Money Disputes
Property Disputes
Property law is the law that in the common law legal system governs the various forms of ownership in real property and in personal property. Property is anything that is owned by a person or entity. Property is divided into two types: “real property,” which is any interest in land, real estate, and “personal property” (sometimes called “personality”), which is everything else.
Property Damage
Injury to real or personal property through another’s negligence, willful destruction, or by some act of nature. In lawsuits for damages caused by negligence or a willful act, property damage is distinguished from personal injury. Property damage may include harm to an automobile, a fence, a tree, a home, or any other possession. The amount of recovery for property damage may be established by evidence of replacement value, cost of repairs, loss of use until repaired or replaced, or, in the case of heirlooms or very personal items (e.g. wedding pictures) by subjective testimony as to sentimental value.
Evictions
Eviction is the process by which a landlord removes a tenant from physical possession of the rented property. The legal action brought to obtain an eviction is called an unlawful detainer. Most frequently, eviction consists of ousting a tenant who has breached the terms of a lease or rental agreement by not paying rent or a tenant who has stayed (held over) after the term of the lease has expired or only had a month-to-month tenancy. The law of most states requires notice of eviction to be made within a certain time period.
Foreclosures
Foreclosure is the procedure by which a party who has loaned money secured by a mortgage or deed of trust on real property (or has an unpaid judgment), forces the sale of the real property to recover the money due, unpaid interest, plus the costs of foreclosure, after the debtor fails to make payment. The lender must serve a notice of default on the debtor after a certain time period from when the payment becomes past due, which varies by state. The notice will give the borrower a certain time period and amount necessary to be paid in order to “cure” the default and avoid foreclosure. If the delinquency and costs of foreclosure are not paid within this time, then the lender (or the trustee in states using deeds of trust) will set a foreclosure date for selling the property at public sale. The property may be redeemed by the borrower by paying all delinquencies and costs, up to the time of sale and in some states, for a period after sale.
Written or Verbal Contract Disputes
Breach of contract means failing to perform any term of a contract without a legitimate legal excuse. The contract may be either written or oral. A breach may include not finishing a job, failure to make payment in full or on time, failure to deliver all the goods, substituting inferior or significantly different goods, not insuring goods, among others. An anticipatory breach made be made by an act which indicates the party will not complete the work.
Boundary Disputes
Adjoining landowners can find themselves in disputes over fences, overhanging branches, water rights, subjacent and lateral support and party walls. A boundary is every separation, natural or artificial (man-made), which marks the confines or line of division of two contiguous estates. A river or other stream is a natural boundary, and in that case the center of the stream is the line.