Foreclosures and Priority Issues
August 19, 2013

One of the unfortunate realities of the residential real estate market in the past several years has been foreclosures.  A foreclosure is the process by which a secured party recovers a balance due by exercising its interest in secured collateral.  Typically, this means that a bank forecloses on a home.  In Tennessee, we have deeds…

READ MORE

The Impact of the Apiary Act of 1995 on Restrictive Covenants
August 5, 2013

We have dealt with some weighty topics of late on this forum.  It is time to lighten the fare. Have you ever wondered whether the Tennessee Apiary Act of 1995, Tenn. Code § 44-15-101, et seq., supersedes or otherwise renders a recorded covenant in a CCR unenforceable?  Aside from providing that a state apiarist shall…

READ MORE

The “Four Maples” case and when a Tennessee association owes a duty to provide security…
July 8, 2013

Some developments, be they condominiums or planned residential developments, are gated.  Others provide various types of access control into and out of the development.  This access control, in the form of gates, manned access points, cameras, keycards, etc., is generally viewed by the public as security.  To the homeowner the additional security is a benefit…

READ MORE

When Everything Goes Wrong
June 10, 2013

On April 4, 2013, the Memphis Commercial Appeal ran an article on the Gardenwalk Condominiums in Raleigh.  Gardenwalk Condominiums is administered by Gardenwalk Council of Co-Owners, a Tennessee non-profit corporation (the “Association”).  Apparently, part of the assessments paid by Unit Owners at Gardenwalk Condominiums is used to pay for water.  This is not the water…

READ MORE