By Adam Leitman Bailey and Dov Treiman We reviewed every Appellate Division case in the first eleven months of 2012. In raw count, the lenders beat the borrowers by a rough margin of 2:1, but that number does not necessarily reflect a swing in sensitivities. The appellate division decisions in 2012 showed strict application of the laws and Full Article…
State High Court Decision Exorcises Ghosts of Liens Past
By Adam Leitman Bailey and Dov Treiman Secured borrowing and the transfer of money are the bedrock of the global financial system. However, that system finds itself in crisis. Before the current malaise can end, the system must rebuild in a manner that ensures mutual trust between lenders and borrowers. Rapid repair of the economy Full Article…
Title Litigation: Expense of Theft Prevention Dwarfed by the Cost of Fraud
By Adam Leitman Bailey At the start of this new millennium, the most effective means to rob a bank no longer includes the use of a gun. The real estate closing table has replaced the gun and mask as the most favored and effective tool of theft from financial institutions. As the New York Times Full Article…
The Warranty of Habitability: An Unexpected Hazard in Home Mortgage Foreclosure
By Adam Leitman Bailey and Dov Treiman Most attorneys and nearly all educated tenants in this State are aware of the existence of the warranty of habitability. Few may know that it is statutory in basis, fewer care that it contradicts the common law, but most would be surprised by the types of occupancy to Full Article…
Despite ‘Jones,’ Ambiguities In Title Chain Can Be Cured
By Adam Leitman Bailey and Dov Treiman When the Supreme Court decided Jones v. Flowers,1 it exacerbated a nagging problem for the title insurance industry – the necessity to do constitutional analysis when examining chains of title. With the current state of the economy, tax foreclosures are increasing. Thus, more properties have these ambiguities in Full Article…
Power-of-Attorney Changes Scramble Property Transfers, New York Law Journal
By Adam Leitman Bailey and Dov Treiman As of Sept. 1, New York has abolished its old easy single-sheet statutory power of attorney form (POA) and replaced it with a tremendously complicated new law1 describing a highly complex new document with a misleadingly named optional rider.2 The 1948 original form and its successors were designed Full Article…
Split Between Departments Muddies Subrogation Doctrine, New York Law Journal
By Adam Leitman Bailey and Dov Treiman In an era when this nation’s economic stability depends, in part, on stable and unfettered real estate transfers, equitable subrogation provides a solution to some of the cracks in the system. However, as evidenced by a split between two departments of the Appellate Division, these cracks need some Full Article…
HETPA Contains Land Mines For Unwary Attorneys, Buyers, New York Law Journal
By Adam Leitman Bailey and Dov Treiman In February of 2007 the Home Equity Theft Prevention Act (HETPA) passed the New York State Legislature, attempting to stop scam artists from stealing or tapping the equity of victims’ homes. HETPA had two principal areas of concern: the substance of transactions involving persons in distressed circumstances selling Full Article…