philadelphia eminent domain

My partner, Abe Reich, recently successfully argued before the PA Supreme Court a case determining “whether the occurrence of a murder/suicide inside a house constitutes a material defect of the property, such that appellees’ failure to disclose the same to the buyer of the house constituted fraud, negligent misrepresentation, or a violation of the Unfair…

PA law requires that challenges to condemnations must be filed within 30 days of service of the Declaration of Taking. The document that is filed challenging the taking is called “Preliminary Objections.”

HB 2387, currently being considered in the PA House of Representatives, would increase the time for filing the Preliminary Objections to 90 days.

The city of Orlando initiated eminent domain proceedings to take property owned by a church to build a new soccer stadium. A judge ruled in January that Orlando could take the property via its eminent domain powers. Orlando spokesperson Heather Fagan issued this statement:

 “We have spent the last year trying to work with the…

Each state has its own set of appraiser regulations. Although there are substantial similarities, they can vary. The Appraisal Institute has assembled a document titled “Provisions of State Appraiser Licensing and Certification Laws Applicable to Appraisal Review” which is available free to its members and may be purchased by non-AI professionals. The document provides information…

According to an article in the Appraisal Institute’s Valuation magazine, litigation regarding appraisal reviews has been increasing.  One possible explanation cited in the article is that there are simply more appraisal reviews.  It also states that some review appraisers lack the necessary competency to perform the work.

One of the major categories of claims is…

The PA Superior Court recently addressed issues regarding determining the fair market value of property in the context of a “deficiency judgment” proceeding.  In Liberty Philadelphia REO, LP v. EFL Partners V, L.P., the Superior Court held that it was proper in that case to fix the fair market value of condominiums based on…

The New Jersey legislature is considering a bill that would abolish NJ’s Real Estate Appraisers Board and transfer regulation of appraisers to the state’s Real Estate Commission. Bill A2387 was unanimously passed by the Regulated Professions Committee March 13.  The Appraisal Institute strongly opposes the bill.  The Bill’s sponsors, Troy Singleton, and representatives of the…

In 2005, the US Supreme Court issued one of its most controversial decisions. In Kelo v. City of New London, the Court held that it was not unconstitutional to use the power of eminent domain to take homes and other private property and transfer the property to private entities for economic development. It found…