Karen and Anthony Regan purchased 107 Blue Heron Court in 2007 from owners Elaine and Robert Altman. They spent $282,000. It should have been just another residential real estate transaction – completed, recorded and, except for those involved, forgotten. Instead, it may have far-reaching consequences in the local real estate market.

As the Regan family soon found out, the house was one of the “sinking homes” in Amherst with serious foundation issues. The Altmans completed the required property condition disclosure paperwork prior to the sale. The Regans, with a home warranty in place, opted not to spend the money for a home inspection that may have exposed the foundation issues.

The result: The Regans filed suit against the Altmans and both real estate agents involved in the transaction, John Fox of Hunt Real Estate Corp. and Scott Thomas of Keller Williams Realty.

Last month, a jury in state Supreme Court awarded $282,000, the full purchase price of the property, to the Regans.

The jury then divided the liability, finding that the previous owners were 75 percent liable for the verdict, the buyers were 5 percent liable and Fox, who represented the sellers, was 20 percent liable.

It is the 20 percent liability for the real estate agent that has many wondering: Was the verdict fair?

If a real estate agent is given information and he presumes it to be true, how far will he or she now have to go to verify facts? Will agents have to insulate against what could be a flurry of similar lawsuits from homeowners unhappy with their new purchase?

Tags: amherst ny, foundation issues, real estate transaction, sinking homes

The release of Business First’s 2010 law-firm rankings – an annual barometer of how the Western New York legal community is stacking up – is out.

Local attorneys say while it has been anything but business as usual over the last 12 months, there are signs that things are looking up – or that the sky was never falling as some people forecast.

Nine of 10 firms retained their position in the top tier of the list, with only Harris Beach PLLC dropping from the top 10. Moving into the top 10 for the first time – from No. 13 to 9 – was HoganWillig, which saw double-digit growth within its attorney ranks with its relocation to a new building that owner Corey Hogan said nearly doubled the firm’s space.

“We felt, from our perspective, that we wanted to get to a certain size so we could be effective in providing all of the services our clients want,” he said. “We also realize those needs are changing, and we want to be able to help our clients avoid problems rather than solving their problems once they are there.”

Hogan says business has been up at the firm. The business is out there, he says, and when times are tough, clients look for a firm that can add extra value through their services.

“We have seen some added buzz since the move,” said Managing Partner Diane Tiveron. “But also, it has allowed us to reconnect with some of our clients that we haven’t seen in a while, invite them in, and show them around a building we are very proud of.”

Other mainstays on the law list credit their ability to weather the economic storm on adjusting the size of underworked practice groups, cutting back on operational costs and capitalizing on growth areas typically seen during a down economic period.

See the full article in the Buffalo Law Journal

Tags: buffalo, law firm, Top 10