Real Property

The newsletter of the ISBA’s Section on Real Estate Law

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2024 Articles

ALERT!! October 2024 Illinois has developed a rental assistance program for fiscal year 2025.
Articles Needed July 2024 A call for articles.
Become an Illinois Bar Foundation Champion By Jessica R. Durkin December 2024 At least twice a year at ISBA Annual and Midyear Meetings, we are pitched by colleagues and the Illinois Bar Foundation to become a “Champion.” But what is a Champion really, and what’s in it for us?
Bookman Old Style Is Acceptable to the Seventh Circuit By Michael J. Rooney July 2024 A summary and brief analysis of AsymaDesign, LLC v. CBL Associate Management, Inc.
The Boy Who Cried Wolf: A Look Into Preliminary Injunction Law in Illinois By Donald Hyun Kiolbassa & Emily Holmes October 2024 The preliminary injunction is an important arrow in the quiver of the powers of the judiciary. A preliminary injunction gives the judge the power to stop a party from an action while the parties are waiting on a final judgment.
Burnett v. The National Ass’n of Realtors By Erica Crohn Minchella April 2024 The National Association of Realtors was recently handed a $1.78 billion judgment for violations of antitrust law finding that “cooperative compensation” is collusion that artificially inflates home prices.
1 comment (Most recent April 23, 2024)
Burrink Commercial Services v. New Life Covenant Church By Samuel H. Levine December 2024 In Burrink Commercial Services v. New Life Covenant Church, the appellate court dismissed a complaint to foreclose a mechanics lien as factually insufficient because the complaint improperly characterized two contracts as one.
Call for Articles March 2024 A call for article submissions.
Can a Trustee Execute a Warranty Deed? By Richard F. Bales November 2024 A trustee of an institutional land trust will never execute a warranty deed. A trustee of a personal trust can execute a warranty deed, but the benefits of such a deed seem to be questionable. 
Case Summary of Tyler v. Hennepin County, Minn. By Erica Crohn Minchella December 2024 In Tyler v. Hennepin County, Minn., the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held that a county collecting directly from the surplus upon the foreclosure sale of property for delinquent taxes was an unallowed taking under the Fifth Amendment.
Case Summary: BKA Holdings v. Sam By Jenna Kearns April 2024 A summary and analysis of BKA Holdings v. Sam, a case involving a dispute between a landlord and tenant.
Case Summary: Hundley v. WPD Management, LLC By Laura Skaar May 2024 Hundley v. WPD Management, LLC is being praised as a rare common-sense win for landlords who do not use security deposits.
Case Summary: O’Malley v. Adams By Leslie Hairston January 2024 A summary and analysis of O’Malley v. Adams.
Case Summary: Werner v. Auto-Owners Insurance Company By James Creppel October 2024 In Werner v. Auto-Owners Insurance Company, the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed the district court’s finding that a homeowner’s insurable interest, after a judicial sale but before confirmation of the sale, is limited to the value of the homeowner's temporary right of possession. 
A Case Summary: Willow Way, LLC v. Village of Lyons, Illinois By Greg Anderson March 2024 A summary and analysis of Willow Way, LLC. V. Village of Lyons, Illinois, in which the court upheld the dismissal of an action against the Village of Lyons over the demolition of a house determined to be a public nuisance.
Case Summary: Wilmington Savings Fund Society v. Herzog By Thomas M. Olson, Jr. May 2024 In Wilmington Savings Fund Society v. Herzog, the appellate court affirmed the circuit court's decision in favor of the plaintiff after analyzing the recorded release of mortgage.
Choose Your Coffin: The Silver Tsunami About to Hit Law By Donald Hyun Kiolbassa & Emily Holmes July 2024 How law firms can prepare to handle any skills gaps caused by the influx of retiring Baby Boomers.
CLE Reminder April 2024 A reminder to complete your CLE by June 30.
Commercial Property Insurance Policy Did Not Cover Ordered Demolition of Condominium Building By Paul Peterson February 2024 A summary and analysis of Horizon West Condominium Homes Ass'n v. Travelers Indemnity Co. of Connecticut, in which the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed the dismissal of the association's suit against its insurer after the condo building was ordered to be evacuated and demolished at the expense of the association.
Contractor Paid Twice After Sending First Payment to Scammer By Paul Peterson August 2024 Liability for honoring a hacker’s email funding instructions appears to be an emerging area of the law.
Discrimination and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act: Seventh Circuit Says Both Applicants and Prospective Applicants Are Protected By Michael J. Rooney August 2024 Recently, the seventh circuit considered whether discrimination under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act is unlawful against a prospective applicant for credit.
Electronic Notarization Is Here By Tiffany Thompson March 2024 Electronic notarization is now legal in Illinois so long as the notarization is performed by a properly commissioned Illinois electronic notary public.
False Bravado: How Estate Planning and Corporate Entities Can Be Undone by Municipal Violations By Bob Floss, II December 2024 The articles examine the existence of a trust as a relationship or an entity, which will greatly affect the outcome of the trust. In the section titled “Proper Litigants,” we are given hypotheticals when a trust can sue or be sued as an entity or when the trustee of the trust would stand in place of the trust as the proper party. 
Genie in the Bottle: Rule 137 Sanctions By Donald Hyun Kiolbassa & Emily Holmes November 2024 In the case of Palmquist v. Livingston, the appellate court helps us understand the ways Illinois Supreme Court Rule 137 (eff. Jan. 1, 2018) can get you in trouble.
Legal Ethics: Obligations and Traps for the Transactional Real Estate Lawyer By Michael J. Rooney July 2024 Summaries of cases that highlight potential professional conduct risks that can be dangerously easy to ignore.
Legislative Update By Paul Peterson November 2024 A summary of legislative updates relevant to real estate law practitioners.
The NAR Settlement: Will Buyers Really Be Forced to Pay Their Agent? By Philip J. Vacco June 2024 The recent settlement reached with the National Association of Realtors over alleged antitrust practices has some individuals heralding the end of high sales commissions, but a closer examination reveals that the death of the seller-based commission model may be a bit exaggerated.
The Negotiation Process a Government Entity Must Follow in Seeking to Acquire Private Property for Use in a Construction Project for the Benefit of the Public By Sharon Eiseman January 2024 In the typical situation where a state agency is seeking to acquire all or part of a piece of real estate that is privately owned, a negotiation process must be followed in keeping with a statutory mandate found in the Illinois Compiled Statutes.
Nice Trust, But What’s in It? Analyzing Funding for Revocable Trusts By Cameron T. Lythberg August 2024 A trust should include a schedule of assets so that a successor trustee knows what assets are in the trust they have been tasked with administering.
Note December 2024 ISBA publishes pamphlets for the public and your clients. See a new one recently published by our Section.