Real Estate Litigation

Our Real Estate Litigation team offers unparalleled expertise in navigating the complexities of real property law. With a proven track record in managing nationwide litigation, our team excels in delivering superior outcomes and exceptional client service. 

We represent lenders, servicers, property owners, construction companies, energy companies, mining interests, and title insurance agents and underwriters. Our team handles issues involving fraud, dishonesty, defalcation, and technical errors, providing tailored, risk-mitigated, and cost-effective solutions. 

 

Our Services Include: 

• Title Insurance: We offer comprehensive title insurance services to protect real estate investments from potential legal challenges. 

• Title Defects: Our team specializes in resolving title defects, ensuring clear and marketable title for property transactions. 

• Real Estate Closings: We provide guidance to overcome problems with real estate closings, ensuring smooth and timely transactions. 

• Ownership Disputes: We resolve ownership disputes efficiently, safeguarding our clients’ property rights and interests. 

• Usage Disputes: Our team addresses usage disputes to maintain and enhance the value and utility of our clients’ properties. 

• Mortgage Defects, Enforcement, Vulnerability, and Exposure: We offer legal support to address various mortgage-related issues, including defects, enforcement actions, and exposure to vulnerabilities. 

• Government Actions (Tax Sales and Condemnation): We navigate complex government actions such as tax sales and condemnation, protecting our clients’ property interests. 

• Government Enforcement: Our team defends against government enforcement actions, ensuring our clients’ rights are upheld. 

• Zoning and Land Use: We manage zoning and land use issues, helping clients optimize property development and comply with regulatory requirements. 

• Probate Real Property Issues: We provide specialized legal assistance to handle probate real property issues, ensuring seamless property transfers and dispute resolutions. 

• Bankruptcy Adversarial Actions: Our team navigates bankruptcy adversarial actions, protecting our clients’ real estate assets during bankruptcy proceedings. 

• Real Estate Fraud: We combat real estate fraud with strategic legal solutions, safeguarding our clients’ investments. 

• Foreclosure Actions: Our team manages foreclosure actions effectively, helping clients protect their assets and achieve favorable outcomes. 

 

Significant Representations 

• Scott B. Mueller defended against an adverse possession claim in Cook County, Illinois, by demonstrating that the property in question was actually public land, not subject to adverse possession. 

• Scott B. Mueller successfully defended a lender against a post-appeal motion to vacate a default judgment in a foreclosure action, with the court denying the petition based on Illinois’ post-foreclosure sale claims bar statute. 

• Scott B. Mueller obtained a swift Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings in a case involving a policyholder’s claims of bad faith by a title insurer in a boundary dispute. 

• Scott B. Mueller analyzed and distinguished multiple claims by bankruptcy trustees to take free of clients’ mortgages based on technical errors, successfully negotiating resolutions based on factual and legal scenarios. 

• The Illinois Appellate Court for the First Circuit affirmed Scott B. Mueller’s successful dismissal of an adverse possession claim, establishing that a public, city alley cannot support an adverse possession action as public property. 

• Scott B. Mueller secured the dismissal of a national mortgage lender client in a Cook County mechanic’s lien action through creative use of interpleader and cross-claims for indemnification. 

• Scott B. Mueller prevailed on a motion for summary judgment in favor of a lender in a defalcation case during a short sale, with the trial court agreeing that constructive receipt statutes in Florida only apply when contractual privity exists. 

• Scott B. Mueller expanded the doctrine of bona fide purchaser status in Cook County, with courts ruling that an invalid contract recordation did not impart notice to clients, preserving their BFP status. 

• Scott B. Mueller obtained a full relief Order after a five-day bench trial involving claims between lenders and a homeowner who claimed forgery, with the court finding no forgery and binding the homeowner to the loans. 

• Scott B. Mueller settled a case involving a trustee attempting to set aside property sales to the client, securing title despite the trustee’s claims. 

• Scott B. Mueller obtained summary judgment for the reformation of a client’s deed of trust, ensuring that an HOA lien could not take priority due to a mistaken legal description. 

• Scott B. Mueller procured a dismissal and stipulation validating a client’s mortgage loan in a quiet title lawsuit, proving the mortgage lien as a valid encumbrance regardless of the underlying case outcome. 

• Scott B. Mueller prevailed in a quiet title action in Boone County, Missouri, with the court ruling that a judgment creditor’s claim was invalid due to inequitable conduct. 

• Scott B. Mueller secured summary judgment in Sarasota County, Florida, on a complex matter involving a non-borrower spouse’s signature, with the court agreeing on retroactive reformation of the mortgage. 

• Scott B. Mueller obtained equitable amendment of community association provisions in Cass County, Missouri, allowing mortgage lenders to take title for REO sales. 

• Scott B. Mueller prevailed in a commercial lease and breach of contract action in St. Louis County, with the court enforcing lease terms against the tenant. 

• Scott B. Mueller secured dismissal of a commercial lender in a dispute over a $7M refinance mortgage in Kansas City, arguing that the “rogue” partner had authority and that the mortgage was valid under replacement theory and equitable subrogation. 

• Scott B. Mueller successfully resolved issues of inadvertently swapped titles between property owners and lenders without resorting to full litigation. 

 

Published Decisions 

• Tetrault v. Yankowski, E.D. Mo. 101254 (2015) 

• Fannie Mae v. Pace, 415 SW 3d 697 (E.D. Mo. 2013) 

• Landrith v. Summers, 346 P. 3d 1113 (KS App. 2015) 

• Fastnacht v. Ge, et al., W.D. Mo. 78705 (2016) 

• Medina v. Dankowski, Ill. App. 1st. Cir, 173055-U (2019) 

• Peoples National Bank, N.A. v. Patricia Fish, ED107584 (Mo. Ct. App. 2020) 

• American Advisors Group v. Cockrell, 2020 IL App (1st) 190623.