LexisNexis Practice Guide: Michigan Real Estate Litigation

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LexisNexis Practice Guide: Michigan Real Estate Litigation is the source for in-depth practical guidance on the most significant issues currently of interest to Michigan real estate litigators. Each chapter in the Practice Guide reflects the keen legal analysis and practical insights of seasoned Michigan practitioners.

Containing over 300 practice tips and more than 50 forms and checklists, this task-oriented guide to the critical issues in real estate litigation provides succinct, easily accessible, comprehensive, authoritative analysis and solutions in the following areas:

Adverse Possession
Trespass
Nuisance
Construction Liens
Public Works Bonding Litigation
Public Works Bonds for Michigan Department of Transportation Projects
Easements Litigation
Restrictive Covenants Litigation
Litigation Concerning Boundary Lines
Eminent Domain Concepts and Procedures and Trial Advocacy
Partial Takings
Real Estate Security Devices
Non-Judicial Foreclosure
Judicial Foreclosure of Mortgages and Land Contracts
Assignment of Rents
Real Property Receiverships
Forfeiture of Land Contracts
Application of Laches to Both Legal and Equitable Claims
Statute of Limitations Implications of Laches
Concepts Underlying Mineral Rights
Pooling of Mineral Interests
Common Disputes Between Mineral Lessees and Lessors
Disputes Between Mineral Operators
Riparian Surface Use Rights
Title to Riparian Bottomlands
Boundary Disputes Involving Riparian Property
Riparian Access and Use Disputes
Riparian Disputes with Public
Challenging Action by State and Federal Entities Affecting Riparian Property

Authored by practitioners at the forefront of Michigan real estate litigation, this practice guide distills their legal expertise and practical experience on the key topics currently being litigated in Michigan.

Chapter 1: James R. Bruinsma a member of McShane & Bowie, P.L.C., Grand Rapids, practices in the areas of commercial and real estate-related litigation. Mr. Bruinsma is admitted to practice in Michigan and Illinois. He represents developers and other landowners in a wide range of contested matters, including litigation relating to zoning and regulatory controls on land use, environmental permitting and administrative review, and federal and state court proceedings adjudicating land use rights. From 1991-1993, Mr. Bruinsma served as a law clerk to the Honorable Robert P. Griffin, Michigan Supreme Court. In 1991, Mr. Bruinsma received his law degree cum laude from Harvard Law School and prior to that attended Middlebury College and received his A.B. degree with highest distinction from the University of Michigan in 1987.

Chapter 2: James Case is a member of Dykema Gossett, PLLC, with more than 30 years’ experience in construction and surety litigation. Jim represents design professionals, contractors, owners and sureties in a wide range of construction and surety related matters. He serves on the Commercial/Construction Arbitration Panel of the American Arbitration Association and also as an AAA mediator in construction disputes. He is a member of the State Bar of Michigan; American Bar Association; Surety and Fidelity Claims Institute; National Bond Claims Association; International Association of Defense Counsel—Construction Law and Litigation Committee, and Fidelity and Surety Committee; and the ABA Forum on the Construction Industry, Tort and Insurance Practice Section, and Fidelity and Surety Law Committee. He attended Colgate University and St. John’s University Law School.

Chapter 3: Original Author: Sara G. Lachman is a Member at Miller Johnson in Grand Rapids. She is an experienced civil litigator and has been practicing law since 2004. She is a problem solver with a strong record of success. Ms. Lachman leads disciplined teams known for thorough, imaginative and professional advocacy. Her client work has produced consistently successful results, with outright dismissals, favorable settlements, and wins at trial and on appeal. Her principal area of practice area is in real estate litigation with extensive experience in disputes involving quiet title, restrictive covenants, adverse possession, easement rights, partition actions, street vacations, nuisance and trespass, land contracts, construction claims, agricultural land, environmental contamination, family cottages and more. Ms. Lachman previously served on the State Bar of Michigan’s Civil Procedure and Courts Committee and as Chair of the Grand Rapids Bar Association’s Litigation Section. She received her law degree cum laude from the University of Michigan Law and received undergraduate degrees magna cum laude from Northern Arizona University and cum laude from Pacific University. Ms. Lachman was honored by Michigan Lawyers Weekly as a 2014 “Women in the Law” and was named the 2015 Athena Young Professional.

Chapter 3: Original Author: Grant E. Schertzing is an Associate at Miller Johnson in Grand Rapids. His principal area of practice focuses on commercial real estate transactions and the negotiation and drafting of leases and other agreements for the purchase, sale and development of real property. He received his law degree summa cum laude from the University of Notre Dame Law School and received his undergraduate degree summa cum laude from the Franciscan University of Steubenville.

Chapter 3: Chapter updates by Edward Robinson. Mr. Robinson is a Texas attorney and a law review graduate of the University of Texas School of Law. His background includes commercial and appellate litigation, as well as authoring and editorial projects for legal publications, often with a focus on real estate topics.

Chapter 4: Jason Long of Williams Williams Rattner & Plunkettt, P.C., Birmingham, practices in the areas of eminent domain, condemnation, property tax, and other real estate and appellate litigation. He received his B.A. in philosophy and political science with honors from Oakland University, where he received a full academic scholarship, graduated summa cum laude from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, and studied real estate development at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business. After law school, Mr. Long served as a judicial clerk to the Hon. Michael F. Cavanagh, Michigan Supreme Court. He has represented both governmental agencies and property owners in eminent domain and condemnation actions involving a wide range of property types, and has done so in trial courts throughout Michigan as well as Michigan’s appellate courts.

Chapter 5: Scott R. Lesser is a principal at the law firm of Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone, P.L.C. Mr. Lesser received his B.A. degree from Princeton University in 2005 and his J.D. from University of Michigan Law School (cum laude) in 2008. His practice is concentrated on representing financial institutions, special servicers, and private investors in commercial real estate workouts and foreclosures. He is recognized as a “Rising Star” in Michigan Super Lawyers, 2015 to present, and is the co-author of the Michigan Chapter on receiverships in Strategies For and Against Distressed Businesses. Mr. Lesser is admitted to practice in Michigan and Ohio.

Chapter 5: Michael E. Moore is a principal at the law firm of Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone, P.L.C. Mr. Moore received his B.S. degree from Michigan State University in 1990 and his J.D. from Michigan State University College of Law in 1994. For more than 20 years, he has represented national, regional, and local financial institutions in the full life cycle of commercial real estate and related loans. He has significant workout experience in commercial loan workouts and enforcement, loan restructuring, foreclosures, receiverships, small business administration loan collections, construction claims and other financial services-related litigation. His experience with troubled loans has deeply informed his involvement in commercial loan originations in connection with asset-based loans, commercial real estate loans, and construction loans for the national, regional, and local financial institutions he represents. Mr. Moore is admitted to practice in Colorado, Illinois, and Michigan.

Chapter 6: Andrew T. Blum of Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone, PLC, Grand Rapids, practices in the areas of commercial and real estate-related litigation. He is a Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude graduate of the University of Notre Dame with a B.A. degree in both Government and English. Mr. Blum also received his law degree magna cum laude from the University of Notre Dame. Mr. Blum represents parties in eminent domain and other real estate/mineral interest litigation as well as also specializes in commercial litigation involving the automotive sector and the Uniform Commercial Code. Mr. Blum is the author of Making Sense of the U.C.C. Statute of Frauds which was published by the Michigan State Bar Journal as part of its special 50th Anniversary edition honoring Michigan’s adoption of the U.C.C.

Chapter 7: Lance Zoerhof of Warner, Norcross & Judd LLP’s Grand Rapids office, practices in the areas of commercial and real property litigation. That includes disputes related to mining and oil and gas development, as well as litigation over zoning, easements, boundary lines, leases, restrictive covenants, riparian rights, and other state and federal proceedings deciding rights related to land. Mr. Zoerhof received his law degree from the University of Oregon in 2002.

Chapter 8: Thomas M. Amon of Warner Norcross & Judd LLP, Grand Rapids, practices in the areas of complex commercial and real estate-related litigation. Mr. Amon graduated with honors from Michigan State University in 2005, and graduated summa cum laude from Wayne State University Law School in 2008, where he published a law review note discussing the Michigan Supreme Court’s seminal opinion regarding the Great Lakes public trust doctrine, Glass v. Goeckel. Mr. Amon is an active practitioner who represents landowners in a wide range of contested matters, including litigation related to boundary line disputes, landlord/tenant matters, zoning and regulation of land use, property tax appeals, and federal and state court proceedings adjudicating real property related and complex commercial disputes.

Chapter 8: Brian Lang is a partner with Warner Norcross & Judd LLP practicing from both its Grand Rapids and Muskegon offices. Mr. Lang formed and chairs WNJ’s Real Estate Litigation Practice Group, serves on the firm’s Management Committee, and practices in the areas of real estate and commercial litigation. Mr. Lang graduated with honors from Moritz College of Law at The Ohio State University in 1999, and graduated cum laude from Hillsdale College in 1995. His real estate litigation practice extends to all manner of disputes including adverse possession, boundary lines, commercial lease terms, easements, fraudulent transfers, Michigan’s Builder’s Trust Fund Act, mortgage re-purchase demands, partition, permit disputes and contested cases, quiet title, receivership, riparian rights, zoning, as well as real estate issues that arise in trust and estate proceedings.

The 2023 edition ISBN is 9781663364203.

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