Little rights for non-member LLC owners
A recent case decision shows the risk involved in acquiring an ownership interest in a Limited Liability Company (LLC) but not being admitted as a member. Mary Doherty v Country Faire Conversion, LLC, 2020 IL App (1st) 192385 involved an LLC membership interest that was foreclosed on and the interest holder’s rights after that in […]
Recouping Attorney’s fees in Condominium Disputes
Suing an Association is an expensive proposition in Illinois. Illinois follows the American Rule regarding assessing attorneys fees. The American Rule is unless there is a statute or contract stating otherwise, each side pays their own legal fees. So if an unit owner prevails in litigation against the Association, most times the unit owner needs […]
Commercial Real Estate Broker Lien
Commercial Real Estate Broker (Realtor) Lien Act Realtors bring together buyers and sellers of real estate. For this service, the seller normally pays a commission to the realtor. At the closing of this transaction, the realtor then receives a big check. As with most things in life, sometimes things go awry. Some transactions the owner […]
When Secondhand Smoke Invades Your Home
Homeowners and renters can take action against cigarette-smoking neighbors. Non-smoking laws in public places have swept the nation, but until recently, if the smoke wafting into your house, condominium, or apartment from your neighbor’s cigarette bothered you, all you could do was move out. The situation is changing, however, and non-smokers bothered by their neighbors’ […]
Neighbors and Noise
What’s Below: Are noisy neighbors breaking the law? How should I approach my neighbor about a noise problem? Can I sue a noisy neighbor? Isn’t my landlord supposed to keep noisy tenants quiet? My neighbor’s dog barks all the time, and it’s driving me crazy. What can I do? Are noisy neighbors breaking the […]
Renting with Others
Learn to avoid disputes among roommates or with the landlord. When two or more people sign the same rental agreement or lease — or enter into the same oral rental agreement — they are cotenants and share the same legal rights and responsibilities. However, there’s a special twist. One cotenant’s negative behavior — not paying […]
Eviction Procedures
Below are some guidelines for evicting a person in Chicago. Most of this Document assumes that the rental unit is covered by the Residential Ordinance. Under this Document the Chicago Residential Landlord Ordinance, Chicago Municipal Code Title 5 Chapter 12 is referred to as the RLTO. You can obtain a copy of this Ordinance on […]
Tenants Can Remove Trade Fixtures at the End of Their Lease
Tenants can remove fixtures at end of a commercial lease if it is the tenant’s personal property. When I was in law school my law professors preached that once a fixture becomes attached to the real estate it stays on the property. So, if you sold a house with a crystal chandelier, you could not […]
Are Realtors liable if you buy a defective property?
Let’s say you buy a property built on sand. Then as the Good Book says, a storm happens and the house collapses. Is the realtor liable to you because he didn’t tell you that houses built on sand are not very stable? Probably not. In Illinois Normally a realtor can rely upon the disclosures of […]
Continuing a sheriff sale does not violate the automatic stay
Representing a lender in a long drawn out battle with a borrower over a nonpayment on a balloon mortgage. The note was secured by a vacate 3 story industrial property. Foreclosure was strenuously contested. Twice the borrower filed for Chapter 11 protection on the eve of the sheriff’s sale. In Illinois a sheriff’s sale terminates […]