PAE, I think you’ve been studying too long and not getting enough practical experience, or maybe I just don’t like your use of the word “theories?” I suspect most lawyers don’t have the time nor energy to explore what kind of “theory” they may use to build a case against someone. It seems to me that most lawsuits or disagreementshappen only because someone thinks someone wronged them, not merely because someone wants to advance a theory. If there is a law that was broken,you don’t need any theory upon which to base your complaint. Anyone, whether they are a homebuilder, real estate agent or investor is going to face liability for their screwups. Anything wrong with that? The easy solution to that is try really hard not to screw up. Insurance can come in handy, too.
Do you think it’s a good idea for me to make sure the other side has a lawyer representing him or her? Generally, that’s a DUMB idea.
If they want to be represented, let them think of it. It’s not my job to do their thinking for them. If I’m on the up and up, why do I need a lawyer on the other side to potentially kill the deal with bad or overly-cautious advice?
You are probably correct that if any deal went to court, the party with the “superior knowledge” could possibly be seen as taking advantage of the other party,or at least recklessness by not using that knowledge to prevent problems. But if it went to court, it’s quite possibly because something shady went on, and the fact that one party may have had “superior knowledge” is not going to save them, nor is it going to mattter if no laws or ethics were violated.
The real estate area looks interesting from the view of a 3rd year law student. The liability that a borrower can lay onto a lender seems particuliarly enticing. What kind of claims does a homeowner have when they were a day 1 default and were misled by fancy mortgage brokers?
As a second question, do any attorneys here specialize in filing lawsuits against under capitalized real estate investors who knowingly misrepresented ‘subject too’ transactions or other similiar transactions ? I know they may not be deep pockets, but you’d think some of them would be worth going after.
It seems that there is a tremendous potential for lawyers in bringing lawsuits against investors/lenders. Or doing transaction work or evictions or working for banks.
Are you truly interested in righting a wrong, or are you just looking for “easy pickings” to harrass someone over trivia that might bring you a few bucks? I suggest you do some serious thinking about this.The world can always use honest lawyers who make the world a better place in which to live. The world doesn’t need any more ambulance chasers and lawyers who will nitpick the slightest transgression because there might be a few bucks in it for him. Which type of lawyer do you plan to be?
Re: Law student has question - Posted by John Hyre
Posted by John Hyre on March 16, 2011 at 13:56:32:
Well PAE, once out of law school and actually practicing, you will need to refine your judgment a bit. Hitting an investor website with “How I can I sue investors” is not calculated to get you much information, much less a friendly reception. You might talk to ACORN types of people for such information, they are more likely to be on the same page. I cannot imagine why someone like me would provide you information that could be used against my client base.
Looks like we just located one of the future scum buckets that enter the legal profession each year.
I just hope we are lucky enough to have you fail your bar exams each time you take them. Every now and then someone with your mindset shows up and looks at real estate as the key to paying the rent, and finds what looks like a good area to exhort nuisance settlements as a way to make a buck,
Generally the dream is short lived and they are stuck due to character flaws to the practice crap legal work.
I met some of the top lawyers in the S.F.Bay Area when I started college and decided to pursue a legal career. I passed the California Bar but decided not to practice law. Didn’t like the people I would be dealing with day to day when I could hang out with a better crowd like used car salesmen. Really aren’t that many Perry Mason’s out there.
I’m not trying to suggest anything other than exposing the legal theories that can be brought against real estate investors. I mean homebuilders have faced this liability for years. So have real estate agents. You would think someone would be out there making sure investors don’t engage in transactions where they have superior knowledge and use that knowledge to create a transaction without the other side having a lawyer representing him or her.
I thought the information would benefit the investor and also the lawyer trying to compensate the injured party.