Practice areas

The law firm of Johnson, Fabian, and Brugger was founded in 1983. Our staff lawyers are experienced in handling cases involving Natural Resources, Property and Real Estate law and have represented clients with issues involving local and national authorities and organizations.

Our firm has dealt with a wide range of natural resource matters, including endangered species, forestry/timber, grazing, irrigation, mining claims, oil and gas, water, and wildlife. We have assisted clients in various property matters, including federal, public, state and private lands, communication sites, condemnation, easements, land exchanges, property boundary disputes, ownership disputes, and rights of way.

In addition, our lawyers have handled a broad array of real-property / real-estate transactions, including commercial, residential, agricultural, and conservation easements.

Due to our comprehensive natural resource and property capabilities, our firm can provide experienced counsel for all environmental and natural resource matters affecting property owners.

Exercise 12. Decide whether Johnson, Fabian and Brugger is the right firm for these parties (1–4) to consult for legal assistance.

1. Mr Simmons is engaged in a dispute with Mr Burns concerning repairs that must be made to a pipe leading through Mr Burns' property to Mr Simmons' house. Mr Bums refuses to allow the workers access to his property.

2. Mr Wyatt produces a natural insecticide from the seeds of a type of Indian tree which grows on his property and has been selling it to organic farmers in his region. A pharmaceutical company is suing him for infringement of patent rights.

3. Mr Parker's neighbour operates a private childcare centre within her property. During the summer, the children spend a lot of time outside, and the noise level is extremely high. Mr Parker and his neighbour agreed to install a fence, but disagree about the exact boundary between their properties and about who should pay for the fence.

4. Mr Tanaka is a landscape architect working under subcontract with a construction company on the site of a large private home. The lead contractor has filed for bankruptcy protection. Mr Tanaka wants to know whether he can stop work, pack up his gear and walk off the job site. He also wants to know whether he can enforce his mechanics' lien rights against the real property's owner.

Exercise 13. Read the text again and answer these questions.

1. What are the phrases in italics used to express?

2. Underline the verb tenses in the text. Which verb tense is used most often? Why?

3. Find two words in the text that are synonyms of the word case.

4. Which sentence of the text expresses what the firm can do?

WRITING 1: DESCRIBING A FIRM’S PRACTICE AREAS

Exercise 14. Using the phrases in italics in the text, write a short description of the practice areas of your own law firm or of a law firm you are familiar with.

Note some of the important features of such a statement:

1. It is written in the first person plural (the "we" perspective);

2. Much of the information is provided in the form of lists;

3. The present perfect tense is used to refer to what the firm has done;

4. The text may begin with a reference to the firm's history and may conclude with a statement that sums up what the firm can do.

READING 3: UNDERSTANDING A LEASE OR TENANCY AGREEMENT

A landlord who wishes to tease property to a tenant will often consult a lawyer for assistance in drawing up a lease. A prospective tenant, on the other hand, might ask a lawyer to review the terms and conditions of a lease before entering into such an agreement. Both will require the services of legal counsel in the event of a serious dispute concerning a lease.

Exercise 15. Tick the sections or clauses you would expect to find in a lease tenancy.

1. Parties □

2. Term □

3. Non-competition □

4. Statutory conditions □

5. Confidentiality □

6. Rent amount and payments □

7. Acceleration □

8. Method of payment □

9. Force majeure □

10. Deposit □

Can you think of any other clauses and sections that are generally included in a lease?

Exercise 16. Look at the title of the text. What are statutory conditions? Can you think of the kinds of thing that might come under statutory conditions in a lease agreement?

Exercise 17. The text is an excerpt from a lease, setting forth the statutory conditions applying to the lease. Read it and complete the spaces (1-7) using these subheadings.

a) Abandonment and termination

b) Sub-letting premises

c) Entry of premises

d) Entry doors

e) Conditions of premises

f) Services

g) Good behavior

h) Obligation of the tenant

STATUTORY CONDITIONS

The following statutory conditions apply:

1. ……

The landlord shall keep the premises in a good state of repair and tit for habitation during the tenancy and shall comply with any statutory enactment or law respecting standards of health, safety or housing.

2. (a) …..

Where the landlord provides a service or facility to the tenant that is reasonably related to the tenants continued use and enjoyment of the premises such as, but not as to restrict the generality of the foregoing, heat, water, electric power, gas, appliances, garbage collection, sewers or elevators, the landlord shall not discontinue providing that service.

2. (b) …..

A tenant shall conduct him / herself in such a manner as not to interfere with the possession or occupancy of other tenants.

3. …..

The tenant shall be responsible for the ordinary cleanliness of the interior of the premises and for the repair of damage caused by wilful or negligent act of the tenant or oi any person whom the tenant permits on the premises.

4. …..

The tenant may assign, sub-let or otherwise part with possession of the premises subject to the consent of the landlord which consent will not arbitrarily or unreasonably be withheld or charged for unless the landlord has actually incurred expense in respect of the grant of consent.

5. …..

If the tenant abandons the premises or terminates the tenancy otherwise than in the manner permitted, the landlord shall mitigate any damages that may be caused by the abandonment or termination to the extent that a party to a contract is required by law to mitigate damages.

6. …..

Except in the case of an emergency, the landlord shall not enter the premises without the consent of the tenant unless:

a) notice of the termination of the tenancy has been given and the entry is at a reasonable hour tor the purposes of exhibiting the premises to prospective tenants or purchasers; or

b) the entry is made during daylight hours and written notice of the time of the entry has been given to the tenant at least twenty-four hours in advance of the entry.

7. …..

Except by mutual consent, the landlord or the tenant shall not during occupancy by the tenant under the tenancy alter or cause to be altered the lock or locking system on any door that gives entry to the premises.

Exercise 18. Where do these ideas appear in the text? Write the number of the section or sub-section in which they can be found.

Example: The landlord is not permitted to go into the flat unless the tenant agrees. 6

1. The tenant is not allowed to disturb other tenants in the building.

2. The landlord agrees that he will not stop providing the use of utilities such as gas or electricity.

3. The landlord is obliged to take advantage of any reasonable opportunity to reduce loss or damage if the tenant leaves unexpectedly.

4. The landlord is required to keep the flat in suitable condition.

5. The tenant agrees to repair anything broken by a person he has invited into the flat.

6. The landlord promises that he will not have the lock of the front entrance changed without the agreement of the tenant.

7. The tenant is permitted to rent the flat to someone else if the landlord gives him permission to do so.

8. The landlord can enter the flat if the tenant is moving out, and the landlord needs to show a new tenant around.

Exercise 19. Match these words and expressions (1–11) with their definitions (a–k).

Exercise 20. Match these verbs (1–4) with their synonyms (a–d).

Now match the same verbs (1–4) with the nouns in the box they collocate with in the text.

READING 4: CASE REVIEW

Legal publications which present the outcome of disputes involving commercial property leases are of interest to lawyers, landlords and tenants alike. The decisions in such cases indicate how courts in a jurisdiction tend to rule in real property cases, and are therefore useful for parties when preparing a court case. The following account of a case was published in a law firm newsletter.

Exercise 21. Read the report and answer these questions.

1. Which business sector is involved in the case? Is the case in question relevant for other sectors of business as well?

2. The concept of quiet enjoyment is central to the case. What does the term mean? Is there a comparable concept in your own jurisdiction?

Date: 2014-12-22; view: 1372