On June 6, the Ohio House of Representatives passed HB 407, which would abolish dower rights in Ohio. Dower rights relate to the interest that a surviving spouse holds in the estate of a deceased individual. Since its passage in the House, the bill was introduced in...
The doctrine of caveat emptor (“let the buyer beware”) is still alive and well in Ohio, generally precluding recovery in an action by a purchaser against a seller pertaining to a property’s defective condition if: the condition complained of is open to observation or...
As established in other “Watch Your Language” articles for this Blog, as a general rule, courts will typically uphold commercial document provisions unless they are contrary to public policy or statutory law, or the subject of a mutual mistake. Courts...
Recent bills of the 132nd General Assembly (See https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/) pending in the Ohio House and Ohio Senate related to real property are as follows: House Bill 39 General Assembly: 132 Short Title: Require removal of snow and ice from abutting...
Criminal Penalties and Lack of Warrant Procedure Held to be Key Failings of Ordinance By Stephen Richman, Senior Counsel It is not easy being a municipality (such as a city or village) in Ohio these days. With the Ohio estate tax having been repealed several...
It’s a lease, it’s a contract, it’s a lease and a contract. Just as Faye Dunaway’s character in the movie Chinatown was both mother and sister to “Katherine”, an oil and gas lease in Ohio (and other jurisdictions) is both a contract and a lease. An oil and gas lease...
While title to real estate cannot transfer without a deed and a closing, the closing merely carries out the provisions of the real estate agreement. Accordingly, it is the agreement in a real estate transaction that is of paramount importance as it creates the...
From the Watch Your Language Series, by Stephen Richman As is commonly known, ignorance of the law is no excuse to one who is charged with a crime. In real estate, however, while ignorance of the law will rarely result in a prison term, it will almost always result in...
By Stephen Richman As of September 29, 2017, those wishing to appeal Ohio Board of Tax Appeals (“BTA”) decisions no longer have a choice between the Ohio Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals (for the county in which the taxed property is located or the taxpayer...
(A Watch Your Language Series Article) “If the law supposes that," said Mr. Bumble, "the law is an ass — an idiot.” Many laymen (and lawyers) believe, as Mr. Bumble in Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist does, that the law, as a general rule, is absurd. Admittedly, there...