Section Newsletters

Articles From John C. Murray

Special warranty deeds By John C. Murray Real Estate Law, August 2014 A discussion and analysis of special warranty deeds, and a look at the court decisions that have ruled on their effect.
Seventh Circuit rules for lender in River East Plaza case By John C. Murray Corporate Law Departments, November 2007 In River East Plaza, L.L.C. v. The Variable Life Annuity Co., 2006 WL 278483 (N.D. Ill. Sept 22, 2006), the borrower, a major commercial and real estate developer, entered into a $13 million, 20-year mortgage loan (amortized at a 28-year schedule, with a balloon) in 1999.
Warranty of Title, Negligent Misrepresentation, and the Moorman Doctrine By John C. Murray Real Estate Law, October 2006 In a recent decision by the Illinois Appellate Court, Midfirst Bank v. Abney , the court ruled in favor of the title insurance company under the “Moorman doctrine” in effect in Illinois.
When is a sale-leaseback an equitable mortgage? By Gregory A. Thorpe & John C. Murray Real Estate Law, March 2005 When two sets of sophisticated real estate investors represented by experienced counsel say something is a duck-and it quacks and swims with its webbed feet-is it a duck?
Federal preemption of state prepayment-penalty statutes: Back to the future? By John C. Murray Real Estate Law, October 2003 Federal associations have, for many years, been able to include prepayment penalty clauses in commercial loan documents and enforce such clauses according to their terms, regardless of any state law to the contrary (including equitable principles). C.F.R. §§ 545.2 and 545.34(c), as amended at 49 F.R. 43044 (1984), authorize a federal association to include a prepayment penalty clause in any loan it makes and to enforce such a clause in accordance with its terms regardless of any state law-including equitable principles in a foreclosure action-that purports to prohibit the collection of a prepayment penalty under certain circumstances.
Enforceablilty of intercreditor agreements in bankruptcy By John C. Murray Commercial Banking, Collections, and Bankruptcy, August 2002 A recent Illinois bankruptcy court decision, In re 203 N. LaSalle Street Partnership, 246 B.R. 325 (Bankr. N.D. Ill. 2000), deals specifically with the rights of parties to an intercreditor agreement.
Perfecting and enforcing a security interest in an option to purchase real estate By John C. Murray Commercial Banking, Collections, and Bankruptcy, May 2002 If a person or entity acquires an option from the owner of a parcel (or parcels) of real estate to purchase such real estate, is the optionee's interest personal property or real property
Enforceablilty of intercreditor agreements in bankruptcy By John C. Murray Real Estate Law, April 2002 A recent Illinois bankruptcy court decision, In re 203 N. LaSalle Street Partnership, 246 B.R. 325 (Bankr. N.D. Ill. 2000), deals specifically with the rights of parties to an intercreditor agreement.
Perfecting and enforcing a security interest in an option to purchase real estate By John C. Murray Real Estate Law, February 2002 If an entity acquires an option from the owner of a parcel (or parcels) of real estate to purchase such real estate, what interest does it actually own?
Equitable and “conventional” subrogation in Illinois By John C. Murray Real Estate Law, April 2001 Whenever a title insurer pays a claim, it will ask the claims handler to consider possibilities for recovery from someone who may have been unjustly enriched.
The “burn down” guaranty: Yet another trap for the unwary lender? By John C. Murray Real Estate Law, February 2000 On May 26, 1999, the Illinois Appellate Court issued its decision in Bank of America National Trust and Savings Association v. Schulson, 305 Ill. App. 3d 941, 714 N.E. 2d 20 (1999), as modified upon denial of rehearing (June 30, 1999).
U.S. Supreme Court rules on new value (or does it?) By John C. Murray Commercial Banking, Collections, and Bankruptcy, December 1999 In an 8-1 opinion issued on May 3, 1999, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Bank of America National Trust & Savings Association v. 203 N. LaSalle Street Partnership, ___U.S.___, 119 S.Ct. 1141 (1999), that old equity holders were disqualified from participating in a "new value" bankruptcy reorganization plan over the objection of a senior class of impaired creditors, where the opportunity to contribute new capital and receive ownership interests in the reorganized entity was given exclusively to old equity holders without consideration of alternatives.
Pre-petition distribution of cash by a mortgagor: a fraudulent transfer? By John C. Murray Real Estate Law, June 1999 If a debtor is a general or limited single-asset partnership and has made a cash distribution to its partners prior to filing bankruptcy while real estate taxes due on the property remain unpaid, the secured creditor may be able to assert that such action by the debtor constitutes a fraudulent transfer under state or federal law.

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