Real
Cases in Real Estate
is a weekly update on real estate law, with legal principles illustrated and
explained by lawsuits from around the country. The topics are wide-ranging for
appeal to a broad spectrum of readers including lawyers, homeowners, investors
and the general public. Andrea Lee Negroni, a Washington DC
attorney and legal writer with 25 years of experience in financial services and
mortgage law, contributes the case summaries.
Followers of
Real Cases in Real Estate will learn and be entertained by lawsuits
involving nuisance, trespass, zoning violations, deed restrictions, title
insurance, public utilities, mechanics liens, construction defects, adverse
possession, foreclosure and eviction, divorce and marital property rights,
tenants' rights, and more. Real Cases in Real Estate uncovers the
unpredictable, amusing, and sometimes outrageous disputes between next-door
neighbors, contractors and homeowners, condo boards and residents, real estate
brokers and homebuyers, and zoning administrators and developers.
Each fully
cited case summary highlights the essential law of the case and explains the
principal legal theories and concepts relevant to the outcome. Plain language
treatment makes Real Cases in Real Estate accessible to lawyers and
laymen alike.
Whether you
follow real estate law professionally or as a hobby, you'll find something new
and useful every week in Real Cases in Real Estate.
Updates
for the Week of April 6th, 2012
Use and Sale of Drugs from
a Mobile Home Adversely Affects Use of Neighboring Properties.
In 2005, Victor and Rita Hudson filed an application to keep a mobile
home on their property in Sussex County Delaware. The Sussex County Code
permits a mobile home to be placed on property for use as a single family
dwelling, if necessary in an emergency or hardship situation, if the mobile
home does not adversely affect the use of neighboring properties. The Hudson's
son Steven suffered from psychological and physical problems. When their
application was approved, the Hudsons brought a mobile home onto their property
and Steven and his wife and son moved into it. When the 2-year permit expired,
the Hudsons received a one-year extension. When they sought a second extension,
it was denied because of neighbors'complaints about Steven.
At a hearing on the special use exception, two neighbors presented
letters stating they had no objection to the mobile home, but four neighbors opposed
extension of the special use permit. One of them testified that Steven stole
electricity from the Delaware Electric Cooperative, which damaged his own
electricity and applicances. This group of neighbors also claimed Steven was
using and selling drugs, which they thought explained the constant flow of
vehicles to the mobile home. Other neighbors said they didn't want Steven
living in the neighborhood because they believed he was selling drugs. A police
search at the mobile home turned up ecstasy tablets, marijuana and drug
paraphernalia. Steven and his wife were arrested; Steven was charged with
Maintaining a Dwelling for Keeping Controlled Substances, Possession of
Marijuana and other drug-related crimes.
The County Board of Adjustment denied the Hudson's application for
extension of the special use permit, noting that a special use permit is
temporary and conditional and that the circumstances existing when the original
application was approved had changed. Because Steven and his wife were using
the mobile home to sell drugs, an illegal activity, the uses of adjacent and
neighboring properties were substantially affected.
The Hudsons claimed their civil rights were violated when their
application to extend the special use exception was denied, but the Board of
Adjustment explained that the proper remedy for violation of the Fair Housing
Act and Delaware Fair Housing Act is to file a complaint with the Secretary of
HUD or the Delaware Human Rights Commission. The Board of Adjustment refused to
hear these claims.
Hudson v. Sussex County Bd. of Adjustment, 2010 Del. Super. LEXIS 77 (Feb. 19,
2010) [enhanced version available to lexis.com subscribers]
....
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