Category Archives: Real estate litigation

Mechanics’ Lien Doesn’t Secure Attorneys’ Fees and Costs – Utah Supreme Court

Q: Does a mechanics lien secure payment of attorneys’ fees and costs (in addition to the amount of improvements) incurred by a lien claimant under the Utah mechanic’s lien statute? A: No. In an earlier article (http://paulporvaznik.com/contractors-attorneys-under-illinois-mechanics-lien-law/502) I tried to harmonize some Illinois cases that discuss whether attorneys’ fees can be added to a mechanics lien …

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Direct Damages, Loss of Use Damages and the Defective A/C System: A Florida Tale

A prosaic fact pattern involving a busted home air conditioning system sets the stage for a Florida court’s nuanced discussion of the policy reasons that underlie compensatory damages and the differences between direct damages and loss of use (delay) damages. In Gonzalez v. Barrenechea, 2015 Fla.App.LEXIS 647 (Fla.3d DCA Jan. 21, 2015), the plaintiff homeowner sued the defendant HVAC …

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All About Illinois Land Trusts

The Seventh Circuit recently provided a good primer on Illinois land trust property ownership in Stable Investments Partnership v. Vilsack, 2015 WL 55466 (7th Cir. 2015). There, the court agreed with the Northern District and found that an Illinois land trust beneficiary wasn’t an “owner” under a Federal farm subsidy program operated by the U.S. …

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