Source: http://rc.com/practices/Litigation/RealEstateandLandUseLitigation/index.cfm
Timestamp: 2019-04-20 18:20:35+00:00

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The members of the group are seasoned litigators who are knowledgeable in all aspects of real property law, "speak the language" of real estate, and understand the fundamental elements of real property law and transactions. The group also works closely with and leverages the resources of other Robinson+Cole practices to create multidisciplinary teams to advocate for our real estate clients and to resolve their disputes. The Real Estate Litigation Group represents clients before state and federal courts, both trial and appellate, as well as in administrative hearings, arbitration, and mediation.
Our representation ranges from negotiation to mediation to arbitration and, when appropriate, to the litigation that may ensue when some element of the condominium process goes wrong and judicial intervention is necessary. No matter the forum , we speak the language of condominium boards, unit owners, lenders, and management.
Represented a lender in a $4.5 million foreclosure claim in which the defendant counterclaimed for $18 million in damages sounding in lender liability. The matter was contested over the last three years and settled on the eve of trial. Multiple motions were drafted and argued before the court, including summary judgment.
Marshalling over 100 years of complex title records and boundary evidence and testimony of surveying and title experts, obtained judgment for a developer following trial, affirming title to and boundaries of a 120-acre subdivision.
Defeated a class certification action against law firms and major mortgage lenders for allegedly wrongful foreclosures that would have involved over 9,000 foreclosures and tens of millions of dollars in exposure. The United States Court of Appeals affirmed the denial of class certification.
Obtained expedited and complete dismissal of claims against a developer for easements over commercial property in Boston’s Seaport District, which enabled the development and sale of a hotel on the site.
Our group regularly represents both landlords and tenants in commercial lease disputes and related litigation matters. The firm currently represents a landlord in a dispute of lease rights concerning over 300,000 square feet of space.
Represented Boulder County, Colorado, in defense of a claim under the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) in federal district court. The principal issue, of national importance, was whether a megachurch can double in size to more than 200,000 square feet in contravention of local planning and regulations. Robinson+Cole won jury verdicts on multiple federal and state constitutional claims and one claim brought under RLUIPA. While the jury found for the church on three RLUIPA claims, the jury awarded no damages. The Tenth Circuit upheld the jury verdict.
In the area of real and personal property tax appeals, the firm has been prime counsel for one of the largest wireless service providers in the country and currently represents the provider in appeals involving the valuation of high-tech wireless equipment as well as real property.
Successfully defended a $10 million mixed-use (including 134 residential units and 5,000 square feet of retail space) urban revitalization project against a lawsuit by abutters seeking to halt the development.
Represented a cellular telephone tower company in a real property partition action. The client had a leasehold interest and right of first refusal on property that was the subject of litigation between family members to force the sale of multiple tracts of land owned by many family members. Preserved client's interests and avoided unnecessary entanglement in the litigation.
Litigated numerous zoning appeals in state and federal courts, including representation of leading telecommunication companies in prosecuting and defending zoning appeals in federal and state courts.
Represent condominium associations in claims brought against developer, design, and construction professionals and developer-appointed managers for design and construction defects and breach of fiduciary duties.
Persuaded the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to overturn an Appeals Court decision and affirm a condominium developer’s retention of the right to remove land from a condominium. Queler, et al. v. Skowron, et al., 439 Mass. 304 (2002).
Represented lenders in the litigation, resolution, and recoupment of mortgage frauds, overfinancing scams, defalcations, and forgeries.
Successfully represented waterfront owners, developers, and marinas before state agencies, including contested cases, related to permits and approvals for docks and other structures.
Obtained judgment after trial for a beachfront owner against claims of adverse possession and prescriptive easement.
Represented the developer of a subdivision that included a wind turbine as a prominent feature in an action against subdivision purchasers who reneged on promises to reconfigure subdivision open space to allow for development of the wind turbine. Successfully negotiated resolution to dispute.
Represent high-end Boston condominiums, which are often mixed-use and two-tier, with complicated governing documents where balancing the budgetary, operational, and governance requirements of primary versus secondary condominiums and residential versus commercial interests requires knowledgeable and experienced counsel. Representative condominium clients who have called upon the full range of Robinson+Cole's legal services include Millennium Place Ritz-Carlton Boston; Parkside Condominium, Boston; Union Wharf, Boston; and Sierra+Tango, Cambridge.
Represented national public utility company in defense of environmental claims based on historic property usage.
The Real Estate Bar Association for Massachusetts (REBA) has elected Business Litigation Group lawyer Kendra L. Berardi to serve as its clerk for the 2019 term. For more than 150 years, REBA's mission has been to advance the practice of real estate law by creating and sponsoring professional standards, actively participating in the legislative process, creating educational programs and materials, and demonstrating and promoting fair dealing and good fellowship among members of the real estate bar. As clerk, Kendra will be responsible for maintaining the official records of the organization. Read more in the press release.
Business Litigation Group lawyer Danielle Andrews Long was among the speakers that participated in a panel discussion on "Notarial Acts Done Right (and Wrong)" during the Real Estate Bar Association's (REBA) 2018 Annual Meeting & Conference in Norwood, Massachusetts on November 5, 2018. The practical skills session included a review of recent case law highlighting the unintended consequences of flawed acknowledgments and jurats, along with practical tips on fixing errors and avoiding defects. The panelists also offered an analysis of REBA-sponsored legislation to update the acknowledgement statute and bring it into closer alignment with other jurisdictions.
Business Litigation Group lawyer Kendra L. Berardi chaired a program on the “Inner Workings of the Land Court: Registration, Surveys & Tax Liens” at the Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) Conference Center in Boston, Massachusetts on October 25, 2018. Kendra opened the program with a welcome and covered the key takeaways of the seminar, which provided an introduction to the inner workings of the Land Court and its many roles. Faculty included Land Court officials who explained the Court’s registration process, the role of the survey division, and the Court’s role in tax liens and foreclosures.
Robinson+Cole received 36 first-tier metropolitan rankings in the 2019 “Best Law Firms” list published in U.S. News & World Report. The firm also received four national rankings: Tier 2 rankings for Land Use & Zoning Law and Real Estate Law and Tier 3 rankings for Information Technology Law and Labor Law - Management.
The rankings are presented in tiers, on both the national and metropolitan lists, by practice area. Rankings are based on surveys in which major clients and lawyers are asked to rate the law firms they consider best in their practice areas. The full methodology can be found at http://bestlawfirms.usnews.com/methodology.aspx.
View the complete list of first-tier metropolitan rankings.
Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly honored Business Litigation Group lawyer Kendra L. Berardi as an “Up and Coming Lawyer” during the publication’s annual Excellence in the Law event on May 10, 2018 at the Marriott Long Wharf Hotel in Boston, Massachusetts. Up and Coming Lawyers are described as the rising stars of the legal community—Massachusetts attorneys who have been members of the bar for ten years or less, but who have already distinguished themselves despite their relatively junior status. Read more and view a photo in the press release.
Robinson+Cole received 37 first-tier metropolitan rankings in the 2018 “Best Law Firms” list published in U.S. News & World Report.
The firm also received three national rankings: Tier 2 ranking for Real Estate Law and Tier 3 rankings for Information Technology Law and Land Use & Zoning Law.
The rankings are presented in tiers, on both the national or metropolitan lists, by practice area. Rankings are based on surveys in which major clients and lawyers are asked to rate the law firms they consider best in their practice areas.
View a complete list of the firm's first-tier metropolitan rankings in the news release.
Robinson+Cole received 34 first-tier metropolitan rankings, including 26 in the city of Hartford, in the 2017 “Best Law Firms” list published in U.S. News & World Report.
The firm also received three national rankings: Tier 2 rankings for Information Technology Law, Land Use & Zoning Law, and Real Estate Law.
Real Estate Litigation and Title Insurance Team lawyer Kendra L. Berardi chaired the program "Meet the Land Court Judicial Forum 2016," sponsored by MCLE New England, in Boston on October 20, 2016. The session featured judges and officials of the Land Court who described the types and frequency of cases before the Land Court, its rules and standing orders and how they differ from other trial court departments, and the land registration process and the role of title examiners. In addition, they offered practical tips for appearing before the justices of the Land Court.
Real Estate Litigation + Title Insurance Team lawyer Kendra L. Berardi has been elected vice chair of content of the ABA's Real Estate, Condemnation, and Trust Litigation Committee. She is also the editor in chief of the committee's editorial board and most recently served as co-chair of its Young Lawyers Subcommittee. The Real Estate, Condemnation, and Trust Litigation Committee focuses on real estate disputes and their resolution, including issues of ownership, purchase and sale, title, casualty, and land use.
Lawrence P. Heffernan was featured in the article "SJC OKs mechanism for lenders to 'cure' defective mortgage acknowledgments," published in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly on June 29, 2016. He is one of the practitioners in the article who weigh in on a recent Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) decision and who all say that it provides much-needed relief for both residential lenders who wish to maintain their secured status despite certain technical errors that appear in many borrowers' closing documents and the attorneys who seek to cure those errors. Mr. Heffernan, who co-authored an amicus brief on behalf of the Real Estate Bar Association and the Abstract Club with Danielle Andrews Long, states that he was happy that the First Circuit certified the issue to the SJC, considering the "fairly harsh" Bankruptcy Court decisions on technically defective acknowledgements, which he calls "elevating form over substance." He further says, "This decision reinforces the purpose of [Chapter 183, § 5B] . . . and that the attorney's affidavit is a very valuable resource for conveyancers."
Mr. Heffernan is chair of Robinson+Cole's Real Estate Litigation and Title Insurance Group.
Danielle Andrews Long, counsel in the Business Litigation Group in Boston, has been elected to membership in the Abstract Club. A professional association of experienced lawyers who practice in the area of real estate law, the Abstract Club has been in existence for over 130 years. Membership is limited to 100 people, who can only become members by invitation and election. Ms. Long joins a group of well-known, highly respected lawyers and many members of the Massachusetts Land Court and the Massachusetts Appeals Court.
Construction lawyer Jonathan R. Hausner and real estate litigation lawyer Kendra L. Berardi presented at the 2015 REBA Spring Conference, sponsored by the Real Estate Bar Association of Massachusetts, on May 4, 2015. In the session "Economics of Construction: Understanding the New Retainage Law and Revisiting the Economic Loss Rule," Mr. Hausner discussed the new Massachusetts Retainage Law, which applies to certain private construction contracts executed after November 2014. The law not only affects the amount of retainage withheld by a construction stakeholder but also mandates specific processes related to project completion. In the session "Ibanez and Its Aftermath: Title Issues to Be Aware of Post‐Foreclosure," Ms. Berardi, along with Melissa Morrow, discussed common title issues following a real estate foreclosure, in particular challenges that can arise after Ibanez and its progeny, and various proposed legislative solutions to more permanently address the post-Ibanez landscape.
Litigation lawyer John F. X. Peloso Jr. hosted a Robinson+Cole–sponsored Coffee & Conversation on March 11, 2015. Held in the firm's New York City office, this CCIM Institute event featured Seth Pinsky, executive vice president and fund manager of RXR Realty. Mr. Pinsky shared his personal journey in the New York Metro real estate community and discussed RXR's emerging submarkets strategy for the outer boroughs and the suburban downtowns in the tristate area, which includes New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey.
The CCIM Institute provides education and networking for commercial real estate practitioners.
Real estate litigation lawyer Clive D. Martin was quoted in the July 31, 2014, edition of Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly. The article "SJC kills 'economic loss rule' in condo construction lawsuits" delves into the ruling by the Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) that removes the obstacle of condominium associations suing developers in negligence over construction defects. In addressing the economic loss doctrine, which limits damages to a manufactured item to contract damages only, if nothing beyond the item itself is harmed, Mr. Martin says, "I don't say that's a bad doctrine; it serves a very good purpose. But it was really taking away a remedy [from condominiums] to tell the trustees they don't have a case in negligence…."
Mr. Martin's practice includes all types of litigation in the area of real estate, from title problems to development disputes, with a particular focus on condominium law.
Real estate litigation lawyers Kendra L. Berardi and Danielle Andrews Long participated in the Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) program "Litigating Residential & Commercial Real Estate Disputes" on February 13, 2014, in Boston, Massachusetts. Ms. Long chaired the panel and presented "Where Are We Now Three Years after Ibanez," and Ms. Berardi presented "The Politics and Practicalities of Smoke-Free Condominiums." Ms. Berardi also presented "Litigating in the Land Court," together with Judge Robert Foster of the Massachusetts Land Court.
Please click here to view the video of "The Politics and Practicalities of Smoke-Free Condominiums."
Lawrence P. Heffernan, chair of the Real Estate Litigation and Title Insurance Group, participated in the Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) live seminar and webcast "The 25 Critical Cases Every Real Estate, Title, Land Use, and Environmental Lawyer Must Know" on March 17, 2014, in Boston. Mr. Heffernan presented on a broad array of critical case law and trends in leasing and landlord liability, the enforceability of purchase and sale agreements, condominium development rights, and title insurance coverage.
In addition, Mr. Heffernan spoke to The Abstract Club on "More challenges to the foreclosure process: the Massachusetts appellate courts giveth and taketh away" on May 19, 2014, in Boston. He discussed recent decisions by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and the Massachusetts Appeals Court on Housing Court jurisdiction over foreclosure challenges, the authority of the Mortgage Electronic Registration System (MERS) to assign mortgages, and so-called "robo-signing" and its impact on Massachusetts lenders and real estate practitioners. The Abstract Club is a voluntary association of experienced lawyers that is limited, according to its bylaws, to 100 lawyers, almost all of whom practice exclusively in real estate. Most members practice in Boston and its suburbs.
Real estate litigation lawyer Kendra L. Berardi was recently selected to cover real property issues of the Massachusetts Land Court for the Massachusetts Land Court Reporter, a publication of Landlaw Legal Publishers. Ms. Berardi provides quarterly commentary regarding Land Court decisions of interest published in the Massachusetts Land Court Reporter. She is one of a group of leading Massachusetts lawyers who offer expert insight, knowledge, and experience in their subject matter areas.
A key tool for land use professionals, the Massachusetts Land Court Reporter provides the latest information on zoning and land use law in Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Land Court hears cases concerning zoning variances, subdivision disputes, special permits, foreclosures, and the registration of land titles.
Real estate litigation lawyer Kendra L. Berardi has been elected to the Board of Directors of the Real Estate Bar Association (REBA) for Massachusetts. In addition to this position, effective as of January 2014, Ms. Berardi has been asked to chair REBA's recently formed New Lawyers Committee.
With over 3000 members, including lawyers and nonlawyers, REBA seeks to advance the practice of real estate law while maintaining its 150-year tradition of professionalism and excellence. Members represent a variety of clients, including buyers, sellers, landlords, and tenants, in all real estate practice areas and specialties.
For the third consecutive fall, Boston lawyers Clive D. Martin and Kendra L. Berardi coached middle school students in the Discovering Justice program "Stand Up for Your Rights." Mr. Martin and Ms. Berardi taught fifth to eighth grade students from the Edward W. Brooke Charter School in Roslindale about the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the basic elements of legal procedure and oral argument, using a hypothetical case involving the search of a middle school student by the school principal. The program culminated on the evening of November 10, 2013, with teams of students, including 15 from the Brooke School, delivering oral arguments in the Moakley Courthouse before judges from the U.S. District Court, the Supreme Judicial Court, the Appeals Court, and the Land Court. The courtrooms were crowded with families, friends, teachers, and onlookers. Boston lawyer Jonathan R. Hausner donned a black robe and acted as an additional appellate judge, assisting Chief Justice Karyn Scheier of the Massachusetts Land Court and one other volunteer judge in commenting on and critiquing the Brooke School students. The student appellate lawyers acquitted themselves extremely well and made their coaches proud.
Pictured are the happy students after their oral arguments with their two R+C coaches, a third coach from the law firm Saul Ewing, Judge Scheier, and the two additional appellate advisory judges, including Jonathan Hausner.
Real estate litigation lawyers Kendra L. Berardi and Danielle Andrews Long have been appointed to leadership positions in the American Bar Association's (ABA) Real Estate Litigation Committee. Ms. Berardi will serve as co-chair of the Young Lawyers Subcommittee, and Ms. Long will serve as committee co–vice chair of Membership. The Real Estate Litigation Committee focuses on real estate disputes and their resolution, including issues of ownership, purchase and sale, title, casualty, and land use. Members present topical and relevant discussions at both section and ABA annual meetings for litigators engaged in real estate disputes.
Real estate litigation and title insurance partner Lawrence P. Heffernan spoke at a seminar entitled "Landlord Remedies—A Refresher in Landlord Rights after 275 Washington Street Corp., Trustee v. Hudson River Int’l LLC" on May 29, 2013. The seminar, sponsored by the Boston Bar Association's (BBA) Leasing Committee, reviewed the remedies and damages available to commercial landlords upon breach of a lease by a tenant.
Real estate litigation lawyers Lawrence P. Heffernan, Danielle Andrews Long, and Kendra L. Berardi and real estate lawyer John T. Ronayne co-authored an article entitled "Massachusetts High Court Considers Modernizing State Lease Law," featured in the Spring 2013 publication of the American Bar Association's Real Estate Litigation newsletter.
In the article, the authors discuss a potential modernization that would bring Massachusetts real estate laws in line with other jurisdictions as they relate to a landlord's right to compensation following the breach of a lease. To read the full article, please click here.
Lawrence P. Heffernan, chair of the Real Estate Litigation and Title Insurance Practice Group, wrote an article for the May 7th edition of The Title Insurance Law Newsletter entitled "Massachusetts Rejects 'In for One, In for All' in Title Insurance Claims." The article reports on the recent, precedent-setting decision of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) in GMAC Mortgage, LLC v. First American Title Ins. Co., 464 Mass. 733 (2013) in which the SJC distinguished title insurance from general liability insurance and ruled that a title insurer is obligated to defend an insured only against those claims covered by the title policy, not all of the claims asserted in the lawsuit.
Real estate litigation and title insurance lawyers Danielle Andrews Long and Kendra L. Berardi participated in the MCLE panel "Litigating Real Estate Disputes" on February 2, 2013, in Boston, Massachusetts. Ms. Long chaired the panel and presented, along with Ms. Berardi, "Litigating Post-Ibanez, Bevilacqua, and Eaton Matters." Ms. Berardi also presented "Litigating in the Land Court."
Real estate litigation and title insurance associate Kendra L. Berardi received the 209A Pro Bono Initiative Award, presented by the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office (MDAO), on January 10, 2013, at a ceremony held in Woburn, Massachusetts. She was recognized for representing victims of domestic violence in connection with the District Attorney’s Pro Bono Program. The award is presented to an attorney who has dedicated time to helping victims of domestic violence through this partnership and program. Attorneys from Robinson & Cole have participated in this program since May 2012.
The MDAO’s Pro Bono Program was created in 2008 to address a significant gap in the way that domestic violence victims are served during the restraining order process. To address this problem, the MDAO partners with law firms to identify victims and provide free representation. Since its inception, the program has served more than 100 victims, with a 97 percent success rate of cases resolved in favor of the victim.
To view the MDAO's press release, click here.
The summer 2012 issue of the Title Insurance Litigation Committee Newsletter includes an article by Robinson & Cole appellate team member Thomas J. Donlon. The article, entitled “Connecticut Adopts First In Time Priority – Finally!” discusses a recent decision by the Connecticut Supreme Court, Hudson Valley Bank v. Kissel, 303 Conn. 614 (2012). Mr. Donlon and Edward V. O’Hanlan of Robinson & Cole successfully represented client First American Title on appeal in the case. The Connecticut Supreme Court in Hudson Valley Bank adopted the “first in time is first in right” rule of priority in distribution of foreclosure proceeds. As the article points out, this rule had seen widely acknowledged but had never been formally recognized by the Connecticut Supreme Court.
Real estate litigation and title insurance associate Kendra L. Berardi wrote an article, “Massachusetts Top Court Redefining Foreclosure Requirements,” published in the summer 2012 edition of the Real Estate Litigation Committee newsletter, an online publication for the American Bar Association’s Real Estate Litigation Section. The article discusses recent court decisions on the requirements to foreclose a mortgage in Massachusetts and the potential impact of failure to comply with the foreclosure requirements.
Ms. Berardi is assistant editor of the Real Estate Litigation Committee newsletter.
Real estate and title litigation attorneys Lawrence P. Heffernan, Danielle Andrews Long, and Kendra L. Berardi and insurance attorney John W. Steinmetz, achieved a major victory in a class action in which Robinson & Cole is representing Harmon Law Offices, a law firm handling a large share of foreclosures in Massachusetts. In the action, Manson v. GMAC Mortgage, LLC (United States District Court, District of Massachusetts, Civil Action No. 08-12166-RGS), the plaintiffs sued three major mortgage lenders and their law firms for allegedly wrongful foreclosure practices arising out of assignments of mortgages. The potential class would have involved over 9,000 foreclosures from 2004 to 2008 and tens of millions of dollars in exposure. Massachusetts federal court Judge Richard G. Stearns denied class certification by applying the United States Supreme Court decision in Wal-Mart v. Dukes and by ruling that there was no commonality because each individual foreclosure transaction would have to be examined in detail to determine whether there was liability. The court also found a lack of typicality, predominance, and superiority and specifically ruled that the law firms did not owe a legal duty to the mortgagors and were not engaged in the conduct of trade or commerce required for unfair business claims.
Real estate litigation and title insurance associate Kendra L. Berardi wrote an article, “Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Issues First Post Ibanez Decision Regarding Title,” published in Case Notes, an online publication for the American Bar Association’s Real Estate Litigation Section. The article discusses decisions in U.S. Bank v. Ibanez and Bevilaqua v. Rodriguez by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court concerning mortgage assignments.
Real estate and title insurance chair Lawrence P. Heffernan recently spoke to the Abstract Club on “MERS Attacks: A Review of Decisions on MERS’s Authority to Hold, Assign and Foreclosure Mortgages.” Mr. Heffernan spoke about the recent spate of cases in Massachusetts and elsewhere challenging the validity and enforceability of mortgages held by MERS (Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc.), particularly its authority to assign and foreclose mortgages, and the impact of those cases on the mortgage industry and the real estate market. The Abstract Club is an association of lawyers and judges experienced in the field of real estate law who are elected to the club by its membership.
Partner Lawrence P. Heffernan, chair of the Real Estate Litigation and Title Insurance Practice Group, and real estate senior associate Christopher S. Pitt participated in a recent Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education seminar on “Massachusetts Foreclosure and Title Practice Viewed through the Lenses of Bevilaqua and Ibanez.” The seminar, broadcast over the Internet, addressed landmark decisions by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court concerning mortgage assignments, the validity of subsequent foreclosures, and the impact of those decisions on the real estate industry and practice. Mr. Pitt chaired the seminar and Mr. Heffernan spoke about judicial cures for titles clouded by questionable foreclosures, potential defenses to foreclosures, and other judicial decisions on the horizon.
Mr. Heffernan also published an article on the Bevilaqua decision in a recent edition of The Title Insurance Law Newsletter, published by Woodbridge Legal Publishers. The article discussed the impact of Bevilaqua v. Rodriguez, 460 Mass 762 (2011), which dismissed an action to try title brought by plaintiffs who had purchased property following a questioned foreclosure and rejected the plaintiff’s claim that he was a bona fide purchaser. The article addressed other alternatives for clearing title.
For eight weeks, attorneys from Robinson & Cole’s Boston office, Kendra Berardi, Karla Chaffee, and Clive Martin, coached middle school students from the Epiphany School in Dorchester, Massachusetts, in the Discovering Justice program “Stand Up for Your Rights.” The program culminated on the evening of November 15, 2011, with teams of students, including ten from the Epiphany School, delivering oral arguments in the historic Oliver Wendell Holmes courtroom in the John Adams courthouse before Supreme Judicial Court and Appeals Court justices. The teams argued a hypothetical case in which a middle school student sues his school district after he is searched by the principal looking (unsuccessfully) for evidence of graffiti-writing. The students overcame their nervousness and unfamiliarity to deliver excellent arguments, which were then carefully and generously critiqued by the presiding judge, the Honorable Gary Katzmann of the Massachusetts Appeals Court. Click to view a picture of the students, their teacher Dwight Simon, the three R&C coaches, and Judge Katzmann.
Real Estate Litigation and Title Insurance Practice Group Chair Lawrence P. Heffernan wrote the article “Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Rules on Foreclosure by Mortgage Assignee Under a Securitization Trust,” published in the February edition of The Title Insurance Law Newsletter. Mr. Heffernan’s article discusses U.S. Bank Nat’l Assoc. v. Ibanez in which the Supreme Judicial Court ruled that two banks, which held mortgages as trustees of securitization trusts, did not have the right to foreclose those mortgages because of inadequate and untimely documentation of mortgage assignments. The article explains that the court left the door open to establishment of the chain of assignments required for foreclosure authority through proper securitization and mortgage purchase documentation. The article will also appear in the March edition of REBA News, published by The Real Estate Bar Association for Massachusetts.
Real estate litigation and title insurance counsel Danielle Andrews Long's case note, “Massachusetts Court Ruling Calls into Question the Validity of Many Foreclosures,” was recently published by the American Bar Association. Ms. Long observes that assignments of mortgages in Massachusetts to foreclosing banks can no longer occur after the foreclosure, which has been common practice, even if the notes for these mortgages have already been transferred into trusts for which the foreclosing banks are the servicers. Assignments do not have to be recorded prior to foreclosures, but they must exist. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that securitization documents alone were insufficient without an executed assignment to foreclose on property. This ruling questions the validity of thousands of Massachusetts foreclosures.
Real Estate Litigation and Title Insurance Group Chair Lawrence P. Heffernan recently was a featured speaker at a Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education program "Understanding Lien Priorities." Mr. Heffernan presented the litigator's view of liens, challenges to liens, and lien priority, including equitable subrogation. Mr. Heffernan also addressed challenges to mortgage assignments and foreclosures pending in the federal district court class action and the widely followed U.S. Bank v. Ibanez case pending before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.
Robinson & Cole real estate litigation attorney Clive D. Martin served as chair of a Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) panel discussion program, "Meet the Land Court 2010" at the MCLE Conference Center in Boston. Land Court judges and staff addressed an audience of experienced real estate practitioners, who took advantage of the opportunity to have a lively discussion of Court practices and procedures. The program was rated a great success by the panel and appreciative audience alike.
The session featured judges and officials of the Land Court who described the types and frequency of cases before the Land Court, its rules and standing orders and how they differ from other trial court departments, and the land registration process and the role of title examiners. In addition, they offered practical tips for appearing before the justices of the Land Court.

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