Build On This!

Congratulations to Don Leach (Columbus) and Hank Reder (Cleveland). They were both named "one of Ohio’s leading construction law attorneys" in the 2006 Edition of Chambers USA.

Chambers USA Guide is unlike any other US legal directory. No attorneys are included unless they are strongly recommended by the market. Chambers has over 30 full-time researchers investigating the reputations of leading lawyers throughout the world to produce a global directory. In addition to the global and USA guide, they also focus on the United Kingdom to a produce similar guide to the legal profession.

You can find their listing on http://www.chambersandpartners.com/usa/search.aspx

Buckingham, Doolittle & Burroughs, LLP is pleased to announce that David J. Lindner, an Associate resident in the Cleveland office, has been recognized as a rising star in his areas of practice, Real Estate Transactions and Real Estate Litigation. He is listed in the 2006 edition of Super Lawyers Rising Stars®. Click here for full press release.

The Florida homestead exemption has many nuances. One in particular that Florida residents need to be aware of is the limitation on the size of your homestead. If your property is located outside a municipality you probably don’t have to worry. You enjoy homestead rights to the extent of one hundred and sixty acres. However, for a majority of residents, who live within a municipality, the homestead extends to the extent of one-half acre. Art. X, Sec. 4 Fla. Constitution.

An interesting question regarding the calculation of the half-acre limitation is presented when the homestead is a very large condominium. Specifically, what comprises the size of the homestead? A creditor recently argued that the size of the homestead should be determined in a condominium by: (taking the square footage of the condo) + (the percentage the condo’s square footage represents of the overall development) x (the square footage of the common areas). The creditors hope was to disqualify the condominium from a homestead exemption, because it was larger than a half-acre. However, the Third District Court of Appeals disagreed with the calculation.

The Ohio Supreme Court has held that when a municipality violates competitive-bidding laws in awarding a competitively bid project, the rejected bidder cannot recover its lost profits as damages, reports attorney Don Leach. Click here for the full opinion.