CALL FOR ARTICLES!Real Estate Law, March 2025Information on submitting articles for the newsletter.
Case Summary: ZHY Inv., LLC v. Hsing By Leslie HairstonReal Estate Law, March 2025In re County Treasurer and Ex Officio Cty. Collector of DuPage County, 2024 IL App (3d) 220465 involves an appeal by ZHY Investments, LLC, from the circuit court in the 18th Judicial Circuit, granting Hsing’s motion to vacate an order issuing a deed to ZHY for property located in Naperville, owned by Hsing.
The Sword of Damocles and Artificial Intelligence in LawBy Donald Hyun Kiolbassa & Emily HolmesReal Estate Law, March 2025A discussion of the Sword of Damocles story to draw a lesson—artificial intelligence should be used only as an augmentation of the attorney. The attorney needs to have a metaphorical sword over their head.
Case SummariesBy Joseph W. RogulReal Estate Law, February 2025Two recent Illinois cases are noted here that may be instructive in some practical respects for real state practitioners who have occasion to litigate similar issues.
Case Summary: Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v. RodriguezBy Greg C. AndersonReal Estate Law, February 2025Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v. Rodriguez is of special interest to those involved in situations where a lender has filed multiple foreclosure actions against a borrower. Wells Fargo Bank initiated three separate foreclosure complaints against its borrower. The borrower was successful in having the third foreclosure case dismissed, based on a violation of the “single refiling rule.” The Third District affirmed the dismissal.
Killing the Golden Goose: Chicago’s Northwest Side Preservation OrdinanceBy Donald Hyun Kiolbassa & Emily HolmesReal Estate Law, February 2025The City of Chicago's Northwest Side Preservation Ordinance gives tenants of residential real estate the right of first refusal to purchase the property. The Ordinance was passed allegedly to stop gentrification but, in practice, it is stripping away the rights of homeowners.
Did You Know?Real Estate Law, January 2025Some of Illinois land is described as West of the 2nd principal meridian and some as East of the 4th principal meridian.
Little Red Riding Hood: Private Equity Owning Law FirmsBy Donald Hyun Kiolbassa & Emily HolmesReal Estate Law, January 2025Loosely speaking, private equity firms are investment companies that focus on private companies. A classic example of a private equity firm looks like this. For whatever reason, a business owner is looking to divest risk and exit the owner's business. The private equity firm comes in and buys the company from the founder.
The Logistics of Handling Powers of Attorney Under the Recent Amendments to the Act – Reasonable and Unreasonable Cause to RefuseBy Michael J. FleckReal Estate Law, January 2025Senate Bill 3421 was enacted as Public Act 103-0994 on August 9, 2024, to be effective January 1, 2025. The Public Act makes certain changes to the Illinois Power of Attorney Act, specifically under Section 2-8. This article will focus on the practical logistics of handling powers of attorney due to these recent amendments, to minimize the chance that powers of attorney are rejected by a third party.
The New Multi-Board 8.0 Residential Real Estate ContractBy Philip J. VaccoReal Estate Law, January 2025While some technical issues with the 7.0 contract have been addressed, other issues have been created which will provide plenty of fodder for the legal profession to justify its continued involvement in residential real estate transactions. This article highlights some of these issues.
Some IRS Changes for 2025!Real Estate Law, January 2025A brief list of new IRS changes of interest to ADR practitioners.
Burrink Commercial Services v. New Life Covenant ChurchBy Samuel H. LevineReal Estate Law, December 2024In Burrink Commercial Services v. New Life Covenant Church, the appellate court dismissed a complaint to foreclose a mechanics lien as factually insufficient because the complaint improperly characterized two contracts as one.
Case Summary of Tyler v. Hennepin County, Minn.By Erica Crohn MinchellaReal Estate Law, December 2024In Tyler v. Hennepin County, Minn., the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held that a county collecting directly from the surplus upon the foreclosure sale of property for delinquent taxes was an unallowed taking under the Fifth Amendment.
False Bravado: How Estate Planning and Corporate Entities Can Be Undone by Municipal ViolationsBy Bob Floss, IIReal Estate Law, December 2024The articles examine the existence of a trust as a relationship or an entity, which will greatly affect the outcome of the trust. In the section titled “Proper Litigants,” we are given hypotheticals when a trust can sue or be sued as an entity or when the trustee of the trust would stand in place of the trust as the proper party.
NoteReal Estate Law, December 2024ISBA publishes pamphlets for the public and your clients. See a new one recently published by our Section.
QueryReal Estate Law, December 2024Are there other such benefits to owning real property through a non-Illinois-established LLC or entity as opposed to using an Illinois-established LLC or entity?
Upcoming CLEsReal Estate Law, December 2024Mark your calendars for upcoming live CLE events of interest to real estate practitioners.
Mitigation of Damages in Illinois Commercial Lease DisputesBy R. Kymn HarpReal Estate Law, April 2023An Illinois landlord under a commercial lease must take reasonable measures to mitigate damages, but only if mitigation of damages is required.
Mitigation of Damages in Illinois Commercial Lease DisputesBy R. Kymn HarpCommercial Banking, Collections, and Bankruptcy, April 2023An Illinois landlord under a commercial lease must take reasonable measures to mitigate damages, but only if mitigation of damages is required.
Cook County Landlord Tenant Law: A Compass to Guide YouBy Laura L. LundsgaardReal Estate Law, June 2021As of June 1, a new ordinance redefines landlord-tenant law and residential purchase and sale transactions in Cook County.
Stealing Houses?By Frank PellegriniReal Estate Law, March 2021What do you get when you combine identity theft with mortgage fraud? The FBI calls it house stealing.
The Implied Warranty of Habitability: Implications for the Builder and the HomeownerBy Adam B. WhitemanCommercial Banking, Collections, and Bankruptcy, July 2020If the implied warranty of habitability is not waived, builders leave themselves at risk from being sued by persons they never contracted with and new homeowners may find they have rights that they never anticipated.
Always refresh and renew your guarantyBy David SeidmanBusiness Advice and Financial Planning, April 2019Attorneys must routinely advise their clients when they erroneously state that a guarantor’s responsibilities are not limited to the particular obligations set forth in the guaranty itself.
