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Litigation
Real Estate Litigation
Banking & Financial Services Litigation
Construction
“I thrive on the challenge of winning the tough cases.”
Mark is a litigator, known for winning important cases for his clients in areas like commercial landlord-tenant disputes, complex foreclosures, construction disputes, oil and gas litigation, and significant boundary and easement disputes.
Although Mark is a litigator and focuses his practice on real estate disputes, he also has experience handling real estate transactions, which makes him a more effective litigator. Mark has tried cases for both plaintiffs and defendants in states across the Upper Midwest. Mark also mediates real estate-related matters, including residential and commercial construction disputes, commercial landlord-tenant matters and boundary and easement disputes. Mark is well-known for his hard work, responsiveness and expertise in achieving great results for his clients.
January 7, 2022
The desirability of lakeshore property is no secret. This desirability often creates conflicts between existing lakeshore owners who want to maintain the status quo by preventing development and developers looking to build and sell lake homes.
October 28, 2021
New homebuyers often discover imperfections in their newly-constructed homes. Some of these imperfections are construction defects and others are simply part of the construction process. Homeowners may assume they have warranty coverage against construction defects, but they have often signed documents disclaiming or limiting warranty coverage.
August 16, 2021
One of the main purposes for “development agreements” is to provide the owner and developer with certainty to justify the significant sums they are investing in their developments. However, a change in control of a municipality can often result in the desire to avoid the terms of a development agreement signed by a previous administration.
June 11, 2021
Due to shifting commodity prices, land use regulations, and a variety of other factors, mineral interests often go unused for significant periods of time.
May 26, 2021
By Aaron J. Hurd and Mark W. Vyvyan
Deficiency judgments are common occurrences in mortgage foreclosures and typically arise when the amount bid at sale is less than the amount due on the mortgage debt. It is rare, however, when the amount bid at sale exceeds the mortgage debt.
March 29, 2021
At first glance, it would seem a commercial tenant’s failure to maintain the leased premises in violation of the lease’s terms would allow the landlord to recover the costs necessary to make the repairs.
March 1, 2021
Most lenders are familiar with creating and perfecting security interests in personal property. However, when lending to farmers, there are a few additional issues.
January 29, 2021
A recent Wisconsin Court of Appeals’ decision illustrates the importance of specificity when drafting restrictive covenants.
December 21, 2020
When faced with a difficult decision on whether to make a payment consider the powerful impact of the voluntary payment doctrine.
November 4, 2020
Even if easement rights are not used for an extended period, it would be a mistake for an owner of property burdened by such an easement to assume the other party’s easement rights have been abandoned.
October 19, 2020
It is not always clear whether materials such as clay, gravel and sand are subject to mineral reservations – or whether those materials belong to surface owners.
September 3, 2020
While many would define the “crop year” to be the time between harvests, that definition can cause confusion in long-term agricultural leases, especially where the tenant-farmer intends to raise different crops during the lease term.
September 1, 2020
The pandemic-induced economic downturn has created huge stresses on owners of both residential and commercial real property. In turn, those stresses have been visited upon the lenders who have financed those properties.
May 27, 2020
Depending on the circumstances, parties exchanging electronic messages may unwittingly create a binding contract to buy or sell real estate.
May 20, 2020
Landlords and tenants are familiar with the term “covenant of quiet enjoyment,” but they often misunderstand the meaning of that covenant.
May 11, 2020
Minnesota landowners may have heard the term “torrens” when dealing with title to their property, but most are unsure of the term’s meaning or its origin.
April 28, 2020
On April 20, 2020, the price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil dropped to a historic low of negative $37 per barrel.
April 20, 2020
We have all heard that “possession is nine-tenths of the law,” but is that true?
April 13, 2020
Many Minnesotans know that “maximum load per axle” signs have something to do with road restrictions, but most Minnesotans don’t have an understanding of what the phrase actually means.
April 9, 2020
The current pandemic has provided an opportunity for many of us to watch old movies. In the 1955 Western film “Man Without a Star,” Kirk Douglas’ character risked his life to preserve the barbed-wire fences he installed across the open prairie of the American West. It seems hard for many of us to believe now, but in the late 19th Century, the fencing of open range was a matter of paramount importance. Even today, North Dakota’s laws reflect the tension between allowing livestock to roam freely and keeping them confined to their owner’s property.
March 16, 2020
Minnesotans often have questions about their legal rights and responsibilities in dealing with water and the damage it can cause their homes and other real property.
June 13, 2017
When it comes to trees, Minnesota law allows neighbors to take the law into their own hands under the right circumstances.
June 2, 2017
Governor Dayton has signed into law House Bill 1538, which adds additional requirements for condominium and townhome homeowners associations wishing to bring construction defect claims against developers.
June 2, 2014
Following the “Great Recession” of 2008 and 2009, banks were forced to foreclose on a number of mortgages granted to defaulting borrowers. As a result, banks’ portfolios of “other real estate owned” grew significantly. Although the economy is recovering, these OREO properties continue to demand significant attention. While there are many regulatory issues related to OREO properties, this article will focus on some of the real estate related considerations for managing your OREO.
