Real Estate Development, Sales and Leasing Industry Legal Blog

This blog post is part III in a series of posts providing an overview of important considerations for commercial lease agreements. Regardless of whether a landlord or tenant, there are numerous issues that all parties should consider prior to entering into a commercial lease agreement. Part I addressed mandatory and suggested commercial lease agreement terms and the legal duties and obligations of the parties involved. Part II discussed the enforceability of certain lease agreements, tort liability for both landlords and tenants, and the use of personal guarantees. Part III will focus on a tenant’s remedies, claims and defenses when a landlord breaches a commercial lease agreement.

This blog post is part II in a series of posts providing an overview of important considerations for commercial real estate lease agreements. Regardless of whether a landlord or tenant, there are numerous issues that all parties should consider prior to entering into a commercial lease agreement. Part I addressed mandatory and suggested commercial real estate lease agreement terms and the legal duties and obligations of the parties involved. Part II will discuss the enforceability of certain lease agreements, tort liability for both landlords and tenants, and the use of personal guarantees.

Parties must consider numerous issues when entering into commercial lease agreements. Such considerations encompass everything from the express and implied duties of each respective party to the remedies afforded to each party in the event of a breach. This blog post is Part I in a series of posts providing an overview of important considerations for commercial lease agreements. Part I discusses mandatory and suggested commercial lease agreement terms and the legal duties and obligations of the parties involved.

Real property rights in the United States and in Florida are constitutionally protected. In Florida, Article X of the Florida Constitution protects a “taking” of one’s private property without just or full compensation. When government action results in a “taking” of private property, such action results in eminent domain or inverse condemnation claims. The focus of this post is inverse condemnation claims.

When a real estate transaction fails to close, there are a multitude of legal issues that arise for the buyer, seller, and real estate broker. Often times the buyer’s earnest money binder or “deposit” is being held by a third party escrow agent. Both the buyer and seller are making conflicting claims to the binder. Section 475.25(1)(d)1., Florida Statutes, sets for the statutory procedure that real estate professionals should follow in the event of conflicting binder claims. Remember that real estate agents and brokers are regulated by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation so they must follow some specific procedures in the event of a binder dispute. These procedure are outlined generally by Florida Realtors® and include seeking an Escrow Disbursement Order, Arbitration, Mediation or Interpleader. This blog will focus on the use of Interpleader Actions for escrow binder disputes in Florida.

In Florida, recovery of attorneys’ fees in eminent domain and inverse condemnation proceedings is governed by Sections 73.091 and 73.092 of the Florida Statutes. Section 73.092 provides a mechanism for determining an award of attorney fees, based on the “benefits achieved for the client.” But, what if the state agency/condemning authority excessively litigated the case, such that the formulaic computation under that statute was unfair to the property owner? A recent Florida Supreme Court case addressed this issue. Joseph B. Doerr Trust v. Central Florida Expressway Authority.

Whether due to economic hardships, mismanagement, unforeseen circumstances, or even fraud and breach of fiduciary duty, a condo or homeowners association may find itself in desperate need of help.  Additionally, properties that have been neglected may also be running afoul of local code compliance regulations or may be so far […]

In Florida, one of the most attractive and desirable features of waterfront property is the incredible view. Concerning waterfront property ownership, it can be difficult to distinguish where your private land rights cease, where your neighbor’s private land rights begin, and the rights of the State with sovereign submerged land […]

Ownership of waterfront property is particularly desirable in Florida and often involves unique real property considerations.  It is often difficult to distinguish where the private land rights cease and the sovereign land ownership begins.  As a result, a subset of real property law has emerged to address what is called […]

Lenders should be aware of a new Florida law, which requires lenders to provide existing tenants with at least thirty days to vacate the property after the foreclosure sale. Florida Statute § 83.561, titled “Termination of Rental Agreement Upon Foreclosure”, became effective on July 1, 2015. The law replaces a recently expired federal law titled Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act. As such, the implementation of this new Florida statute may come as no surprise to lenders. However, lenders should understand their statutory rights and responsibilities prior to evicting tenants after foreclosure.