Koppel faces off against neighbors; Nightline’ anchor at war in ferocious land dispute

Washington Post via MSNBC ^ | December 26,2002 | Matthew Mosk

[John W]

Dec. 26 — On the air, he has played the delicate role of referee to Israelis and Palestinians. In the midst of South Africa’s clash over apartheid, he brought Foreign Minister R.F. Botha and Archbishop Desmond M. Tutu into U.S. homes on the same television broadcast. But at home in Potomac, where he is building a massive riverfront estate on 16 acres of cattle pasture, Ted Koppel is at war with his neighbors.

[DWSUWF]

LOL!

Look at Koppel the fool...

He'd be in over his head mediating a dispute between two children over an ice-cream cone.

You can hardly blame the sand-goblin for participating in that farce with the useful idiot Koppel. Anything to muddy the water...

But what in HELL was Peres thinking?

Judging by this photo, about something long ago and far away.

[em2vn]

I think Howdy Dootie is right on this one. If it is in the covenants the people buying into the development should have know about it.
Where I live basements aren't considered part of the square footage of a residence. I believe that the rooms counted as part of the square footage of a house varies from area to area. I have to ask Ted how the excess of 10,000 sq.ft. for two people is any more defensible than 14,000 square feet?

[TopQuark]

Property Rights? I suspect that we define that principle differently.

Property rights, especially with resepct to real estate, define the privileges and obligation with resepct to the use and disposal of the property in question.

One can create a leasehold, for instance, which is a collection of rights to enjoy the propery of another in exchange for money (rent). Similarly, if you own a house, you sell me a right to pass through your property. Not the property itself, but the right. Once I purchased that right, you have duty not to interfere with what I paid for.

Instead of the right to pass through the property, Koppels bought --- I emphasize, bought --- the right to see the sun through the property of others. What happens hear is that people who received money for something want that something back. Well, need I to say that, once you sold something that something is no longer yours. That is the "principle" of property rights.

The neighbors sold their ability to build bigger houses. They received that money in the form of a lower price at which they bought the parcels from the developer who received the check. That ability is no longer theirs, but they want it back.

Koppel merely insists on keeping what is his.

[aristeides]

The limit dates to 1993, when the Koppels spotted the 44-acre cattle farm on a list of properties for sale by the Resolution Trust Corporation, the agency which was overseeing the government bailout of the savings and loan industry.

Hmmm, 1993, federal government.

Think somebody in the Clinton administration might have tipped off Koppel about the availability of this parcel?

[DWSUWF]

I pity your spouse, if you have one...

Over 200 words, telling me absolutely nothing I didn't already know...

Yadda, yadda, yadda, yadda...

Let's try it again...

...Restrictive covenants convey no authentic benefits to subsequent owners of property. They bind future owners to conditions and uses of property that may severely limit the usefulness of that real estate...

You see? In just over 30 words I fully recognize the existence of restrictive covenants...

I simply don't concede their value or legitimacy.

And that seems to really bother you.

I'm not suggesting a frontal assault on Koppel's Dacha by the uber-peasants, Top. I just hope that he's unable to enforce his bullshit covenants in a lawsuit.

In a nutshell... If Koppel's neighbors can tie that putrid little fistula of the real-estate law in a pretty, fictitious little knot that defeats Koppel & Company then I say more power to them.

Understand?

(please note that your agreement is neither solicited nor required)

[aristeides]

I searched for "Livingston Family Limited Partnership" on google.com, and there were no hits. (On google news, the one hit was this Washington Post article.)

[aristeides]

Judges on Maryland’s mid-level appeals court issued a preliminary ruling that included basements in the measurement but dismissed several of the Koppels’ claims, determining that only two houses may exceed the size threshold. Those cases have been returned to Montgomery County for trial.

I suspect that even a Montgomery Co. jury will not be sympathetic to the Koppels.

[aristeides]

Shirley Ballard Miller, who bought a lot near the Koppels in 1998, said her home was one of those cleared by the appellate court, but not before the Koppels’ attorneys crawled around her house with tape measures.

I wonder if the covenant allows Koppel and his agents to set foot on the other properties without committing trespass.

[DWSUWF]

"...I suspect that even a Montgomery Co. jury will not be sympathetic to the Koppels..."

Juries can indeed be great levelers in these situations.

Koppel may want to hire a PR firm at this point to coach him on the subtle nuances of the carriage, dress and mannerisms of a man who a typical jury wouldn't delight in peeing on.

[1rudeboy]

I'm sure the property-owners could run them off, but then they would return with a court order.

[DWSUWF]

"...I wonder if the covenant allows Koppel and his agents to set foot on the other properties without committing trespass..."

LOL!

Perhaps Koppel reserved this and more...

Koppel may now be their Shire Reeve...

He may have dibs on their first born...

Those who bought the fiction of real estate ownership from Koppel may want to scan their contracts into their computers and do a word search on words like worship, indentured, death penalty, deity, serfdom, etc.

[F.J. Mitchell]

Why must we import immigrants such as Koppel and Jenning to anchor shows designed to tell us what to think about world events, and making the decision as to just what we should be allowed to know about at all? Don't we still have a few Americans who can smile and read to us on TV? I'll bet we do.

Deport Koppel, and turn that land back into a pasture. Cows would make better neighbors and their manure never gets as ripe as what Koppel emits or as deep either.

[1rudeboy]

I simply don't concede their value or legitimacy.

You certainly are entitled to question the value of restrictive covenants, but not their legitimacy.

[1rudeboy]

Those who bought the fiction of real estate ownership from Koppel may want to scan their contracts into their computers and do a word search on words like worship, indentured, death penalty, deity, serfdom, etc.

Much like those who bought into the fiction of real estate ownership from DWSUWF may want to do a web-search on terms like property , real estate, title, contract, and the U.S. Constitution.

[DWSUWF]

"...You certainly are entitled to question the value of restrictive covenants, but not their legitimacy..."

LOL!

It makes you look silly to tell someone that they 'can't do' what they've just done.

We disagree about this rudeboy.

And that's 'OK'.

[BigBobber]

Over 200 words, telling me absolutely nothing I didn't already know...

Yadda, yadda, yadda, yadda...

You see? In just over 30 words I...

Here's what I see. Besides your 30 words you added a bunch more telling everyone how smart you are, and made several personal attacks on TopQuark who makes a very rational argument for property rights in this case. Neither of which adds any weight to your argument and wasted all of our time.

[dix]

I sell real estate down here in Houston, and usually you engineer types drive me crazy because your brains are trained to consider everything over, and over, and over to the extent you sometimes suffer paralyzes by analyzes. This time you have made a perfect assessment of the situation. Everyone went into the transaction with eyes wide open. I can’t stand Koppel, but he cut himself a nice little deal. Well done jimt. BTW we have a local Feerepublic Houston chapter, and at last count we have at least two members who are engineers. Freep mail me if you would like to find out more.

[F.J. Mitchell]

It's too bad that the neighbors have already built on their property-with Koppel's attitude, poetic justice could really be served up by the neighbors pooling their money and surrounding the Koppel property with worlds largest rental trailer park. "Redneck Heaven on the Potomac" would be the name, and the yards already landscaped with rusty automobiles resting on cinder blocks, and beer cans randomly thrown around the yard.

By the way, if this ever comes to fruition, this redneck, yours truly, demands the right to be the first applicant.

[1rudeboy]

In that case I must "tell" you to look up the word "legitimate" in the dictionary. You can hold your breath 'til you turn blue, but don't expect your Clintonesque interpretation of the word to go without challenge.

[syriacus]

Ted should travel blind-folded whenever he goes home or leaves home.

Problem solved. :-)