Days after closing on their dream home – a brick colonial near the historic Texas Capitol – Hino and Mino Schute learned of their property’s ghastly past. Eleven months earlier, an intruder entered the house, shot and killed a 9-year-old girl and her father. Horrified, the Schutes unsuccessfully demanded their money back. When that failed,… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Property Issues
Subscribe to Property Issues RSS FeedHave Gun, Will Travel: Owner’s Liability to Patrons for Violent Acts
Posted in Constitutional Rights & Issues, Criminal Law, Legal Risk Management, Property IssuesAttendees at the midnight showing of the remake of the movie “Paladin – the Gentleman Black Knight” were ambushed at the Orpheum Theater. According to news reports the accused bought a ticket and sat in the audience. He waited until after the movie started and then stepped out where he donned riot gear and re-entered… Continue Reading
Return of the Stray Mac – Can You Claim Ownership of Stray Live Stock
Posted in Property IssuesRay Kroc, a resident of a rural town in Texas, awoke one morning to find several head of cattle grazing in his backyard. Kroc does not have any idea who the owner might be and the cattle are untagged, unbranded and have no other identifying marks. Kroc is hopeful that Texas has some type of… Continue Reading
Drilling Your Own Water Well – It’s a Mighty Deep Subject
Posted in Property IssuesFearing that her beautiful landscaping will wither away from lack of water and feeling shafted by the ceaseless torrent of water usage limitations imposed by her city, Misty Spring is thinking about drilling a well in her own backyard. But does Misty own the water under her land and can she drill a well for… Continue Reading
Differences Between Surface & Mineral Estate Ownership
Posted in Property IssuesSeldon Wright, an accountant, searched for years to find the perfect piece of property to open his tax preparation business, Many Happy Returns. At long last, Wright finally located and purchased an ideal parcel from Molly Kuehl, a physicist at the local university. Several months after Wright finished construction of his office and opened for… Continue Reading
Should you Purchase Rental Insurance?
Posted in Property IssuesLes Plack, a dentist from Houston, took his family on a thrilling summer vacation to Baltimore, Maryland to fulfill his lifelong dream of visiting the National Museum of Dentistry. Having collected his luggage at the Baltimore Washington International Airport, Plack headed to the Joy Ride Rental Car counter to rent a sporty Kia Sedona for… Continue Reading
Can you Sue for Damage from a Wind Blown Shopping Cart?
Posted in Property IssuesYesterday Alluring Allison drove her brand new 2011 BMW to Wally World. Wanting to avoid that first door ding, Allie parked her beloved Beamer away from the other cars. Little did she know that Robby Redneck was loading up his pickup truck just up the hill from her. After unloading all of his shopping carts… Continue Reading
Running Lawn Sprinklers During a Freeze Can Cause a Liability Issue
Posted in Property IssuesCrazy Mow’s Manacures wanted to keep the soil wet around its landscaping plants this winter to keep them from freezing. However, when its automatic sprinkler system at the corner of Main and the Interstate Highway came on this morning at 4:00 a.m. the overspray showered the street just the other side of Crazy Mow’s fence…. Continue Reading
Litigious Lessees and Other Customers
Posted in Legal Risk Management, Property IssuesThe newspapers recently reported the story of woman who filed suit seeking a $100,000+ recovery from her landlord and former neighbor for damages allegedly caused by cigarette smoke drifting through the adjoining walls of their upscale townhome. Sue Yu alleges that construction defects at the Tiffany Townhomes allowed Marilyn Marlboro’s (her neighbor) cigarette smoke to… Continue Reading
Explanation of bills that did, and did not, get passed
Posted in Constitutional Rights & Issues, Employment & Labor, Legal Risk Management, Property IssuesThe 81st Texas Legislature that began in January ended with an exhausting five-day filibuster of the voter identification bill, a legislative logjam of other major legislation left for debate until late in the session, a frantic last ditch attempt to save much of that legislation, and a final-day meltdown in the Senate. The 2009 session… Continue Reading
Protesting Property Tax Valuations
Posted in Money, Property IssuesWard and June recently received their property valuations from Comfort County. Their broker son Beaver Cleaver told them that, because county property valuations are intended to reflect the market value of the property as of January 1 this year, widespread foreclosures, declining building permits and high office vacancy rates should send Comfort County property values… Continue Reading
Duty to Disclose that a House for Sale is Haunted?
Posted in Legal Risk Management, Property IssuesVlad “Dracula” Smith was looking for some new digs big enough to accommodate his growing family. While searching the MLS listings, Dracula stumbled across a castle belonging to Victor “Frankenstein” Jones. Little did Dracula know, but the castle was widely reported to be haunted. “Frankenstein” had even made the front page of the local paper… Continue Reading
Return of an Engagement Ring Before Marriage
Posted in Family Issues, Property IssuesBrad is madly in love with Jennifer. After dating her for a year, Brad proposes to Jennifer with a 5 carat Leo Diamond ring. Now, after only a few months, the engagement is off. Who gets the ring? If Brad and Jennifer break-up (and there is no written agreement) the keeper of the engagement ring… Continue Reading
Can Homeowners Near a Golf Course Sue for Damages Due to an Errant Golf Ball?
Posted in Property Issues, Sports & The OutdoorsHarry hits an errant elliptical drive through the 3rd window on the 2nd floor of Proud Mary’s mansion just off the 14th tee. Harry flees down the fairway to avoid an irate Mary who gallops after Harry’s golf cart wildly swinging her broom. Who pays for the window? In Texas, many golf course communities and… Continue Reading