Justia Real Estate & Property Law Opinion Summaries

This case stems from a dispute between the parties regarding the ownership of a 7.35 carat pear-shaped diamond. WGDC consigned the diamond to celebrity fashion stylist, Derek Khan. Khan, without WGDCʹs permission, subsequently sold the diamond to a third party. Through a series of transfers, the diamond ultimately came into the possession of the Zaretskys. The district court concluded that Khan had the power to transfer WGDCʹs rights to the diamond under NYUCC 2-403(2) solely because, by his occupation, he clearly held himself out as having knowledge or skill peculiar to the practices or goods involved in the transaction. Therefore, the district court found that Khan qualified as a merchant. Pursuant to section 2-403(2), Khan had the power to transfer all rights in a "good" given to him by an "entruster" if he was at the time a merchant who "deals in goods of that kind." However, the court concluded that, although the New York Court of Appeals has not explicitly defined ʺdeal[ing] in goods of that kind,ʺ persuasive authority from New York courts and elsewhere leads the court to conclude that the phrase means the regular sale of the kind of goods at issue in the case; applying that definition, the court concluded that the Zaretskys have not raised a triable issue of fact as to Khanʹs capacity to transfer title under section 2‐403(2) because there is no record evidence that he regularly sold diamonds or other high‐end jewelry; and the Zaretskysʹ remaining arguments - regarding the timeliness of this appeal, whether the consignment is a ʺtransaction of purchaseʺ under section 2‐403(1) of the NYUCC, and the defense of laches - are without merit. Therefore, the court directed the district court to enter summary judgment for WGDC on remand. View "Zaretsky v. William Goldberg Diamond Corp." on Justia Law

The FHFA filed a summons with notice in state court asserting breach of contractual obligations to repurchase mortgage loans that violated representations and warranties and then Quicken removed the action to federal court. Plaintiff, as trustee of the subject residential mortgage‐backed securities trust, took control of the litigation and filed the complaint. Quicken moved to dismiss the suit. The court affirmed the district court's conclusion that (1) the statute of limitations ran from the date the representations and warranties were made; (2) the extender provision of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act,12 U.S.C. 4617(b)(12), did not apply to the Trustee’s claim; and (3) the Trustee’s claim for breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing was duplicative. View "Deutsche Bank Nat'l v. Quicken Loans" on Justia Law

TAG filed suit against the City, arguing that the City's zoning policies perpetuated racial segregation and had a disparate impact, thus violating the Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. 3604. In 2010, a jury returned a verdict in favor of TAG on the disparate impact claim, but the district court granted the City's motion for a new trial. In 2012, a second jury returned a verdict in favor of the City on both TAG's perpetuation of segregation and disparate impact claims. The court held that TAG’s lost upfront economic expenditures on a detailed development proposal for a specific piece of property, coupled with the denial of a necessary special use permit, constitute injuries-in-fact that are fairly traceable to the City’s actions, thus affording TAG standing to maintain this action. The court also held that the City waived its argument regarding the inconsistency of the jury verdict; the district court should not have reached the merits of that argument, and it therefore erred when it ordered a new trial on that ground. Further, having concluded that the district court erred in ordering a new trial, and that the City has waived its remaining claims of error relating to the 2010 trial, the court reinstated the 2010 judgment in favor of TAG on its disparate impact claim; remanded with instructions that the district court grant a new trial limited only to the issue of damages unless TAG agrees to a remittitur reducing its award to $100,000; and denied reassignment on remand. View "The Anderson Group v. City of Saratoga Springs" on Justia Law