supported property rights of owners against governmental land use regulation. This paper maintains that these two independent developments militate for the increased use of consensual conservation easements by governmental entities to achieve public land preservation goals. Governmental conservation easements can realize the benefits of efficiency, consent and free choice, and conservation, while avoiding the coercion implicit in public …

Mezzanine Debt And Preferred Equity In Real Estate, Andrew R. Berman

Articles & Chapters

No abstract provided.

Godzilla Lives! Or, Nonrecourse Carveouts Run Amok, Marshall E. Tracht

Articles & Chapters

The author of this article discusses two recent cases which deal with unconditional liability on nonrecourse carveouts and spring-ing guaranties. One potential consequence of these decisions: by essentially converting these contingent guaranties to unconditional guaranties, the threat of springing liability disappears and the guaranties cease to have deterrent effects. If the guarantor is li-able whether or not the single purpose entity files for bankruptcy, why not file? The result is likely to be bankruptcy filings and other "misbehavior" by borrowers. Moreover, the analysis used in these cases would put many performing loans into default along with triggering recourse, threatening substantial …

Cutting Municipal Services During Fiscal Crisis: Lessons From The Denial Of Services To Condominium And Homeowner Association Owners, Gerald Korngold

Articles & Chapters

No abstract provided.

Globalizing Conservation Easements: Private Law Approaches For International Environmental Protection, Gerald Korngold

Articles & Chapters

For the past thirty years nonprofit organizations have revolutionized open space and habitat conservation in the United States through the use of conservation easements. Pursuant to legislation, nonprofits may now acquire and hold perpetual restrictions that prevent alteration of the subject land’s natural and ecological features. These rights can be held “in gross,” with the result that the nonprofit need not own land near the restricted property and can be based in a distant location.

As a result of this success, proponents in more recent years have advocated the export of “conservation easements” from the United States to other countries. …

Single Asset Real Estate And Development Projects: The Kara Homes Mistake, Marshall E. Tracht

Articles & Chapters

The Kara Homes decision held that various affiliates of Kara Homes, Inc., each of which owned a separate real estate project, were "single asset real estate" ("SARE'') cases under the Bankruptcy Code's definition. According to the author of this article, the designation as single asset real estate substantially increased the difficulty faced by the debtors in maintaining their reorganization efforts, and has given lenders and their counsel a significant amount of comfort. However, the definition runs against the actual wording of the Bankruptcy Code, the intent underlying the SARE provisions, and the political winds. It should, and may well, be …

Sanborn V. Mclean: Beyond The Limits Of Inquiry Notice, Gerald Korngold

Articles & Chapters

This essay deepens the student's understanding of a leading property case by recounting the story behind the case. It focuses on how lawyers, judges, and policy factors shaped the litigation, and why the case has attained noteworthy status. It is suitable for adoption as a supplement in a first-year property course, or for use in an advanced seminar.

This chapter is reprinted with the permission of Foundation Press: Sanborn v. McLean: Beyond the Limits of Inquiry Notice, Chapter10 in Property Stories (Law Stories), 2nd ed. at 241-264 (Foundation Press, 2009).

Click here to purchase the book.

Legal And Policy Choices In The Aftermath Of The Subprime And Mortgage Financing Crisis, Gerald Korngold

Articles & Chapters

This essay, delivered at a symposium at the University of South Carolina in October 2008 and forthcoming in South Carolina Law Review, sets out initial thoughts about to the legal and policy choices that decision makers must address in the aftermath of the subprime crisis that has since triggered a global financing crunch. After tracing a narrative of how subprime lending grew into a mortgage financing crisis and then a broader financial dislocation, the essay addresses two issues. First, while it is commonly stated that increased regulation will be required in secondary mortgage markets going forward, the essay explores competing …

Resolving The Intergenerational Conflicts In Real Property Law: Preserving Free Markets And Personal Autonomy For Future Generations, Gerald Korngold

Articles & Chapters

No abstract provided.

Solving The Contentious Issues Of Private Conservation Easements: Promoting Flexibility For The Future And Engaging The Public Land Use Process, Gerald Korngold

Articles & Chapters

Over the past thirty years, statutes have reversed the common law and authorized private conservation organizations to hold conservation easements "in gross." These interests allow nonprofits to control the use and development of the burdened property by preventing alterations of the natural and ecological features. Conservation easements can be held by organizations geographically distant from the restricted land.

Conservation easements bring great benefits as they support conservation, represent private initiative, yield efficiency benefits, and exemplify freedom of choice of property owners. There are costs, however: significant federal and state tax subsidies, the lack of coordinated planning and public process, class …

The Emergence Of Private Land-Use Controls In Large-Scale Subdivisions: The Companion Story To Village Of Euclid V. Ambler Realty Co., Gerald Korngold

Articles & Chapters

No abstract provided.

New York Metropolitan Area Lending Scorecard: 1998, Richard D. Marsico

Articles & Chapters

No abstract provided.

Shedding Some Light On Lending: The Effect Of Expanded Disclosure Laws On Home Mortgage Marketing, Lending And Discrimination In The New York Metropolitan Area, Richard D. Marsico

Articles & Chapters

No abstract provided.

Whatever Happened To Landlord-Tenant Law?, Gerald Korngold

Articles & Chapters

No abstract provided.

Withholding Tax On Phantom Gain, Alan Appel, Michael Hirschfield

Articles & Chapters

No abstract provided.

Comparing The Concepts Of ‘Property’ And ‘Value’ In Real Estate Law And Real Property Taxation, Gerald Korngold

Articles & Chapters

This article first explores property law 's model for addressing split ownership of land so that its relevance to real estate taxation can be examined. It then discusses the public policies and pragmatic concerns that influence the judicial definitions of "property" and "value" in real estate taxation. Finally, four areas, of property law are examined that raise questions of "property" and land "value" that are analogous to those in real estate taxation. Each of these four areas of property law teaches an important lesson about the comparative meanings of "property" and "value."

Seller’S Damages From A Defaulting Buyer Of Realty: The Influence Of The Uniform Land Transactions Act On The Courts, Gerald Korngold

Articles & Chapters

No abstract provided.

Resolving The Flaws Of Residential Servitudes Associations: For Reformation Not Termination, Gerald Korngold

Articles & Chapters

No abstract provided.

Single Family Use Covenants: For Achieving A Balance Between Traditional Family Life And Individual Autonomy, Gerald Korngold

Articles & Chapters

No abstract provided.

For Unifying Servitudes And Defeasible Fees: Property Law's Functional Equivalents, Gerald Korngold

Articles & Chapters

While property scholars have argued persuasively for a unified law of servitudes and for a unified law of defeasible fees, Professor Korngold argues that further unification is necessary: the law should integrate servitudes and defeasible fees involving land use controls. Because these interests are functional equivalents, judicial results should not depend on the historical label attached to the interest. Courts should address the tension between freedom of contract and free alienability values that inhere in both interests. Professor Korngold focuses on significant issues that arise in both defeasible fees and servitudes contexts, including the forfeiture remedy, ownership in gross, permissible …

Contrasting Sources: Court Rolls And Settlements As Evidence Of Hereditary Transmission Of Land Amongst Small Landowners In Early Modern England, Lloyd Bonfield

Articles & Chapters

No abstract provided.

Privately Held Conservation Servitudes: A Policy Analysis In The Context Of In Gross Real Covenants And Easements, Gerald Korngold

Articles & Chapters

No abstract provided.

Construction Loan Advances And The Subordinated Purchase Mortgagee: An Appraisal, A Suggested Approach, And The Ulta Perspective, Gerald Korngold

Articles & Chapters

No abstract provided.

Can Distraint Stand Up As A Landlord’S Remedy?, Gerald Korngold

Articles & Chapters

Though a landlord's right of seizure is well established in the common law and provided for by the laws of many states, some federal courts have found distraint procedures to be incompatible with Fourteenth Amendment due process requirements. This article examines the constitutionality and validity of the present Pennsylvania distraint statute, surveys the cases dealing with the issue, and reviews some recent decisions concerning due process which are relevant to the determination of the statute's constitutionality. The Pennsylvania experience can serve as an example for practitioners in other jurisdictions since, most of them have had few, if any, cases concerning …