Merolla & Gold, LLP

rtg@merollagold.com
404-308-1132 (C)
770-984-0098 (F)
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Focus of Practice

Ron Gold focuses in the areas of Commercial Litigation and Real Estate Litigation handling the following types of cases:

Contract disputes
Business disputes
Partnership disputes
Secured lending disputes
Title & boundary disputes
Construction & development disputes
Landlord/Tenant disputes
Land use & zoning disputes
Owner/occupier liability
Riparian rights & water course disputes
Environmental issues
Broker, professional & fiduciary liability
Taxation issues
Executive and employee breach of trust
Business dishonesty, mismanagement and negligence
Malpractice involving real estate professionals, agents and other practitioners
Adjoining landowners

Ron also represents commercial and real estate clients facing the issues that the current economic downturn has caused, including:

Collections
Restructures
Foreclosures & confirmations
Evictions
“Business divorce” litigation

Types of cases in which Ron has acted as lead counsel

	Business Disputes Contract disputes Business divorces Actions involving defalcations, fraud, mismanagement, director and manager negligence Collection actions Trade and service mark disputes Business torts Insurance coverage issues Asset recovery Fraudulent conveyances
	Secured Lending Guaranty challenges Actions for relief from automatic stay in bankruptcy Receivership actions Suits for recovery of fraudulently transferred real property Collection actions Lender liability disputes Foreclosures, foreclosure confirmations and assignment of deeds in lieu of foreclosure Loan workouts and restructuring
	Construction and Development Claims Actions for faulty, incomplete and/or nonconforming construction Suits for trespass, undermining and other damage to adjacent parcels Disputes concerning extras for excavation, hauling, blasting and other earth work Suits for recovery of stored materials and backfill materials Liens
	Landlord/Tenant Eviction and rent collection actions Declaratory actions regarding lease interpretations Suits for damage to demised premises
	Title Issues Actions concerning failure of title Suits to determine the location, nature and scope of easements Quiet title and related actions Boundary line disputes Closing procedures Title examinations Suits alleging misappropriation and defalcations
	Common Owners Partition actions Interpretation of partnership and other co-owner agreements Suits for contribution, indemnity, accounting, misappropriation, and attempted squeeze-outs
	Adjoining Owners Disputes regarding flooding and sedimentation Suits regarding slope stability and lateral support Suits to determine access rights and service easements Nuisance actions
	Contracts Brokerage commission collection actions Disputes over insurance coverage Actions to enforce or interpret purchase and sale agreements Suits for specific performance
	Riparian Rights and Watercourses Actions regarding sewer, dam and other manmade watercourse failures Suits for diversion and use of water Disputes over pollution Erosion liability Natural flow/flooding issues Watercourse regulation
	Owner's Rights and Regulations Zoning and other use regulation Suits for trespass Personal injury disputes Ad Valorem tax issues

Specific cases in which Ron has acted as lead counsel

Defense of vendor’s claims regarding business computer system installation

Prosecuted industrial owner’s access rights to warehouse property.

Prosecuted action to clear title to various residential lots.

Defense of retail owner’s access rights.

Defense of development project against neighbors’ charges of flooding, pollution and attempts to impose stream buffers.

Represented institutional client who owned several hundred acres of land in suit against adjacent owner for causing serious flooding, sedimentation runoff and slope stability problems.

Sued on behalf of institutional client for specific performance involving 94 acres of real property.

Defended residential developer’s access easements to residential subdivision.

Defended residential builder against claims of fraud, negligent construction and conspiracy asserted by governmental authorities.

Resolved three-way dispute between landowner who had constructed a million- dollar plus building on land titled in adjacent owner, adjacent owner and attorney responsible for title work.

Represented institutional buyer in dispute with seller of nearly 100-acre tract of land over terms of sales agreement.

Represented party in internal dispute between partner-owners of numerous retail outlets involving issues of ownership, control, division of profits, misappropriation of assets and misappropriation of partnership opportunities, accounting and injunctive relief.

Represented accounting firm in dispute with investors regarding firm’s audit work. This case involved complex auditing standards, issues of international and foreign law, and gathering of evidence in foreign countries.

Defended builder/developer against charges of conspiracy and bribery in connection with the installation of systems in a residential subdivision.

Defended multiple property owners in suits regarding right to access across adjoining properties.

Defended closing attorneys charged with malpractice arising from fraud perpetrated upon them and their clients.

Defended trade association that had asserted setoffs against its former director for misappropriation and embezzlement.

Represented developer in suit by investor involving issues of fraud, breach of contract, and breach of fiduciary duties.

Served as counsel to a receiver appointed to liquidate assets of a real estate investment company.

Defended partner against claims brought by fellow partners for indemnity.

Defended against third party investor’s claims to assets of partnership invested in real estate.

Recovered real property fraudulently transferred to a third party.

Defended secured creditors’ priorities in real property against subordinate claimants.

Represented secured lenders and landlords in numerous landlord/tenant cases involving rent collection, evictions, destruction of the demised premises and renewal of purchase options.

Represented parties in numerous actions to seek relief from automatic stay in bankruptcy.

Represented parties in numerous non-judicial foreclosures which, in some cases, involved subsequent confirmation actions. Negotiations for deeds in lieu of foreclosure.

Represented parties in suits for recovery of real property purchased with embezzled funds.

Represented parties in various cases involving earthworks, including removal, volume, hauling and backfill quantity claims.

Defended general contractors against trover actions to various pieces of construction equipment.

Represented property owner against claim by general contractor for excessive blasting costs.

Defended landowner against adjacent landlocked owners’ attempt to impose implied right-of-way.

Represented co-owner of property in suit for partition of a multi-million dollar 100-acre plus parcel of land.

Represented purchaser of 80+ acres in specific performance action against seller.

Defended optionor against optionee’s action for specific performance.

Represented general contractor in suit regarding third party insurance coverage issues.

Represented general contractor in suit regarding the terms of a lease for land adjacent to construction site, which had been used for storage.

Represented architect in dispute over insurance coverage regarding construction activities.

Represented property owner against building contractor for damages following building collapse.

Defended owner of real property against prior owner’s lender lien claim.

Counseled various upper and lower riparian owners regarding pollution, sedimentation, and erosion issues and dam failures.

Defended owner of shopping mall against wrongful death claim arising out of murder committed on client’s property.

Defended owners of timberland against claims asserted by neighboring property owners arising out of hunting accidents.

Represented numerous landlords, business owners and others in premises liability cases involving slip and fall, falling objects, and other alleged dangerous conditions.

Represented many landowners and contractors in suits concerning materialmen’s and laborer’s liens.

Represented parties in various cases involving ad valorem tax issues.

Defended partner in real estate venture against allegations of fraudulent capital calls.

Recovered substantial quantities of back-fill materials from owner of storage area.

Select significant real property transactions closed by Ron

Negotiation of complex easement agreement combining access traffic circulation among several adjoining retail properties

A $2.5 million sale of land.

A $1.15 million sale of land financed by the seller.

The sale of a 175,000 square foot warehouse and production plant with 18 + acres.

The sale of 18 + acres of land financed by seller.

The purchase and development of several residential tracts of land

The purchase and subsequent sale of a 50,000 square-foot office park

The purchase and IDB financing of a warehouse and factory.

The purchase and lease-back of a 250,000 square-foot warehouse. This transaction involved the purchase of equity subject to an industrial revenue bond, a substantial boundary line dispute, and a lease-back arrangement.

The purchase of 640 acres of farmland.

The purchase and subsequent sale/lease back of a 20,000 square-foot warehouse/office.

The purchase and subsequent sale of a 50,000 square-foot warehouse with acreage.

The lease/purchase of three retail store/warehouse buildings.

The sale of a $500,000 1-acre parcel to a petroleum products company for use as a retail store. This project involved parceling off from a large tract, extensive negotiations concerning complex zoning requirements, and curb cut qualifications.

Extensive workout negotiations with the owner in financial difficulty of a 50,000 square-foot office park for the holder of a second mortgage.

The sale of a 51,000 square-foot warehouse.

The purchase and development of a 10-acre tract in Kennesaw, Georgia for a major distribution depot. This transaction involved complex infrastructure and roadway easement problems with detention ponds, zoning questions, and other use regulations.

The sale of a 2.2 acre tract of land to be developed for high-rise apartment buildings. This sale involved complex issues of parking and infrastructure easements and a zoning dispute.

The sell-off from a 100-acre tract of various 1 to 2-acre tracts of commercial, office, and institutional property to various purchasers for their development. These sales regularly involve site preparation issues and infrastructure easements.

The purchase of a $1.2 million office building, including a contract to finish out the property and a joint use agreement concerning utilities and other infrastructure serving the property.

The purchase of various distressed properties out of foreclosure.

The sale of a 60,000 square-foot warehouse for a first lien holder out of a bankruptcy and the subsequent sale of it.

The purchase and sale of several single-family residences, both as investment properties and for personal use.

The purchase and development of 5 acres into 23 single family lots.

The purchase of a 40-acre, $800,000 tract of land to be developed for single family residences.

The sale of approximately 20 acres of land in exchange for a substantial cash down payment plus a partnership interest in a 200-unit apartment complex to be developed by the purchaser.

The sale, financing and partial leaseback of a 300,000 square-foot warehouse with 18 acres of land.

The closing of a $1,000,000 land acquisition and development loan.

The closing of a $500,000 land acquisition and development loan.

The closing of a $700,000 land acquisition and development loan.

The sale of a commercial building valued at $2.8 million.

The sale of a commercial building valued at $2.4 million.

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