Real Estate Law

Close Armstrong, LLC v. Trunkline Gas Co., LLC

Federal 7th Circuit Court
Close Armstrong, LLC v. Trunkline Gas Co., LLC
Civil Court
Property Easement
Citation
Case Number: 
No. 24-1630
Decision Date: 
March 31, 2026
Federal District: 
N.D. Ind., South Bend Div.
Holding: 
Affirmed.
Judge: 
JACKSON-AKIWUMI

A group of landowners filed a lawsuit in federal district court seeking to define the scope of an easement related to an existing natural gas pipeline. The landowners sought to remove a burden on the properties to allow its use for conservation purposes. The defendant gas company counterclaimed and asserted that it continued to hold an easement to lay additional pipelines anywhere on the properties. The district court granted partial summary judgment to the defendant and plaintiffs appealed. The Seventh Circuit affirmed, agreeing with the district court that the defendant’s un-exercised floating easement rights were not fixed under state law. (EASTERBROOK and MALDONADO, concurring)

Legacy Re, Ltd. v. 401 Properties Limited Partnership

Legacy Re, Ltd. v. 401 Properties Limited Partnership
Illinois Appellate Court
Civil Court
Mortgage Foreclosure
Citation
Case Number: 
2026 IL App (1st) 241341
Decision Date: 
Friday, March 13, 2026
District: 
1st Dist.
Division/County: 
5th Div./Cook Co.
Holding: 
Affirmed.
Justice: 
ODEN JOHNSON

In a mortgage foreclosure action that has been pending for more than a decade, the defendants appealed from a circuit court order approving the sale of the property and from the circuit court’s judgment of foreclosure. On appeal, the appellate court considered whether defendant had standing to appeal and found that the issue was both waived and not reviewable. The appellate court also reviewed the trial court’s application of the merger doctrine and concluded that the trial court exercised its equitable powers in a fair and equitable manner and rejected the defendants’ arguments to the contrary. In addition, the appellate court held that the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it imposed a constructive trust on a portion of the sale proceeds. (MITCHELL and MIKVA, concurring)