LIEB BLOG

Legal Analysts

Showing posts with label The Suffolk Lawyer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Suffolk Lawyer. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 20, 2019

Top 10 Real Estate Laws of 2018

Now that 2019 is here it is important to be aware of the changes in the law for our industry. This is not a list about the best events from 2018, but, instead, a list that highlights the new legal landscape that you face as real estate attorneys in 2019. Being familiar with these laws, cases and rules may help you to better address your client’s goals and to make you money while helping you to avoid malpractice.

Read the full article by Andrew Lieb, Esq. published in The Suffolk Lawyer here.


Top 5 Labor and Employment Laws of 2018

As we begin 2019, it is important to reflect on the major legal developments in the field of labor and employment law from 2018 with an eye towards how these developments may change the legal landscape in 2019 and beyond. Attorneys should be aware of these laws and opinions in order to assist clients in ensuring compliance.

Read the Top 5 Labor and Employment Laws of 2018 by Mordy Yankovich, Esq. published in The Suffolk Lawyer here.


Thursday, January 31, 2019

Cash Offers on Real Estate Transactions: Option for Acquisition Mortgage Post-Closing

Buyers can pay cash at closing and reap the benefits of obtaining a loan on the property by purchasing a 90-day post-closing loan.

This can be helpful for buyers who want to make competitive cash offers, close quickly and subsequently obtain mortgage interest deduction benefits of the loan according to the IRS, Publication 936.

Read the full article by Andrew Lieb, Esq. published in The Suffolk Lawyer here. 


Suffolk County Bans Employers From Inquiring Into Applicants' Salary History

Because of the Restrict Information Regarding Salary and Earnings (RISE), Suffolk County Human Rights Law now prohibits employers from asking job applicants about their salary history. The new law is effective on June 30th, 2019.

Read the full article by Mordy Yankovich, Esq. at the Suffolk Lawyer here.


Thursday, December 27, 2018

Supreme Court Expands Reach of ADEA

In a decision dated Nov. 6, 2018, the United States Supreme Court broadened the scope of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) to cover state and local governments regardless of number of employees. Public employers must now be advised that they may be liable under the ADEA, regardless of number of employees, and face additional exposure for claims of age discrimination.

Read the full article by Mordy Yankovich, Esq. published in The Suffolk Lawyer here. 

Contracts of Sale: Preserving Rights is Transactional Counsel's Job

The dichotomy between a litigation and a transactional practice is stark. Simply, transactional counsel needs to adhere to the game of hot potato — don’t get stuck as the recipient of a notice when the music stops. Instead, counsel must assert a preservation right whenever counsel receives a notice that asserts contrary rights by the other party. Then, counsel should consult with litigation counsel to collaborate on how to best achieve the client’s goal through a hybrid of leveraging litigation and negotiating terms.

Click here to read the full article published in The Suffolk Lawyer. 

Friday, September 07, 2018

Sports Tickets for Real Estate Attorneys - Title Regulation Annulled - Game On

Insurance Regulation 208 has been annulled in the Article 78 case of New York State Land Title Association, Inc.; The Great American Title Agency, Inc.; and Venture Title Agency, Inc. v. The New York State Department of Financial Services; and Maria Vullo, in her official capacity as Superintendent of the New York State Department of Financial Services.

As a result, and unless the decision is reversed, sports tickets for real estate attorneys are available anew from title companies. However, can an attorney ethically accept such tickets without running afoul of Rule 1.8(f) of the Rules of Professional Conduct? 


Advising Employers to Take Preventative Measures to Avoid Costly and Disruptive Litigation

With New York State enacting new protections for employees at a feverish pace, it is more imperative than ever to advise employers of preventative measures they can take to avoid potential violations of the many federal, state and local employment laws. These laws include but are not limited to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the New York State Human Rights Law, the New York Labor Law, and the Suffolk County Human Rights Law. This article reviews several practices employers should implement to minimize potential exposure to costly and disruptive litigation.

Read the full article by Mordy Yankovich, Esq. in The Suffolk Lawyer here

Thursday, July 19, 2018

Mortgage Foreclosure SOL: 5-Prong Acceleration Test

A mortgage foreclosure lawsuit has a 6-year statute of limitations pursuant to CPLR §213(4). However, dismissal for statute of limitations purposes is largely dependent on lender error because lenders have the unilateral ability to deaccelerate a loan and thereby restart the accrual date of the statute of limitations. As a result, lenders may, through careful monitoring of the statute of limitations, avoid exposure to statute of limitations’ dismissal. To clarify, a lender cannot restart the accrual date for previously defaulted mortgage payments, which will continue to be subject to the 6-year statute of limitations and date of default accrual. Instead, a lender can only avoid statute of limitations dismissal with respect to future installment payments, which are only in default because of a lender’s prior election to contractually accelerate such payments, which is generally done by summons and complaint (e.g., pleading that lender “hereby elects to declare immediately due and payable the entire unpaid balance of principal”). It is these accelerated payments which may be deaccelerated to reset the accrual date for statute of limitations purposes and thereby preserve the lender’s right to future suit. However, whether a deacceleration election is effective has been fragmented in the case law until now.

Read the full article, be Andrew Lieb. Esq, published in The Suffolk Lawyer here. 

Wednesday, May 23, 2018

NYS Sexual Harassment Law Exposes Businesses to Claims by Independent Contractor Victims of Independent Contractor Harassers: Real Estate Brokerage Firms be Warned

NYS companies utilizing the services of independent contractors, such as real estate brokerage firms, are now exposed to liability for the acts of their independent contractors who sexually harassed other independent contractors who were associated with the same company by way of new Executive Law.

Read the full article by Andrew Lieb, Esq. here. 

Friday, April 13, 2018

2018 is All About Real Estate Law | Special Real Estate Issue From The Suffolk Lawyer

Andrew Lieb Esq, put together a special real estate section of the Suffolk Lawyer's April 2018 addition. Included in the section are the following articles:

  • Considerations When Planning a Real Estate Investment Business by Sabie Franco
  • The Effect of a Discontinuance on the Mortgage Foreclosure Statute of Limitations Period by Christopher Gorman and James Wighaus
  • Condo and Co-op Boards Beware - Discrimination in Housing by Dennis Valet
  • Don't Slip Up Handling a Slip and Fall Deposition by Kenneth Landau

These articles are designed to ground educate and inspire us. They are the foundation of what is today because without learning about today, we cannot be prepared to leverage tomorrow.

To read the full section, click here. 

Condo and Co-op Boards Beware - Discrimination in Housing

Condominiums and cooperatives, especially high-end associations, are infamous for their lengthy, comprehensive, and often draconian purchase applications, by-laws, and house rules. In their quest to ensure that prospective new purchasers will be the proverbial “good neighbor” it is easy for a board of managers to inadvertently take discriminatory actions that expose the board to liability. This article examines some common issues a board of managers should consider when hiring an attorney to craft or review purchase applications, by-laws, and house rules that ensure compliance with ever-changing local, state, and federal discrimination laws.

To read the full article by Dennis Valet, Esq, click here. 

Wednesday, March 21, 2018

The End of Yellowstone Injunctions

The Appellate Division, Second Department, ruled on an issue of first impression in 159 MP Corp. v. Redbridge Bedford, LLC, that commercial tenants may waive declaratory judgment remedies in their written lease agreements and as such, landlords can now avoid Yellowstone injunctions through carefully crafting their lease agreements. All landlord’s counsel should include a provision in their leases mirroring the operative lease language. It would be wise for landlord’s counsel to expressly set forth broad consideration for the waiver of declaratory relief so that it is not subject to unconscionability analysis. 

Read the full article by Andrew Lieb, Esq. published in The Suffolk Lawyer here. 

Monday, February 12, 2018

Top 10 Real Estate Laws of 2017

Now that 2018 is here it is important to be aware of the changes in the law for our industry. This is not a list about the best events from 2017, but instead, a list that highlights the new legal landscape
that real estate attorneys face in 2018. Being familiar with these laws, regulations and opinions may help Attorneys better address their client’s goals and make them money while helping them
avoid malpractice.

Here is a link to the full article by Andrew Lieb, Esq. published in The Suffolk Lawyer. 

Thursday, January 25, 2018

New Statute - Residential Rentals must be Code Compliant or Face Premises Liability Exposure

New section of the Real Property Law protects tenants from illegally converting dwellings in all residential leases. This statute will place an exorbitant risk on the landlords; a risk only magnified by the likelihood that a property insurance carrier will disclaim coverage for such a claim.

Read the full article by Andrew Lieb, Esq. published in the Suffolk Lawyer here.

Thursday, December 21, 2017

Backyard Videos Cause Lawsuits

Thursday, November 09, 2017

No More Title Insurance Bribes: Compliance Protocol Needed at Every Title Insurance Agency

The Department of Financial Services has closed the door to the good old boys’club of title insurance kickbacks. Say goodbye to free meals and beverages, tickets to entertainment events, gifts, golf outings, parties, office supplies and the like. Two new regulations, Regulations 206 and 208, respectively at 11NYCRR35 and 228, have ended the party.

Read the full article by Andrew Lieb, Esq. published in The Suffolk Lawyer here. 

Monday, October 09, 2017

Good Faith Purchaser for Value's Ability to Record Memorandum Heard by Second Department

Andrew M. Lieb discusses the Appellate Division case of Vanderbilt Brookland, LLC v. Vanderbilt Myrtle, Inc., which clarifies the strict statutory recording requirements necessitated to establish bona fide good faith purchaser for value status when the recording is a memorandum of purchase and sale agreement rather than a contract of sale. This case matters when there are competing title claims of priority by differing contract vendees to the same real property. 

Read the full article published in the Suffolk Lawyer here. 

Tuesday, September 05, 2017

Lien Law §19’s Summary Discharge of Lien for Private Improvement Clarified by Court of Appeals

The takeaway for practitioners is to look to the category of expenses claimed, not the amounts thereof, when evaluating whether a summary discharge should be sought on a NYC HPD lien.

Read the full article by Andrew Lieb, Esq. published in The Suffolk Lawyer here. 

Monday, July 10, 2017

Estate Tax Lien Releases Incident to Real Estate Transactions

When selling real estate with an executor’s / administrator’s deed or as heirs at law, incident to the death of the owner, seller’s counsel must address both federal and state estate tax liens that automatically attach to real property on the date of death. Importantly, these liens attach and are effective without recorded notice. 

Read the full article published in The Suffolk Lawyer by Andrew Lieb, Esq.