Month: June 2015
U.S. Supreme Court: Same-Sex Marriage Is a Right
[caption id="attachment_315" align="alignright" width="150"] Photo Credit: US Rep. Mark Pocan Twitter[/caption] Coincidentally timed on the anniversary of the decisions in Lawrence v. Texas and U.S. v. Windsor, two prior gay-rights cases, Justice Kennedy announced the majority opinion in Obergefell v. Hodges, in which the five-person majority held that the Fourteenth Amendment requires all ... Read More
TAGGED: Supreme Court, gay marriage, marriage equality
Condominium Insurance Considerations: Owner-Occupant and Owner Who Rents Out
By Roy L. Kaufmann[1] of Jackson & Campbell, P.C. and Margarita Dilone, President and CEO of Crystal Insurance Group, Inc. Owners of condominium units should review their condominium insurance needs carefully. A unit-owner’s policy is essential. In fact, in some jurisdictions, such as the ... Read More
DC Tax Sale Scheduled starting July 20, 2015
The District of Columbia Office of Tax and Revenue has announced the annual tax sale of real properties with delinquent taxes and other assessments. The list of properties is correct as of the date of this publication. Some properties will be removed before the date of the sale ... Read More
TAGGED: dc real estate, DC tax sales, tax liens, tax sales
DC Tenant Bill of Rights– Landlords to Amend Their Practices as of July 3!
In August of 2014, then Mayor Vincent Gray signed a bill into law that requires landlords to provide their tenants with a copy of the District of Columbia Tenant Bill of Rights. The District has long been seen as a relatively tenant-friendly city and this new law, effective ... Read More
TAGGED: washington dc, landlords, tenant bill of rights, tenants
MD: Maryland Implements Statewide Subpoena Form
Beginning July 1, 2015, the Maryland Judiciary will begin using a statewide subpoena form. To ensure that the required seal of the issuing court and the proper clerk's signature appear on the subpoena, there are separate forms for each circuit and district court; but the content of each from is the ... Read More
TAGGED: maryland, maryland electronic courts, mdec, subpoena form
Maryland Court of Appeals: Breeding v. Koste
The Maryland Court of Appeals held in Breeding v. Koste that the “woodlands exception” applied in cases involving prescriptive easements also applies to adverse possession where the land at issue is unimproved or otherwise in a general state of nature. The exception holds that in such circumstances, there is a legal presumption that the claimant’s use is by ... Read More
SCOTUS: 2nd mortgages on ‘underwater’ homes cannot be voided in Chapter 7 bankruptcy
In Bank of America v. Caulkett, the Court declined to allow a Chapter 7 bankruptcy debtor to “strip down” a mortgage lien that is junior to liens that claim all of the equity in a home, thus allowing those “underwater” liens to survive a discharge. Caulkett owned a house where the senior mortgage lien was greater than his ... Read More