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Real Estate Litigation

Real Estate Litigation Lawyer Serving the Dallas-Fort Worth Area

Michael Pezzulli skillfully handles routine and complex commercial and residential real estate contracts, agreements and legal matters. He works tenaciously to design creative, efficient strategies to resolve disputes through mediated settlements, appeals, and when necessary, litigation, with highly favorable results for the vast majority of his clients.

Our office will assess your situation to consider the costs and benefits of every potential approach, and review the merits of each option. Michael fights to protect his clients’ rights and investments, recover damages, mitigate future risk, and negotiate favorable terms in every case.

Michael Pezzulli has accrued an impressive record of multi-million-dollar verdicts and settlements in his four-decade practice. Pezzulli’s diverse expertise in the wide range of legal matters related to real estate disputes is a rich foundation for clients with high-stakes real estate cases.

Whether cases called for mediation, litigation, or appellate work, Michael Pezzulli has helped countless commercial and residential real estate clients resolve disputes to their satisfaction. Some of the clients he has represented include:

  • Real estate brokers
  • Commercial construction companies
  • Real estate investment (REIT) entities
  • Owners of units in age-restricted, active lifestyle communities
  • Rental unit lessees with discrimination cases
  • Home buyers of defectively constructed high-end residential property
  • Partners and LLC principals with business disputes
  • Land use, zoning, and permit disputes
  • Property owners facing condemnation or seizure by local governments

Some of his cases have involved:

  • Ad valorem property tax disputes, particularly 1-d-1 agricultural property exemptions
  • Homeowners Association (HOA) governance, amendments, and enforcement
  • Breach of fiduciary duty
  • Partition disputes requiring litigation
  • Residential Construction Liability Act ("RCLA") disputes involving new construction or renovations of existing residential properties
  • Breach of warranty on construction materials or labor cases
  • Property owners with cases involving construction defects and design flaws

Real estate litigation spans a myriad of business scenarios and requires a broad knowledge base to handle well. That’s where Michael Pezzulli’s long career offers an exceptional edge to his clients. Cases that can be resolved with simple court filings based on a compelling point of law are settled quickly; and real estate lawsuits that are best brought before a jury or judge to try are safely entrusted to Pezzulli, one of the most experienced trial attorneys in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.

A sampling of Pezzulli’s many real estate cases includes:

Property tax protest litigation: Pezzulli regularly handles matters involving denials of exemptions, particularly 1-d-1 exemptions where the central appraisal district rejects exemptions such as agricultural exemptions. He files protests, and when necessary files lawsuits to obtain the correct exemptions for clients. Pezzulli has handled these matters in Dallas County, Collin County, Rockwall County, among others.

Real estate partnership disputes: Pezzulli has represented limited partners in cases involving a lawsuit against general partners for breaches of fiduciary duty, and breaches of contract in the construction of multi-million-dollar condominium projects.

Partition disputes: Pezzulli handles matters where joint owners of real property cannot agree on a fair split of the property. These cases must go to court, where fair division of the property can be made by an impartial tribunal.

Eminent Domain litigation: Pezzulli is currently handling cases where governmental subdivisions are seeking to take a citizen's property under what is called “eminent domain” or “condemnation.” Cases include taking a citizen’s home, allegedly for a government purpose. The disputes center around determination of a fair price for taking the homes.

Investor Litigation: Pezzulli represented the buyers of an oil and gas well who were defrauded by the seller. That seller sold the investors something called a “dry hole.” Pezzulli sued and obtained a $1.5M racketeering judgment against the sellers in federal court.

What Our Clients are Saying
★★★★★
"My case was complicated. My opponents were very high profile individuals with the ability to hire the best attorneys to defend their egregious actions. Michael Pezzulli did not back down, and my verdict was very favorable. He is a strategist with amazing skills. Most of the time he had them beaten before they ever entered the courtroom!" J. Williamson
★★★★★
"Michael Pezzulli is as good as it gets. You'll be hard pressed to find a litigator with not just the know-how but the experience in the courtroom to back it up. Ethically, you can be assured he is one who upholds the Texas Lawyer's Creed. And as a mediator who has mediated for Mr. Pezzulli, I know that he comes prepared, prepares the mediator, and most importantly, prepares his client." Barry Wernick
★★★★★
"My husband and I have known Michael Pezzulli for over 40 years. When representing us we have found him to be very thorough, decisive and, to our benefit, quite intimidating to the opposing attorney when necessary. He has an uncanny way of communicating to members of the jury and I highly recommend him to anyone who needs legal representation." Jan Richey
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