When Buying Real Estate in Rhode Island, Absolutely Beware of Wetlands
Many property owners can innocently violate wetlands laws without even knowing they are doing it, and the penalties for doing so can be more than the cost of the property…
Land Use Tax Policy – How Unfair is Fair?
“This is a case of fundamental unfairness masquerading as rational tax policy” “This is a case which plumbs the depths of how unfair a government can be to taxpayers and…
Protecting a “Million Dollar Water View” with Restrictive Covenants
While a picture may be worth a thousand words, a Rhode Island ocean view may be worth millions, if not in fact be priceless, if a little-noted Rhode Island…
Are Property Owners Liable for an Oil Release on Their Property Even if it Occurred Before They Owned the Property?
Rhode Island’s penchant for strict liability for releases of environmental contaminants appears to be getting even stricter. A recent Superior Court decision just held that a property owner who owned…
What’s the Buzz in Real Estate and Environmental Law
Getting the Right Information. I was recently reminded—more about that later—of questions I have received from younger lawyers about the best way to stay current on developments, legal and…
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…
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…
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…
The Land Only Condominium: Little Known and Less Understood
Some time ago I was walking a development project with the chief surveyor for a large engineering company, showing him the unit boundaries I wanted established for a client’s…
Is the DEM Director’s Review of Hearing Officer Decisions Itself Under Review?
The Director of the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management has statutory authority to review the decisions of DEM Administrative Adjudication hearing officers pertaining to violations or licenses. (See R.I.Gen. Laws…