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Court holds goodwill subject to recordation, transfer taxes
The Circuit Court for Baltimore County recently held that the portion of a sale of three senior living facilities relating to the business’ goodwill was subject to recordation and transfer taxes. In the Matter of Shelter Senior Living IV, L.L.C. v. Montgomery County, Clerk of the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, Baltimore County, and Clerk […]
Edward J. Levin: Similar cases, opposite results
The Court of Appeals recently held that a letter of intent signed as part of settlement discussions between two parties who were litigating over the ownership and use of parking spaces was unambiguous and constituted an enforceable contract between them even though the lease that was to guide the relationship of the parties for 99 years had not been agreed upon.
Edward J. Levin: D.C. condo assessment can extinguish deed of trust
The District of Columbia Court of Appeals recently held that a first deed of trust on a condominium unit may be extinguished by a foreclosure sale that is held to satisfy six months of unpaid condominium assessments.
Edward J. Levin: The Maryland-Virginia boundary shifts and changes
The Court of Special Appeals recently held that the boundary line between Maryland and Virginia, west of the District of Columbia, although fixed in a theoretical manner, actually shifts over time along with erosion and accretion of the south bank of the Potomac River.
Edward J. Levin: If a tree falls in Maryland, who is responsible?
We are often asked: What happens if a tree falls in Maryland? Or, what can you do when branches or roots of a tree growing on your neighbor’s property encroach onto your property and cause you damage?
Edward J. Levin: Howard County reimburses taxpayers $587K in IDOT case
On July 12, Howard County reimbursed five taxpayers for $587,151.56 in connection with recordation taxes that they had paid under protest. This amount includes $499,112.50 for the amount of the taxes that the County forced the taxpayers to pay plus $88,039.06 in interest as required by Maryland law.
Edward J. Levin: Lenders not liable for recordation taxes on IDOTS
Affirming the holding of the Maryland Tax Court, the Circuit Court for Howard County ruled this month that when the recordation tax becomes due on an indemnity mortgage or an indemnity deed of trust (an “IDOT”), the party responsible to pay the tax is the guarantor who executed the IDOT.
Edward J. Levin: New law relates to IDOTs, refinancings
Recent Maryland legislation will change the law affecting indemnity mortgages and indemnity deeds of trust (“IDOTs”) as well as refinancings in this state generally. Effective July 1, the new law raises the size of loan transactions involving IDOTs which are taxable when they are recorded from $1 million to $3 million, and it changes the way refinancings in Maryland are taxed.
Edward J. Levin: Supplemental instrument exemption applies to indemnity deeds of trust
Baltimore City Special Chief Solicitor Jack Machen wrote a column, “A word (but surely not the last) on IDOTs,” that appeared in The Daily Record on Feb. 4, regarding the effect of Senate Bill 1302 of the first General Assembly session of 2012 on the imposition of recordation taxes on indemnity mortgages and indemnity deeds of trust (either is called an IDOT). Senate Bill 1302 added subsubsect[...]
IDOT ruling costs Howard County $500K
Maryland jurisdictions cannot require that lenders and purchasers of foreclosed properties pay the recordation taxes on guarantor-backed deeds of trust, the state’s administrative Tax Court has ruled.
Edward J. Levin: Appellate courts deny two claims for easements but establish a third
In two recent cases, the Maryland appellate courts denied requests to declare that easements exist, but in a third the Court of Special Appeals found an easement by necessity. In Clickner v. Magothy River Association, Inc., 424 Md. 253, 35 A.3d 464 (2012), the Court of Appeals held that the public did not have an […]
Edward J. Levin: Recent cases provide guidance on prescriptive easements
The Maryland Court of Special Appeals recently decided two cases about prescriptive easements. In the first, the Court held that the provisions of a written easement agreement could be expanded by prescription. In the second, the Court held that a use that was originally permissive could be terminated by the burdened owner, even if the […]
