OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

Monday

May 20, 2013

Law & Ethics: In Court Articles

Landlords Can't Reject Unmarried Couples on Religious Grounds

Publish Date: Thu, 02/01/2001

A 1999 decision that allowed landlords to refuse to rent to unmarried couples if doing so would offend their religious beliefs was reversed recently, when the U.S. Court of Appeals withdrew its opinion in Thomas v. Anchorage Equal Rights Commission.

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Property Owners Win on Lead Paint Date

Publish Date: Thu, 02/01/2001

The Court declared that the disclosure rules, which are intended to inform prospective tenants about the presence of lead-based paint, took effect in September 1996, the date set by HUD and the EPA in their rules implementing lead-hazard reduction laws.

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Sellers Liable for Disclosure Failure

Publish Date: Fri, 12/01/2000

Brokers aren’t liable for a seller’s failure to provide the buyers with a property condition disclosure form, a Nebraska appellate court has ruled.

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Judge Overturns Zoning Laws

Publish Date: Sun, 10/01/2000

A federal judge has ordered the city of Sunnyvale, Texas, a sprawling Dallas suburb, to revise zoning ordinances that discriminate against minorities and the poor.

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Ohio Commission Split Case Settled

Publish Date: Fri, 09/01/2000

RE/MAX, Realty One, and Smythe, Cramer have reached an out-of-court settlement regarding the federal restraint-of-trade lawsuit filed by RE/MAX in Ohio in 1994.

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Houseguests Can Sue for Housing Discrimination

Publish Date: Tue, 08/01/2000

A federal judge in Pennsylvania has ruled that a landlord who evicted a white tenant because she had black houseguests can be sued under the Fair Housing Act by both the tenant and the guests.

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Minnesota Broker Liable for Carbon Monoxide Deaths

Publish Date: Mon, 05/01/2000

A recent Minnesota verdict sends a chilling message about the disclosure duties of real estate brokers and their salespeople. In February the parents of two children who died from carbon monoxide poisoning won $1.9 million in a wrongful death lawsuit against their home’s former owners and the real estate brokerage.

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Bad Neighbors? In New York, Don't Tell Unless Asked

Publish Date: Sat, 04/01/2000

In New York, as in most states, real estate practitioners and homeowners are required by law to tell prospective homebuyers about a home’s known physical defects. But real estate practitioners working for the seller don’t have to disclose anything voluntarily about the neighbors.

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Member Can't Challenge MLS Access Rules

Publish Date: Wed, 03/01/2000

In 1994 the Metropolitan Kansas City (Mo.) Board of REALTORS® voted to suspend one of its members. At the end of the disciplinary proceedings, the board filed a declaratory judgment action—as required by its bylaws--that sought a court judicial declaration that the board hadn’t violated the member’s rights during its disciplinary proceedings.

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Free Speech Not Protected at Apartment Complex

Publish Date: Tue, 02/01/2000

A large residential apartment complex is not a public forum, and constitutional free speech guarantees don’t extend to the activities of tenant associations, a California appellate court has ruled.

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