Landlords, Party Houses and the Scarlet Notice
If you are a landlord, the First Circuit Court of Appeals has made it clear you may be liable for the overly exuberant merriment of your tenants if you own…
Why Isn’t That Easement On My Survey?
Real estate investors, developers, and even residential property owners who want to know specifically what they are buying or what they already own will often commission a survey. The survey…
A Comprehensive Conference on Offshore Energy Development: Get Current and Get Connected
Those of you now planning your professional development seminars or continuing legal education opportunities for the New Year, consider a comprehensive two day conference to be held in Boston in…
Coastal Permitting and Federal Coastal Zone Management Act Protections for States
I recently had the opportunity to address the fall meeting of the American Bar Association’s Section of State and Local Government Law on a coastal permitting topic that even…
Developers and Property Owners Benefit From Permit Extensions
Many real estate developers and property owners got a significant break from the General Assembly late last year, when legislation passed to extend the expiration date of a broad…
Regulating Waterfront Property in Rhode Island: Ownership Does Not Mean Control
If you own waterfront property in Rhode Island and think you can do with it what you will, so long as you observe zoning ordinances like everyone else, think…
Balancing Waterfront Property Rights: A Tale of Two States
A recent Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decision on waterfront property rights dramatically illustrates the different approaches taken by the high courts of Rhode Island and Massachusetts in weighing the…
Moving the Ocean Away From Waterfront Property Owners
Last month the U.S. Supreme Court spoke in an important waterfront property rights case, and whenever that happens, Rhode Island, being the Ocean State, had better listen. See Stop the…
Riparian Rights in Little Rhody and Beyond
Rhode Island is the Ocean State, and if anyone doubts the interest of Rhode Islanders in waterfront property rights, perhaps getting caught in this Holiday weekend’s beach traffic will…
Is “Right to Dry” Wrong to Try?
With near double digit national unemployment, the collapse of the housing market throughout the country, and soaring state deficits, you might think that State government would be too busy…