Posts by The Jurist Law Group

On March 20, 2019, the United States Supreme Court (“Court”), in a unanimous (9-0) decision in Obduskey v. McCarthy & Holthus LLP, 586 U.S. ___ (2019), held that a business engaged in no more than non-judicial foreclosure proceedings is not a “debt collector” under the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”), except for the…

On May 25, 2018, the Supreme Court issued an opinion (Tarr v. Timberwood Park Owners Ass’n, 61 Tex. Sup. Ct. J. 1174 (2018)) that, in the age of short-term vacation rentals like Airbnb, resonates with homeowners, renters, and HOA’s alike. In this case, a homeowner entered into 31 short-term rental agreements on his property, ranging…

As recently reported by The Oregonian on June 18th, “[a] Portland-area attorney has managed to secure a sweet deal on a four-bedroom house in Clackamas – rent set at $1,550 a month in perpetuity…The market rate for similar homes in the ‘excellent’ neighborhood is more than 50 percent higher, surpassing $2,300 per month.”  How did…

For those homeowners staring down the barrel of a foreclosure, filing for bankruptcy may be a tempting fix.  But, tempting as it may be, those considering bankruptcy as a means to thwart foreclosure should strongly consider otherwise. Just a little cursory overview of bankruptcy – the Bankruptcy Code is housed within Title 11 of the…

All homeowners should take the appropriate steps to prevent this pervasive scam from hitting close to home: “Fake homeowners association files liens against Missouri homeowners.” Arm yourself with information. It’s important that homeowners become familiar with their homeowners’ association (“HOA”) which, as a representative for the homeowners within a given community, is responsible for the community’s maintenance…

Kelo v. City of New London, a must-read Supreme Court case regarding property rights, has received a flurry of negative treatment since its genesis in 2005 for its expansion of eminent domain, allowing private developers and the government to collude and forcibly take private property away from citizens for “public purpose” under the Takings Clause…

Today marks the 230th anniversary of the signing of our nation’s Constitution. On September 17, 1787, thirty-nine delegates signed the Constitution of the United States.  In James Madison: Origin of the Constitutional Convention, December 1835, James Madison wrote, “there never was an assembly of men, charged with a great and arduous trust, who were more pure…

“Hold tight to the words of the law…divining what the law is, not what the interpreter wishes it to be.” See Reading Law: The Interpretation of Legal Text (2012). This maxim captures the bedrock principal in legal interpretation: Bright lines and sharp corners promote clear legal remedies. When entering into a contractual relationship, it pays…

On July 6, 2017, the CFPB finalized 560 pages of updates to the “Know Before You Owe” mortgage disclosure. These updates make several modifications to the Federal mortgage disclosure requirements under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) and the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), implemented in Regulation Z, including the following: Tolerances for the…

Last month, the Supreme Court issued an opinion in a case stemming back 12 years, rooted in the enactment of a regulation affecting a family’s property rights.  The Murr family owned two adjacent lots and wanted to sell one to finance the improvement of the other but were prohibited from doing so by a state regulation impacting contiguous…