Revere Real Estate Lawyer

Over the years, in addition to representing buyers and sellers and lenders with respect to the purchase and sales of residential and commercial properties, the Attorney has also represented parties with respect to various real estate issues resulting litigation. Generally, in Massachusetts, each party is responsible for their own legal fees in a lawsuit unless a particular law allows for the awarding legal fees to a prevailing party or a contract or other agreement specifically states that a prevailing party is entitled to their legal fees. Therefore, even if a party “wins” a lawsuit, they may have to pay for legal fees that they won’t recover in a lawsuit. Litigation is a process that should be a last resort because of the outlay of additional money by a party and the fact that litigation can go on for years. If a matter can be resolved short of litigation, the Attorney would recommend a settlement, if reasonable, to avoid protracted and expensive litigation. However, sometimes cases can not be resolved and litigation must be filed.

The Attorney has been involved in litigation in many cases dealing with various real estate issues. For instance in one case, a buyer offered to purchase a commercial condominium unit that was accepted by the seller. A purchase and sales agreement was signed between the parties. It later turned out that the buyer and seller knew each other and had bad feelings towards one another. The seller then unilaterally breached the agreement by refusing to sell the unit to the buyer. The buyer was intent on purchasing the unit because it was desirable for the buyer’s business. The buyer retained the Attorney who immediately filed suit in court and obtained a lis pendens (akin to a real estate attachment) so that the unit could not be sold to any other party. The case was litigated between the parties and eventually settled prior to trial with the buyer being allowed to move forward and purchase the unit. While both the buyer and seller had to pay their own legal fees in the case, this was a very favorable result for the buyer because she was able to purchase this desirable unit for her business.

A Real Estate Attorney to Fight for you!

The Attorney has also litigated cases on behalf of both buyers and sellers involving the breach of purchase and sales agreements between buyer and seller and the dispute over a deposit held in those transactions. If the deposit was a substantial amount, then the case must be pursued to either recover the deposit for the buyer or on behalf of the seller, to retain the deposit because of the buyer’s breach in the agreement.

If you are involved in real estate litigation, you will need a lawyer that is familiar with the laws and ordinances of your particular area. In the state of Massachusetts, for example, each party in a real estate litigation case is generally responsible for his or her own legal fees. There are exceptions where the law may allow for the prevailing party to be paid for their legal fees, for example, if a contract or other agreement involved in the case has stated such. However, even if you win your case, you still could be stuck with legal fees that you will not recover in the litigation and the case could be held up for years in court. Because of this, Attorney Deborah Gold-Alexander knows that litigation should be the last resort in a real estate deal. She will use diligent efforts in trying to keep a deal.  Whenever possible, she will recommend a reasonable settlement that could avoid such a lengthy and costly litigation process. If you need an attorney with such experience and knowledge for your real estate case, give us a call.

Real Estate Litigation Attorney

In another case, a party had misrepresented that a piece of land was a buildable lot. The buyer had bought the property and began clearing the property to build a house. During the process, it was discovered that the land was not buildable although it was represented to be a buildable lot in the purchase and sales agreement. A buyback was arranged but the buyer still had many out of pocket expenses for clearing the land and preparing it for building. The buyer sued and obtained a judgment against the other party. The judge deemed that the conduct was so egregious that he doubled the damages and ordered the payment of attorneys’ fees. The judgment appeared uncollectable as the party owned several properties that had mortgages, attachments and other liens. However, the Attorney discovered that one of the properties was rented to the U.S. Post office and the Attorney was able to attach the monthly rents for several years until the judgment was paid in full.