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October 23, 2007
Fires Cause Southern California Law Schools to Cancel Classes; Law Profs Battle to Save Their Homes
Our thoughts and prayers go out to our colleagues at Southern California law schools, at least three of which have cancelled classes today in light of the rampant fires burning in the area:
Tom Smith (San Diego) has riveting accounts here and here. This morning's National Law Journal reports:
[I]n the Los Angeles area, several law professors have been fighting for their homes ... "I've been watching for the last several hours with my hose in hand," said high court scholar Douglas Kmiec, a law professor at Pepperdine who sat on the roof of his house while helicopters dumped water on nearby flames Monday morning. "The sky is literally filled like an air show." ... Kmiec and his wife live in the Carbon Canyon area, where the flames in Malibu were headed on the morning of Oct. 22. "We spent most of the day yesterday trying to move brush away from the house and making sure we had some things packed," he said. About 30% of all Pepperdine faculty and 50% of the students live on campus, Kmiec said. Those residents were moved to fireproof buildings but allowed to return to their homes and dorms on Sunday afternoon, according to the school's Web site.
Other law professors weren't so lucky. Bernard James, a member of Pepperdine's law faculty for nearly 25 years, and his wife, Connie James, associate professor of business at Pepperdine, have moved into the home of a colleague after their house burned down on Oct. 21, Kmiec said.
October 23, 2007 in Law School | Permalink
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Paul Caron reports on the effect the massive Southern California fires are having on our fellow law professors: Our thoughts and prayers go out to our colleagues at Southern California law schools, at least three of which have cancelled classes toda... [Read More]
Tracked on Oct 23, 2007 1:19:16 PM
Comments
Having lived through this situation, Bernard & Connie James should know:
1. They can take a Federal and State casualty loss deduction against current or prior year taxes, to the extent not reimbursed by insurance.
2. They can roll over any insurance proceeds into the purchase of a new home, without realizing Federal or State gain on disposition of the old home.
3. They can roll over the old home's property tax base into a new home (and given California's peculiar property tax rules, this can be an enormous benefit.)
4. If they retain their home, they can have their property taxes (due in December) reduced by the value of additions. It will be increased upon completion of construction.
5. They are eligible for FEMA grants and California subsidized loans, because George Bush and our Governator have declared the area and official disaster.
These are not the things anyone thinks about immediately, but they become important. Being lawyers, we know how to navigate all these different paperwork obstacle courses, but I often wondered how a layman was expected to.
Posted by: guy in the veal calf office | Oct 23, 2007 2:47:41 PM
