After an oral agreement to sell a property, followed up with months of negotiations and paperwork, does the buyer have the right to purchase the property?
Dispute over parking spaces (6/28/2023)
As part of a project to improve I-70 in Columbus Ohio, Ohio Department of Transportation (“ODOT”) found itself promising to exchange property which didn’t belong to them. ODOT required property belonging to . . .
Landlord Pays the Bill (1/5/2023)
What is written on paper matters, regardless of oral agreements, but statute of limitations can also effect outcomes at trial. Reasonable offers of judgement may be worth making and taking.
Disappearing Intersection (5/27/2021)
Operating a retail business at an intersection with a state highway brings traffic to your store. What compensation is deserved when the intersection disappears?
A Razing Issue (2/11/2021)
With businesses closing, and buildings vacated, responsibility for the security and upkeep still remain with the owner. Neglect can have . . .
Triggering of Accessibility Upgrades (10/15/2020)
Former chief building inspector for the City of San Francisco learned the hard way that not all older building are required to be retrofitted to make them accessible to the disabled.
The Dram Shop Act Prevails (7/23/2020)
"Our decision today illuminates at least one troubling weakness in Idaho’s Dram Shop Act: the statutory language may unintentionally provide a perverse incentive for dram shops and social hosts to provide alcohol to individuals known to be dangerous in order to access the procedural benefits conferred by the Act."
Is there an “Independent Agent”? (3/5/2020)
“Risk and Release” provisions within agreements do not necessarily protect everyone from liability due to negligence.
Photo Finished (1/23/2020)
A New Years fall ended with a resolution not in favour of the injured party and an attorney possibly facing sanctions.
On New Years Day, 2017 Linda Waldon (Linda) was shopping at a Wal-Mart store in Crawfordsville, Indiana. She was looking at some clothes hanging on a rack, when she slipped on a plastic hanger beneath or around the rack. She experienced “back, neck, and head injuries requiring medical care” and her husband Steve Waldon endured the “loss of consortium and companionship”.
Bumper Carts (12/12/2019)
In December 2012, Barbara Rieger and Ruth Kurka were shopping at a Giant Eagle grocery store in Brook Park Ohio. Ruth Kurka was using a motorized cart, and while driving by the bakery counter, she collided with Barbara Rieger’s push cart which knocked her ...
Exculpatory Clause Declawed (10/17/2019)
A tenant sued its landlord for not having adequate parking. The landlord’s attempt to limit its liability failed.
Locating Adult‑Oriented Businesses (9/19/2019)
Cities throughout the world have had the ability to dictate how land within their boundaries are used. Further as circumstances require, additional restrictions are imposed on certain businesses for the protection of ...
A Matter of “Degree of Foreseeability” (9/5/2019)
The public has an expectation of safety and security when visiting a shopping center, but what level of care does a shopping center have a duty to provide?
Misrepresentation "Negotiation Skill" (7/25/2019)
The “negotiation skill” of a salary plus commission employee landed a California leasing agency in court.
"Excited Utterance Exception" (7/11/2019)
When a startling event occurs, people say things about it. But when is what they say admissible in a court of law?
Obvious Sign? (6/20/2019)
When admitting that a sign has been used to find product in a lumber yard, and admitting to stepping over the same sign multiple times, can it still be a hidden and obscure hazard?
Tax Review Thwarted by “Property Owner” Technicality (5/30/2019)
Lenity is especially appropriate because this case involves the presence of a type of party we rarely see in our Court: a happy family. Happy families are alike in a way particularly germane to the application of lenity here. The members of happy families often do not execute formal written agreements with each other, though they clearly understand and perform the bargained-for agreements between and among them.(Judge Rowan D. Wilson)
Decisions by Simply Doing Nothing (4/25/2019)
What is the statute of limitations when it comes to decisions on mixed-use, commercial, retail, residential construction projects made during a housing crisis?
Goodwill Compensation (4/11/2019)
People love their donut and coffee while sitting in morning traffic on their way work. For over 30 years, Yum Yum Donut Shops, Inc. (Yum Yum), a chain of donut shops had the ideal location on Crenshaw Boulevard, half a mile from the ...
Assignment of Lease Obligation (3/21/2019)
Do brokerage commissions on a renewal of a lease get passed on with the assignment of a lease contract?
Beverages Permitted (2/21/2019)
Does the practice of permitting customers to carry beverages without restriction throughout your store constitute a continued and foreseeable dangerous condition, requiring a warning?
Negotiation in Advance of a Condemnation Action (2/7/2019)
Is a business entitled to relocation benefits if it is required to move due to the municipality requiring the property for a public works project?
“Affirmative Act” in Lease Terms (1/24/2019)
“A contractor, subcontractor, laborer, [or] materialman, ... who performs labor or furnishes materials for the improvement of real property with the consent or at the request of the owner thereof, or of [the owner's] agent ... shall have a lien for the principal and interest, of the value, or the agreed price, of such labor ... from the time of filing a notice of such lien.”
Build Out Recoupment (1/10/2019)
When Revel Entertainment Group, LLC., the owner of Revel Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, signed up IDEA Boardwalk LLC to operate a beach club and two nightclubs, they agreed to share the initial “build out” ...
Security Guard "Joint Employers" Decision (12/20/2018)
Deputy Morgan sprained his ankle chasing a shoplifter down the stairs from the Brookshire Grocery Store manager’s office ... while working a part-time security job ...
Tenant’s Tax Appeal (11/29/2018)
Beavercreek Towne Station, a five parcel shopping center in Greene County Ohio underwent a five year reappraisal for the 2014 tax year ... Beavercreek City School District Board of Education noticed that the center was sold in October 2014 for an aggregate value of ...
Shopping Cart Duty (11/15/2018)
Linda and Marshall Unger went to a Wal-Mart store in Mobile, Alabama on May 20, 2014. Linda dropped her 77 year old husband off at the entrance and then parked the car. Marshall walked to the front of the cart corral to retrieve a shopping cart.
Cities Using Holes in RLUIPA (10/25/2018)
As a suburb of Columbus Ohio, the City of Upper Arlington is land locked and limited in growth potential. In 2001 it adopted a new Master Plan, with a Unified Development Ordinance, which emphasized the need for new revenue to support its current level of services and capital needs.
Condemnation Provision Condemns Compensation (10/18/2018)
In 2010, the West Point Shopping Center, owned by FPA West Point, LLC, had an access point condemned by the Utah Department of Transportation. KMART Corporation was one of the tenants in the shopping center. Both FPA and Kmart opposed the condemnation, but UDOT was able to proceed by ...
Lease Sealing (9/27/2018)
A Lessee is not obligated to complete a 15 year lease with a Lessor when the lease has not been properly sealed.
Lease Age and Length not a Factor (9/13/2018)
Walgreen Eastern Company objected to the market value assigned to its property in the Town of West Hartford Connecticut after a town wide revaluation was conducted ...
Locating Adult Establishment (8/30/2018)
When retailers decide to open in new markets, they do their due diligence in selecting the appropriate site for their new store. Prior to selecting a site in the Castleton area in Indianapolis, Indiana for a new ...
Future Rulings Have Merit (8/9/2018)
In a four/three split decision, the Washington County Board of Revision and Washington County auditor will need to reargue their real-property-valuation case ...
Gasoline Trap Trip (7/26/2018)
At Massachusetts self serve gas stations, concentric grooves in the pavement to contain gasoline spills, known as positive limiting barriers (PLB) are mandated ...
Nondelegable Duty Nondelegable (7/5/2018)
The Supreme Court was in favor of Rodriguez in all counts except one where it felt that the district court was correct in it's ruling.
Month‐to‐Month Rights (6/14/2018)
What rights exist when a long term lease transitions into a month-to-month agreement?
In 1993, Salima Multani entered into a five-year rental agreement ...
Employee Entitled to Day in Court (5/24/2018)
Even though having an Employee Arbitration Agreement in place, Dollar General is being required to defend itself in a court of law.
”Project Santa Claus” (5/10/2018)
Between 2014 and 2016, the City of Ridgeland, Mississippi attempted to have a Costco store built.
Knowledge of Hazard Required (4/12/2018)
Walgreens has been found not liable to the accident resulting in the broken kneecap caused by a fall in a store.
Kids Are Parents Responsibility (3/22/2018)
On February 2nd, 2018 it was decided that Starbucks Corporation was not at fault for the injury of Marcus Roh.
Procrastinating Mitigation is Expensive (3/8/2018)
The company HCS has been awarded some damages but denied attorney fees after a breach in contract from Lone Star.
Tall Leaning Stack is Open and Obvious (2/22/2018)
A Hodgkins Illinois Menards store has been found not responsible for injuries received from a falling stack of insulation.
Florida court would not impose its definition of terms to similar Alabama stores (2/8/2018)
Winn Dixie considers itself a grocer and leases space in shopping centers in several states. In many centers, the Winn Dixie store is an anchor tenant. As such, it has the ability to include “grocery exclusive” clauses within ...
Respondent Wins Judgment (1/11/2018)
A Nevada shopping center owes one of its tenants short of half a million dollars because it allowed another tenant to provide access to slot machines to its customers.
Anti-SLAPP Motion Slapped (12/22/2017)
Ralphs, Food – 4 - Less, and Foods Co. were successful in banning trespassers from harassing customers as they entered and left two of their San Diego California area stores.
Bar Insured (12/7/2017)
An invitation to a private party on February 15, 2010, where Muddy Rivers, a Grand Forks bar, provided an open bar for its off-duty employees and guests, resulted in intoxicated patrons.
Insurance Covers Costs (11/16/2017)
An unusual court case in New Jersey has features a shopping center owner attempting to force a tenant to reimburse the center for legal costs.
Passing The Buck (11/2/2017)
A married couple in New Jersey has sued several businesses following an injury the husband of the couple suffered.
Customary Operations (10/19/2017)
Owners of an Ohio shopping center have avoided an attempt to take control of the center and perhaps even more targets if possible.