Real Estate, Easement and Condo-Hotel Litigation

Real estate disputes put a family's home or a company's largest asset at stake, and they often turn on documents written long before anyone imagined a fight. Reiser Law, P.C. represents buyers, owners, co-owners and investors in real estate, easement and condo-hotel litigation in California and Florida state and federal courts, from offices in Walnut Creek and Miami.

Purchase disputes and nondisclosure

Many cases begin with something the buyer learned after closing. In California, sellers of single-family residential property must deliver a statutory transfer disclosure statement, and the disclosure article applies to sales, exchanges, installment contracts and options to purchase. Cal. Civ. Code § 1102(a). In Florida, when the seller of a home knows of facts that materially affect the property's value, are not readily observable and are not known to the buyer, the seller must disclose them. Johnson v. Davis, 480 So. 2d 625 (Fla. 1985). That duty applies to residential sales; commercial buyers in Florida generally must rely on their own inspection and the contract. Concealed defects, environmental conditions, and false statements about permits or rental income can support claims for fraud, negligent misrepresentation, rescission and damages.

Easements and access

Easement disputes involve driveways, shared roads, utility lines, views and beach access. They raise questions about whether an easement exists, how far it reaches, and whether one side has overburdened or blocked it. In Florida, a landowner whose property has no practical access may be able to establish a common-law way of necessity or a statutory way of necessity over neighboring land by the nearest practical route. Fla. Stat. § 704.01(1)-(2). In both states, easements can also arise by express grant, by implication and by long use, and each theory has its own proof requirements.

Co-ownership, partition and quiet title

When co-owners cannot agree, either can ask a court to divide the property or order it sold. Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 872.210(a); Fla. Stat. § 64.031. Partition is often the leverage that brings a buyout. When title itself is clouded by a competing claim, a quiet title action resolves who owns what. Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 760.020(a).

Condo-hotels and resort units

Condo-hotel and resort condominium units sit at the intersection of real estate and investment law. A buyer acquires real property, but the value often depends on a rental program the developer or a hotel operator controls. SEC guidance dating to 1973 explains when offers of condominium units, including units marketed with rental arrangements, may be offers of securities. Securities Act Release No. 33-5347 (Jan. 4, 1973). When the units are securities, the securities laws supply additional remedies.

The federal Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act gives purchasers a two-year right to revoke certain contracts when the developer failed to provide a required property report or omitted required contract terms, with a refund of amounts paid. 15 U.S.C. § 1703(c)-(e). Since 2014, ILSA's registration and disclosure requirements have not applied to most condominium units, though its anti-fraud provisions still do. 15 U.S.C. § 1702(b)(9). Contracts signed before then may still be governed by the earlier rules.

Our experience

We represented 13 homeowners in a South Florida subdivision in claims that the sellers failed to disclose soil contamination; the case resolved in a confidential settlement. We have led rescission actions under ILSA and California's Unfair Competition Law for buyers of condominium and condo-hotel units at resort and urban developments in California and Colorado, and we were among class counsel for more than 250 hotel-condominium purchasers in a federal class action. For community association disputes, see our pages on California HOA disputes, Florida HOA disputes and South Florida condo assessments. See our representative cases.

Questions clients ask

The seller hid a defect. Is it too late after closing?

Not necessarily. Fraud and nondisclosure claims are often discovered after closing, and limitations periods may run from discovery. An "as is" clause does not always bar a claim for fraud. Act promptly, because evidence and deadlines both erode.

My neighbor blocked my easement. What can I do?

A court can declare the scope of the easement and order the obstruction removed. The first step is to pull the recorded documents and the history of use, which usually decide these cases.

Can I force the sale of property I own with a relative or partner?

Generally, yes, through a partition action, unless an agreement between the owners waives that right. Courts can divide the property or order a sale and split the proceeds.

Talk to us

For California matters, call (925) 256-0400 or email Michael J. Reiser at michael@reiserlaw.com. For Florida matters, call (305) 726-2003 or email Matthew W. Reiser at matthew@reiserlaw.com; Spanish speakers can write to Isabella Martinez at isabella@reiserlaw.com. You can also use our contact page.

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