Real Estate
Should you file a Quiet Title action or a Quitclaim deed?
If you are looking to remove someone else’s claim to a property, you’ll need to know the difference between the two. In many different instances, you may need to remove a person’s name from ownership over property. These formal documents and legal actions can effectively and permanently remove someone else’s claim to a property. Quitclaim…
Read MoreHow to clear up clouds on a property title
Investing in commercial property can be a lucrative way to make a living. Perhaps you are new to real estate investing, or maybe you are a seasoned entrepreneur. Whatever the case, you have come across a property with questions on the title. Before you can move forward, you need to establish the other party, or…
Read MoreNavajo Indians Reach Historic Settlement with Federal Government
The United States government has agreed to pay the Navajo Nation a record $554 million to settle longstanding claims by America’s largest Indian tribe that its funds and natural resources were mishandled for decades by the U.S. government. The Indian nation raised many claims including improper execution of land use and water rights by the…
Read MoreObjections to New Water Agreement May Block State’s Deal with Pueblos
Recently a lawsuit was filed by three state legislators attempting to stop the implementation of a water settlement with members of the Navajo Indian nation unless and until it received approval of the deal from the New Mexico Legislature. Now a similar issue arises – with one twist – concerning a water-rights settlement between the…
Read MoreExtinguishing an Easement by Correcting the Record
The Amethyst Land Company, Inc. (“Amethyst”) purchased a 22-acre parcel of land in the Santa Fe foothills via quitclaim deed from a development corporation, Desert Sunrise, which had itself two years earlier bought the parcel from Keith McDuffee. McDuffee was selling parcels of land in the area before he filed bankruptcy. About 2 years earlier…
Read MoreOtero County Ranchers Challenge Forest Service over Fence in Lincoln National Forest
As drought conditions erode the water supply throughout New Mexico, ranchers have become concerned over whether they can utilize sufficient water to profitably maintain their operations. The recent placement by the United States Forest Service of a fence preventing some property owners from receiving water from a particular creek, known as Agua Chiquita, in Otero…
Read MoreHOW BORROWERS CAN RESCIND CERTAIN LOAN TRANSACTIONS POTENTIALLY TO BE REVIEWED BY U.S. SUPREME COURT
The United States Supreme Court is entertaining two different petitions filed by home borrowers seeking to exercise their rights under the federal Truth-in-Lending Act. This law gives a borrower the right, under 15 U.S.C. § 1635(a), to “rescind the transaction until midnight of the third business day following . . . the delivery of the…
Read MoreNew Mexico Supreme Court Applies Loan Protection Act to Nullify Foreclosure
Last month the New Mexico Supreme Court found that the Bank of New York could not foreclose on the home of a New Mexico resident who had refinanced his home by entering in to a promissory note with a different company. The Court specifically interpreted the New Mexico Home Loan Protection Act (HLPA) which prohibits…
Read MoreNew Mexico Supreme Court Resolves Long-Standing Water Dispute
In New Mexico, the Public Regulation Commission (PRC) grants licenses to and regulates various utilities who want to operate within the state including water utilities. Back in 1983 the PRC issued Moongate Water Company, Inc. (“Moongate”) a certificate of public convenience and necessity (CCN) which authorized the company to provide water to a specific area…
Read MoreNew Option for Dealing with Building Code Violators
While many cities and states impose civil fines and penalties on builders who fail to meet building code standards, the law of the city of Albuquerque recognizes such violations only as matters to be tried in criminal court. The rationale that such punitive remedies would effectively curtail code violations is, according to some, misguided. The…
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