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About This Blog
Welcome to the Snell & Wilmer real estate litigation blog. Check back here often for useful news and information about current topics involving real estate litigation. We hope that you will find the blog both timely and helpful, and we invite you to join the discussion by posting comments about the articles and contacting the authors with your thoughts about the posts.
Real Estate Litigation Group Members and Blog Contributors
- Bob Henry
- Kevin Parker
- Matt Fischer
- Adam Lang
- Cory Braddock
- Benjamin Reeves
- Erica Stutman
- Patrick Paul
- Rick Erickson
- Ginny Olmstead
- Neal McConomy
- Michael E. Lindsay
- Bob L. Olson
- Nathan G. Kanute
- Sean M. Sherlock
- Lyndsey Torp
- Anthony Carucci
- Luke Mecklenburg
- Jon Frank
- Kevin Walton
- Lauren Munsell
- Lauren Podgorski
- Addy Colton
- John Sarager
- Ian Douglas
- David Rao
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Recent Posts
- Tort Claims Against an Alter Ego May Be Considered an Action “On a Contract” for the Purposes of an Attorneys’ Fees Award under California Civil Code section 1717
- The Show Must Go On: Shuttered Venues Operators Grant Provides Lifeline for Live Music and Theater Venues
- More Help For Arizona’s Restaurant & Hospitality Industry On the Way
- Married Couple’s Acquisition of Title as Joint Tenants Does Not Rebut the Presumption of Community Property
- Woodbridge II and the Nuanced Meaning of “Adverse Use” in Hostile Property Rights Cases in Colorado
Topics
- Anti-deficiency Statute
- Bankruptcy
- Commercial Real Estate Industry
- Construction and Development
- Environmental
- Evictions
- Foreclosures
- Guaranty Contracts
- Judgment Liens
- Medical Marijuana
- Real Estate and Bankruptcy
- Real Estate Appraiser Litigation
- Real Estate Broker Litigation
- Real Estate Purchase/Sale Transaction Litigation
- Real Estate Receivers
- Statutes Affecting Real Estate
- Title Insurance
- Uncategorized
- Zoning
Airbnb Declares End to Party!
By Patrick Paul
As municipalities around the country evaluate changes to their respective codes in an effort to exert greater control over bad actors in the vacation rental market, Airbnb announced on November 2nd that it is banning party houses. The move comes in response to the shooting deaths of five people at a Halloween party hosted at an Airbnb rental house in Orinda, CA. CEO Brian Chesky announced on Twitter that starting November 2, Airbnb would ban “party houses” and redouble the company’s efforts to “combat unauthorized parties and get rid of abusive host and guest conduct.” twitter.com/bchesky
The four-bedroom rental reportedly had been rented on Airbnb by a woman who advised the owner her family members had asthma and needed to escape smoke from a wildfire burning in Sonoma County about 60 miles north of Orinda earlier in the week. … Read More »
Author:
Patrick J. Paul
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Tagged Airbnb, mansion party, nuisance party, party house
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Short-Term Rental Legislation & Litigation On the Way!
The advent of the shared economy in the real estate context has provided homeowners and investors alike with expanded opportunities to generate revenue from the use of their real estate. Airbnb and VRBO are two of the most popular companies facilitating short-term rental availability. The rapid growth in this shared real estate economy has served as a disruptor of sorts to the traditional hotel and hospitality industry, causing that industry to revisit its own models in order to better compete.
The popularity of short-term rental use, however, has created a whole new set of problems about which property owners, state and local governments, renters, and those impacted by the explosion of short-term rentals should be aware.… Read More »
Author:
Patrick J. Paul
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Tagged #2672, #partyhouse, #scottsdale, #shorttermrental
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Appellate Court Affirms Medical Marijuana Variance in Phoenix
By: Patrick J. Paul
On May 2, 2019, the Arizona Court of Appeals in a memorandum decision, upheld a superior court judgment affirming a variance granted by the City of Phoenix Board of Adjustment (Board) to allow the operation of a medical marijuana dispensary in North Phoenix. Dreem Green Inc. v. City of Phoenix, 2019 WL 1959618.
In Arizona, the Arizona Department of Health Services (DHS) is authorized to allocate medical marijuana dispensary registration certificates via population-based geographic areas individually referred to as a Community Health Analysis Area or “CHAA.” In this instance DHS granted a medical marijuana registration certificate to prospective facility operators for the North Mountain CHAA, and those certificate holders sought to open a dispensary near Dunlap Ave and Interstate 17 in Phoenix on property zoned C2. … Read More »
Author:
Patrick J. Paul
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Tagged Board of Adjustment, cannabis, CHAA, DHS, Medical Marijuana, pot
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Homie Can’t Do That
By: Patrick J. Paul
The Arizona Attorney General recently reached an agreement with Utah-based real estate company Homie which made a splash in the Phoenix market during the fall election with candidate-type signage posted throughout the community urging a “Vote for Homie” as significant change and assured that such change would be “coming to your pocket.” The problem? Confusion to the voter, improper collection of personal data.
Homie first entered the Phoenix market in January 2018 with a softer digitally-based advertising splash. Homie suggested that customers could save an average of $10,000 in home sales transactions by utilizing its technology and licensed real agents and directed further inquiry to its website http://homieforsenate.com/. … Read More »
Author:
Patrick J. Paul
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Tagged Arizona Attorney General, Assurance of Discontinuance, election, Homie, real estate broker
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Developers Celebrate Arizona’s Opportunity Zones
By: Patrick J. Paul
President Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed by Congress in December included a new community development program designed to promote investment in low income urban and rural communities. These “Opportunity Zones” provide that every Governor may nominate up to 25% of qualifying low-income Census tracts for consideration in the program which provides substantial reductions on capital gains taxes with the greatest benefits to those holding their investments for a period of at least 10 years.
States were required by March 21st to submit nominations or request a 30 day extension to subsequently submit. The Treasury Department in turn has 30 days from the date of submission to designate the nominated zones. … Read More »
Author:
Patrick J. Paul
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Tagged Arizona Commerce Authority, IRS, Opportunity Zones, Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Treasury Department
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California Supreme Court Upholds Precondemnation Procedures
On July 21, 2016, the California Supreme Court in Property Reserve v. Superior Court upheld the state’s precondemnation entry and testing statutes provided they were reformed to allow impacted property owners the ability to have a jury trial to determine damages associated with such entry and testing.
The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) sought to construct water conveyance facilities that would require significant property condemnation. As part of this process, DWR further sought to investigate the environmental and geological suitability of more than 150 private properties considered for the conveyance route.
DWR proposed two sets of precondemnation diligence – – environmental and geological activities.… Read More »
Author:
Patrick J. Paul
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Governor Ducey Vetoes Water and Development Bills
With the second regular legislative session of Governor Doug Ducey’s tenure complete, the Governor exercised his veto pen rejecting several laws impacting water and land development.
On May 9th, Governor Ducey vetoed two measures that could have allowed developers to manipulate the requirements of Arizona’s Groundwater Management Act of 1980: Senate bills 1268 (adequate water supply requirements) and 1400 (county water supply). The bills’ sponsor, Senator Gail Griffin, had expressed concerns that the federal government was exercising too much control of the water supply in Cochise County in its efforts to ensure the continued flow of water in the San Pedro River.… Read More »
Author:
Patrick J. Paul
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Homebuilders Welcome Recent Court Decisions
By: Patrick Paul
Arizona homebuilders will welcome with open arms two recent legal rulings of substantial impact to their industry. In the first decision, on July 28, 2015, in Sullivan v. Pulte Home Corp., No. 1 CA-CV 14-0199, the Arizona Court of Appeals held that homebuilders do not owe a duty of care to subsequent (non-original homeowners) for economic losses arising from latent construction defects unaccompanied by physical injury to persons or other property.
The fairly simple fact scenario follows. In 2000, Pulte Home Corporation sold the home at issue to the original homeowners, who, in 2003, sold the property to the Sullivan Plaintiffs. … Read More »
Author:
Patrick J. Paul
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Tagged Clean Water Act, economic loss rule, homebuilder, Water of the United States
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