Residential
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November 18, 2024
Wash. Court Asked To Eye Renewal Docs In Fire Damage Row
A Washington couple and two Progressive units urged a federal court to issue a pretrial ruling on whether the couple is entitled to up to $750,000 for a fire they said "destroyed" their home, after Progressive denied coverage for failure to pay the homeowner policy's premium.
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November 18, 2024
Justices Urged To Review Landlords' COVID Eviction Ban Suit
A group of trade associations and a nonprofit urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to grant a review petition filed by landlords claiming they lost $100 million as a result of Los Angeles' COVID-19 eviction moratorium, which ended in January.
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November 18, 2024
Honolulu Property Class Is Constitutional, Court Affirms
A special Honolulu property class did not violate the state and country's equal protection clause, as a group of consolidated property owners alleged, because the property class served a legitimate policy purpose, the state Intermediate Court of Appeals has affirmed.
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November 18, 2024
NYC Real Estate Week In Review
Simpson Thacher and Paul Weiss are among the law firms that landed work on the largest New York City real estate deals that hit public records, a busy period that saw eight transactions above the $20 million mark become public.
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November 18, 2024
After High Court Snubs, What's Next For NY Rent Law Cases?
After the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review two cases challenging a tenant-friendly amendment to New York's rent regulations, attorneys say any future challenges will need to directly cite landlords' concrete injuries that stem from the state rent laws.
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November 18, 2024
NJ Justices To Consider Sanctions Against Town For Suing Attys
The New Jersey Supreme Court has decided to weigh in on whether state law provides municipalities with immunity from sanctions for frivolous litigation, as it takes up a long-running affordable housing case in Englewood Cliffs.
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November 18, 2024
Latham Leads Invitation Homes In $200M Acquisition JV
Latham & Watkins LLP advised Invitation Homes in forming a joint venture announced Monday to buy $200 million worth of newly constructed homes.
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November 15, 2024
Wash. Judge Says Junk Text Suit Must Lose Autodialer Claims
Consumers who were peppered with hundreds of unwanted text messages from a home improvement platform can move forward with their $400 million lawsuit accusing the company of ignoring the Do Not Call Registry, but will lose their autodialer claims, a Washington federal judge has ruled.
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November 15, 2024
Pa. Top Court Snapshot: Silent Partners, Skill Games In Nov.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court's November argument schedule will task the justices with determining whether a property owner's absentee partner is an "indispensable party," whether CBD oil is reimbursable under workers' comp, and whether operating legally gray "skill games" should disqualify someone from getting a gaming license.
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November 15, 2024
Denver Voters Reject Sales Tax Hike For Affordable Housing
Denver voters narrowly rejected a ballot measure that would have increased the city's sales and use tax by 0.5 percentage points and dedicated the anticipated $100 million in revenue to the city's affordable housing efforts.
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November 15, 2024
Mass. Home's Value Should Be Lowered, Board Rules
A Massachusetts home in a flood plain should be granted a tax abatement of $860 and have its value lowered based on comparable sales in the area, the state Appellate Tax Board said in an opinion released Friday.
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November 15, 2024
Property Plays: Franchise Group, Kushner, Astrodome
Property Plays is a weekly roundup of the latest loans, leases, sales and projects around the country. Send your tips — all confidential — to realestate@law360.com.
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November 15, 2024
Ga. Panel Says Homeowners Must Arbitrate Boundary Spat
The Georgia Court of Appeals on Friday ordered a property line spat between a construction company and a homeowner sent to arbitration, reversing a trial court's ruling that the issue fell outside the bounds of an arbitration provision within the original sale contract.
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November 15, 2024
Mass. Court Refuses To Set Defective Condo's Value At Zero
The owner of a Massachusetts condominium unit that he claimed was uninhabitable and worth nothing was lawfully denied the valuation abatement he sought, a state appeals court said Friday, upholding a tax board decision.
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November 15, 2024
Florida To Aid Condo Hurricane Upgrades With $30M Effort
Florida state officials launched a pilot program to help condominium associations prepare their properties for hurricanes with free inspections and grants for updates that could lower wind insurance costs.
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November 15, 2024
Ex-McElroy Deutsch Exec Says Firm Has No Claim On House
The former McElroy Deutsch Mulvaney & Carpenter LLP business development director whose husband pled guilty to stealing millions from the firm has argued that the time has come for the court to toss an attempt by the firm to put her house in a constructive trust.
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November 15, 2024
NY Real Estate Lender Bravo Names New GC And COO
New York City-based real estate lender Bravo Property Trust announced Friday it has brought on a new general counsel and chief operating officer with 20 years of experience and a deep network of industry connections, as the company looks to grow.
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November 15, 2024
HOA's Insurer Says Pool Chemical Injury Suits Aren't Covered
A homeowners association's insurer told a Virginia federal court it needn't cover underlying lawsuits alleging a lifeguard employed by the association's contractor allowed hazardous chemicals to spread and hurt pool patrons, arguing that its commercial general liability policy excluded bodily injury as a result of pollutants.
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November 15, 2024
KKR Leader Says The Real Estate Downturn Is Ending
The two-year real estate slump appears to be passing and the investment environment now looks like one of the most attractive that KKR & Co. Inc. has ever seen, a managing director for the private equity shop's real estate group said.
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November 14, 2024
LuLaRoe Hit With $164M Verdict In Contract, Fraud Trial
Troubled multilevel marketing company LuLaRoe has been saddled with a $164 million jury verdict in California state court for breaching its contract with a clothing supplier and fraudulently hiding assets in real estate ownership entities and a race car company to avoid paying up.
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November 14, 2024
NY Nursing Homes Ink $45M Deal To End AG's Fraud Suit
Four New York nursing homes have agreed to a $45 million deal that will end a civil lawsuit brought by the state accusing them of neglecting residents and defrauding Medicare and Medicaid, according to a Friday announcement by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
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November 14, 2024
Legal Aid Groups Accuse NYC Of Payment Delays
The nonprofits that provide legal aid to low-income tenants and immigrants in New York City say that due to city delays, they haven't been able to submit invoices for five months, threatening the groups' ability to pay workers and continue operating.
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November 14, 2024
Judge Slams Gov't For Resisting LA Campus Housing Orders
A California federal judge has told the federal government that it can't "resist accountability," rejecting a bid to stay court-ordered construction of housing for military veterans on a Los Angeles campus.
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November 14, 2024
Judge Pondering 3rd-Party Releases In LaVie Ch. 11 Plan
A Georgia bankruptcy judge on Thursday said he will have to consider arguments on whether third-party claim releases in skilled nursing facility operator LaVie Care Centers' Chapter 11 plan are truly consensual before he allows the restructuring to go forward.
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November 14, 2024
DC Council Issues Housing Tax Break Emergency Resolution
The District of Columbia Council approved an emergency resolution to enact legislation to implement a competitive process for the provision of tax abatements for housing developments while a recently passed measure to permanently authorize that process faces congressional review before it becomes law.
Expert Analysis
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8 Fla. Statutes That Construction Cos. Should Prepare For
In this article, Jason Lambert at Hill Ward discusses a number of recent bills out of the Florida Legislature targeting construction companies in the Sunshine State that have been sent to the governor for signature, at least some of which will have broad impacts that affected companies should prepare for ahead of the July 1 effective date.
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Time To Fix NYC's Broken Property Assessment System
A New York appellate court's decision to revive Tax Equity Now New York v. City of New York may force the city to revamp its outdated and unfair real estate tax assessment system, which could be fixed with a couple of simple changes, says Seth Feldman at Romer Debbas.
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Understanding The IRC's Excessive Refund Claim Penalty
Taxpayers considering protective refund claims pending resolution of major questions in tax cases like Moore v. U.S., which is pending before the U.S. Supreme Court, should understand how doing so may also leave them vulnerable to an excessive refund claim penalty under Internal Revenue Code Section 6676, say attorneys at McDermott.
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Bankruptcy Ruling Shifts Lease Rejection Claim Calculation
A New York federal court’s recent ruling in In re: Cortlandt provides guidance on how to calculate a landlord's damages claim when a bankruptcy debtor rejects a lease, changing from an approach that considers the remaining rent due under the lease to one that considers the remaining time, say Bethany Simmons and Noah Weingarten at Loeb & Loeb.
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Do Not Overstate Fla. Condo Termination Ruling's Impact
A close look at the unique language at issue in Avila v. Biscayne, in which a Florida appellate court deemed a condo termination to be invalid, shows that the case is unlikely to significantly affect other potential terminations, say Barry Lapides and Edward Baker at Berger Singerman.
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Takeaways From FDIC's Spring Supervisory Highlights
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s spring 2024 consumer compliance supervisory report found that relatively few institutions had significant consumer compliance issues last year, but the common thread among those that did were inadequacies or failures in disclosures to consumers, says Matthew Hanaghan at Nutter.
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What Calif. Eviction Ruling Means For Defaulting Borrowers
A California appellate court's recent decision in Homeward Opportunities v. Taptelis found that a defaulting borrower could not delay foreclosure with an improperly served notice of pendency of action, but leaves open a possibility for borrowers to delay eviction proceedings merely by filing lawsuits, say Anne Beehler and Krystal Anderson at Holland & Knight.
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How 3D Printing And Prefab Are Changing Construction
The growing popularity of trends like 3D printing technology and prefabrication in the construction industry have positive ramifications ranging from reducing risks at project sites to streamlining construction schedules, say Josephine Bahn and Jeffery Mullen at Cozen O'Connor.
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Wave Of Final Rules Reflects Race Against CRA Deadline
The flurry of final rules now leaping off the Federal Register press — some of which will affect entire industries and millions of Americans — shows President Joe Biden's determination to protect his regulatory legacy from reversal by the next Congress, given the impending statutory look-back period under the Congressional Review Act, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.
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A Deep Dive Into High Court's Permit Fee Ruling
David Robinson and Daniel Golub at Holland & Knight explore the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling that a local traffic impact fee charged to a California property owner may be a Fifth Amendment taking — and where it leaves localities and real estate developers.
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The Case For Overturning Florida Foreclosure Ruling
A Florida appellate court's recent decision in Desbrunes v. U.S. Bank National Association will potentially put foreclosure cases across the state in jeopardy, and unless it is reconsidered, foreclosing plaintiffs will need to choose between frustrating and uncertain options in the new legal landscape, say Sara Accardi and Paige Knight at Bradley.
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Bracing For The CFPB's War On Mortgage Fees
As the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau homes in on the legality of certain residential mortgage fees, the industry should consult the bureau's steady stream of consumer lending guidance for hints on its priorities, say Nanci Weissgold and Melissa Malpass at Alston & Bird.
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DOJ Consent Orders Chart Road Map For Lending Compliance
Two recent consent orders issued by the U.S. Department of Justice as part of its efforts to fight mortgage lending discrimination highlight issues that pose fair lending compliance risks, and should be carefully studied by banks to avoid enforcement actions, says Memrie Fortenberry at Jones Walker.