North Carolina is a “pure race” state, for real estate title purposes. That is, “first to record an interest in land holds an interest superior to all other purchases for value, regardless of actual or constructive notice as to other, unrecorded conveyances.” Rowe v. Walker, 114 N.C. App. 36, […]
Frequently, land litigation—land boundary and ownership claims – is a controversy concerning the use of land. The recent case of Hedgepeth v. Parker’s Landing Property Owners Association, Inc. ___ N.C. App. ___ ___ S.E.2d ____(2016 WL 47700) illustrates the thin line between land litigation and land use controversies.Background […]
Lady Macbeth tells her troubled husband, “What is done is done” and later says to herself “and cannot be undone.” This is the outcome in Hillcrest Property, LLP v. Pasco County, 754 F. 3d 1279 (11th Cir 2014) and apparently the United States Supreme Court accepted it when […]
There is a constant, and I believe growing, tension between the government and the governed as to whether taxes should be used for or user fees should be charged for myriad services. The use of National Park land is no exception. Great Smoky Mountains National Park has a […]
A recently-unpublished federal appeals court decision signals both a victory for developer claims against inventive local governments as well as a loss for proponents of more lax pleading standards. Appellant Acorn Land, LLC (“Acorn”) purchased a tract of land in Baltimore County, Marlyand. The land — situated among […]
Aaron Frank
Amy C. O'Neal
John Cooke
Michael Thelen
WBD Admin
North Carolina Land Use Litigator 