Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C. was retained by a long-established Bronx construction company related to one of the few remaining privately owned streets in New York. Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C.’s client was sued by its neighbor who claimed an easement over the roadbed owned by Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C.’s client. The neighbor, who resided on the Full Article…
Hogan v. Kelly: Second Department Agrees with the Third and Fourth Departments—2008 Adverse Possession Amendments Are Not to Be Retroactively Applied
By Danny Ramrattan In Hogan v. Kelly, 1 defendants Dorothy and Camille Kelly moved in with Ferdinand Powell (“decedent”) in September 1992 to assist him because of his old age and poor health.2 Decedent held title to the property he and defendants occupied. Defendants thereafter lived with decedent until his death on March 26, 1995. Decedent Full Article…
Pay When Paid, Limits and Limitations
By Adam Leitman Bailey and Dov Treiman October 10, 2018 Adam Leitman Bailey and Dov Treiman discuss “Pay-if-Paid” clauses in construction contracts and write: “Like many jurisdictions across the United States, New York outlaws Pay-If-Paid clauses, but, in New York’s case, only indirectly.” Construction projects entail financial risk—risks for the owners of the property, risks Full Article…
The New World of Prescriptive Easement Cases
By Adam Leitman Bailey and John M. Desiderio April 10, 2018 In their Land Use column, Adam Leitman Bailey and John M. Desiderio discuss how New York appellate courts determine whether or not a party is entitled to claim a prescriptive easement over another party’s land, and review a number of recent cases and claims. These Full Article…
Talking Points Against Governmental Takeover of Title Companies and all Small Businesses
By Adam Leitman Bailey Title insurance work is labor intensive Title agencies’ labor-intensive search of the public property records includes the search of tax and judicial records by skilled title examiners that provides homebuyers and lenders the security they need to purchase and transfer real estate. Otherwise, the rampant fraud that exists would reach levels Full Article…
Terminating Easements in States East of the Mississippi River
By Adam Leitman Bailey and Israel Katz One of this century’s most common sources of real estate litigation in the states east of the Mississippi River is easements. In urban areas, entire development projects have been halted as a result of easement agreements, many of them ancient. In our nation’s system of transferring title, in Full Article…
A Practitioner’s Guide to Understanding Interest
April 12, 2017 By Adam Leitman Bailey and Dov Treiman While prohibited in some religious traditions,1 interest is one of the most pervasive concepts in the American economy. Seemingly simple on its surface, it presents a bewildering amount of complexity as soon as one digs into its legal implications. Real Estate practitioners must know the Full Article…
Analyzing Adverse Possession Laws and Cases of the States East of the Mississippi River
By Adam Leitman Bailey and Matthew Eichel January/February 2016 Vol. 30 No. 1 The doctrine of adverse possession, under which a party can obtain title to real property owned by another, is surprisingly uniform throughout the eastern portion of the United States despite being a state law concept. The basic elements a party must demonstrate Full Article…