Residential

  • July 19, 2024

    Property Plays: Barings, Blackstone, Tishman Speyer

    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.

  • July 19, 2024

    Credit Rater Presses 4th Circ. To Trash Developers' Libel Suit

    Credit rating firm Dun & Bradstreet has asked the Fourth Circuit to scrap a group of apartment development companies' libel lawsuit, telling the court that nothing in a credit score was provably false.

  • July 19, 2024

    Bank Regulators Ask 5th Circ. To Unfreeze New Lending Rules

    Federal banking regulators have urged the Fifth Circuit to rescind a Texas district court's injunction blocking implementation of new community lending rules, arguing in a filing that the district court's finding essentially rewrote the Community Reinvestment Act.

  • July 19, 2024

    Calif. Justices Revive Row Over State Farm's Claims Handling

    California's Supreme Court revived a policyholder's case over State Farm's claims-handling practices, reversing an appeals court decision and agreeing with the state's attorney general that California's statute of limitations on unfair competition actions, not the policy or insurance code, governed the timing of the case.

  • July 19, 2024

    Pa. Judge Orders Accused RE Fraudster To Pretrial Detention

    A Pennsylvania federal judge has ordered an accused real estate fraudster to pretrial detention, finding that his previously undisclosed ties to Panama and the fact that he is charged with using fake identities in furtherance of an alleged scheme make him a flight risk.

  • July 19, 2024

    Pa. Bill Seeks Tax Exclusion For Affordable Housing Projects

    Pennsylvania would exclude affordable housing projects developed through the federal Rental Assistance Demonstration program from the state's realty transfer tax under a bill introduced in the state Senate.

  • July 19, 2024

    San Francisco Lawmaker Floats Rent Algorithm Software Ban

    A San Francisco lawmaker proposed a ban that would prohibit selling or using software that can be used for rent price fixing, and took aim at property management software companies such as RealPage and Yardi for their software allegedly being used for such a purpose.

  • July 19, 2024

    Property Management Group Pays $304K For OT Violations

    A Florida property management group paid nearly $304,000 in back wages, damages and fines for denying 92 workers overtime pay, the U.S. Department of Labor announced.

  • July 18, 2024

    Conn. Justices Order Redo Of Apartment Tenant's Fee Award

    The Connecticut Supreme Court on Thursday gave a landlord another shot at reducing a $3,500 attorney fee award scored by a tenant in an eviction dispute, holding that the lower court failed to consider whether the total was reasonable under the relevant fee shifting statute.

  • July 18, 2024

    New IRS Easement Settlements Put Tax Pros In A Pickle

    The IRS' new settlement program for partnerships that participated in conservation easements that haven't yet ended up in court comes with terms far sweeter than past offers, making it difficult for practitioners to advise clients to take the deal or wait for a better one.

  • July 18, 2024

    DR Horton Says Business Is Steady Amid Housing Crisis

    Homebuilding giant D.R. Horton told shareholders July 18 that its business remained steady in 2024's third quarter despite the current housing affordability crisis.

  • July 18, 2024

    Las Vegas Developer Says SEC's EB-5 Fraud Suit Falls Short

    A Las Vegas developer urged a Nevada federal judge to toss securities regulators' allegations she misappropriated $10 million raised by overseas investors hoping to come to the U.S. to pay down a loan for a project unconnected to their applications, arguing Wednesday the regulators fail to allege a wrongful state of mind.

  • July 18, 2024

    Blackstone Sees AI Revolution But 'Muted' RE Fundraising

    Blackstone Inc., the world's largest commercial real estate owner, underscored its focus on data centers as the need for digital infrastructure increases, even as it contends with lower commitments from investors that are still skittish about real estate.

  • July 18, 2024

    Judge With Lake Property Exits $217M Dam Repair Tax Suit

    A Michigan federal judge said he would step aside in a fight over a $217 million tax assessment to fund dam reconstruction because he's part of the assessment district, though he warned that hundreds of plaintiffs could have their own conflicts.

  • July 18, 2024

    Property Co. Settles Ex-Manager's Race Bias Suit

    A Black former apartment complex manager who accused her ex-employer of putting her in charge of a struggling development because of her race and then firing her for complaining about the situation told a Pennsylvania federal court that her claims had been settled.

  • July 17, 2024

    Top Florida Real Estate News In 2024 So Far

    Catch up on the hottest real estate news out of Florida so far this year, from alleged zoning abuse and bankruptcy to a brewing condo crisis and a seven-figure highway expansion. 

  • July 17, 2024

    Gallagher & Kennedy Welcomes CRE, Telecom Expert

    Gallagher & Kennedy PA announced that the company has added a commercial real estate and telecommunications expert from Goehring Rutter & Boehm to the firm's real estate practice group.

  • July 17, 2024

    Silicon Valley Sees $71M Affordable Housing Complex Sale

    Marcus & Millichap announced Wednesday that the commercial real estate brokerage arranged the $71 million sale of a 160-unit affordable housing complex in San Jose, California.

  • July 17, 2024

    Fried Frank Guides Blackstone HQ Expansion In Manhattan

    Blackstone will expand its Midtown Manhattan office headquarters and extend its lease in an agreement guided by Fried Frank, the building's property manager announced Wednesday.

  • July 17, 2024

    Rocket Mortgage Says Results Refute Investors' Fraud Claims

    Rocket Mortgage is arguing that the company didn't mislead its shareholders when Rocket's former CEO claimed the company could grow its lending business in a rising interest rate environment because the firm's actual financial performance ended up proving that prediction true.

  • July 17, 2024

    Mo. Property Owners' Tax Challenge Time-Barred, Court Says

    A group of Missouri property owners can't proceed with their appeal of assessments they claimed were unconstitutional taxes, a state appeals court ruled, finding the challenge was time-barred as an appeal of a special assessment.

  • July 17, 2024

    Fed. Gov't Can't Slip Suit Over Affordable Housing Loan

    A U.S. Court of Federal Claims judge has refused to dismiss a company's suit alleging the federal government violated a loan agreement and now owes the company for the taking of its property.

  • July 17, 2024

    Tech Hub Looks To Capitalize On S. Fla.'s Climate Expertise

    When the U.S. Economic Development Administration launched its Tech Hubs program across the country in October, South Florida's climate- and resilience-focused entry was one of 31 selected from more than 200 applications, and it made the cut again earlier this month, receiving $19.5 million when an initial funding round of $504 million was awarded to 12 of those hubs.

  • July 17, 2024

    U. Miami Climate Leader Sees Chance For Innovation

    With Miami often called the "ground zero" of the climate change crisis, the University of Miami in 2022 launched a Climate Resilience Academy to coordinate an interdisciplinary response. Nearly a year into his tenure, its leader reflects on the opportunity for midsize city innovation in infrastructure in the face of climate challenges.

  • July 17, 2024

    Arizona Evictions Judge: Invitation Homes Should Apologize

    As the largest owner of single-family rental properties in the Phoenix area, Invitation Homes continues to outpace the county average on eviction filings. In one case, a judge admonished the Wall Street landlord and said it should apologize for the “sleepless nights” it had caused two of its tenants.

Expert Analysis

  • What Upholding Of Short-Term Rental Law Means For NYC

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    A New York state judge's dismissal of Airbnb's challenge against the Short-Term Rental Registration Law will benefit the city's hospitality industry and exert downward pressure on apartment rents, and potentially provide a model for other local governments around the U.S. to curb short-term apartment rentals, says Alexander Lycoyannis at Holland & Knight.

  • Key Provisions In Florida's New Insurer Accountability Act

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    Florida's recent bipartisan Insurer Accountability Act introduces a range of new obligations for insurance companies and regulatory bodies to strengthen consumer protection, and other states may follow suit should it prove successful at ensuring a reliable insurance market, say Jan Larson and Benjamin Malings at Jenner & Block.

  • Fair Lending Activity: Calm On The Surface, Churning Below

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    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recently released annual fair lending report to Congress confirms that despite the paucity of public fair lending enforcement actions in 2022, the CFPB and prudential banking agencies are engaged in significant nonpublic oversight, examination and enforcement activities, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • The Basics Of Being A Knowledge Management Attorney

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    Michael Lehet at Ogletree Deakins discusses the role of knowledge management attorneys at law firms, the common tasks they perform and practical tips for lawyers who may be considering becoming one.

  • To Hire And Keep Top Talent, Think Beyond Compensation

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    Firms seeking to appeal to sophisticated clients and top-level partners should promote mentorship, ensure that attorneys from diverse backgrounds feel valued, and clarify policies about at-home work, says Patrick Moya at Quaero Group.

  • Negotiating Material Escalation In Construction Contracts

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    As material price escalation clauses have remained popular in construction contracts despite an easing of recent supply chain issues, attorneys representing owners should understand key considerations for negotiating such clauses, and strategies to mitigate potential exploitation by contractors, says H. Arthur Black II at Brooks Pierce.

  • Identifying Trends And Tips In Litigation Financing Disclosure

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    Growing interest and controversy in litigation financing raise several salient concerns, but exploring recent compelled disclosure trends from courts around the country can help practitioners further their clients' interests, say Sean Callagy and Samuel Sokolsky at Arnold & Porter.

  • Key Drivers Behind Widespread Adoption Of NAV Financing

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    While net asset value-based lending has existed for years, NAV lending has only started to move into the mainstream recently — likely due to difficult market conditions faced by sponsors including persistent inflation, high interest rates and a lack of exit opportunities, say Matthew Kerfoot and Jinyoung Joo at Proskauer.

  • The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Elrod On 'Jury Duty'

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    Though the mockumentary series “Jury Duty” features purposely outrageous characters, it offers a solemn lesson about the simple but brilliant design of the right to trial by jury, with an unwitting protagonist who even John Adams may have welcomed as an impartial foreperson, says Fifth Circuit Judge Jennifer Elrod.

  • Beware Unique Compliance Risks In Home Equity Lending

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    As borrowers increasingly look to junior-lien mortgages and home equity lines of credit instead of first-lien mortgages, regulators will pay increased attention in turn and lenders will have to watch for a number of legal and regulatory pitfalls as they rush to meet this newfound demand, say attorneys at Orrick.

  • 4 Business-Building Strategies For Introvert Attorneys

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Introverted lawyers can build client bases to rival their extroverted peers’ by adapting time-tested strategies for business development that can work for any personality — such as claiming a niche, networking for maximum impact, drawing on existing contacts and more, says Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein.

  • New AI Lending Tech Could Exacerbate Old Bias Risks

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    As credit and mortgage lending businesses increasingly utilize artificial intelligence technology to help make decisions, they must be aware of the legal risks that may arise under familiar anti-discrimination laws, say Kali Bracey and Grace Wallack at Jenner & Block.

  • Caregiver Flexibility Is Crucial For Atty Engagement, Retention

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    As the battle for top talent continues post-pandemic, many firms are attempting to attract employees with progressive hybrid working environments — and supporting caregivers before, during and after an extended leave is a critically important way to retain top talent, says Manar Morales at The Diversity & Flexibility Alliance.