Residential
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August 29, 2024
Building Codes Key Part Of Mitigating Insurance Risks
Property and casualty insurers have highlighted resilient building as a way to address burgeoning property risk, but experts told Law360 the government alone cannot be expected to improve insurance outcomes without engagement from state and local jurisdictions and private organizations on issues like building codes and federal grants.
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August 29, 2024
Counterclaims Cut From $12.1M Home Security Contract Suit
The home-security arm of Pennsylvania-based builder Toll Brothers has persuaded a Connecticut state court to trim some of the counterclaims from its litigation with Security Systems Inc., successfully arguing that the buyer of nearly 10,000 customer accounts hasn't shown that damages exceed the $1.5 million "attrition reserve" the company was already holding on to.
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August 29, 2024
Colo. Lawmakers OK Further Property Tax Rate Cuts
The Colorado Legislature approved a bill Thursday that would cut assessment rates and limit local property tax growth as part of an agreement to stop two ballot initiatives critics say would devastate funding for schools and other local services.
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August 29, 2024
Agency Says Homeowner's Appeal Question Is Too Late
An insurance agency pushed North Carolina's Supreme Court to toss a homeowner's appeal on whether the court erred by having heightened pleadings standards for punitive damages against corporations, arguing the deadline for debating the issue had passed.
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August 28, 2024
Top Massachusetts Real Estate News This Summer
Catch up on the hottest real estate news out of Massachusetts so far this summer, from a hotel refinancing and the promises of offshore wind projects to a housing bill and an update on the Boston life sciences market.
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August 28, 2024
Colo. House OKs Additional Property Tax Rate Cuts
The Colorado House approved a legislative package Wednesday aimed at limiting property tax increases by lowering assessment rates and capping local revenue growth, sending the measures to the state Senate.
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August 28, 2024
BofA Hit With Suit Alleging 'Exploitative' Trust Insurance Costs
A trust beneficiary accused Bank of America in Georgia federal court of charging a trust it manages "unnecessarily expensive" insurance coverage for a residential property, arguing the bank breached its duties both as a trustee and a fiduciary.
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August 28, 2024
Ohio Justices To Weigh School Board Tax Appeal Rights
The Ohio Supreme Court agreed Wednesday to hear a school board's claims that a law that limited the rights of school boards to appeal certain property valuation decisions to a state tax board offered them a path to appeal to county courts instead.
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August 28, 2024
Beycome Alters Home-Sale Landscape With AI, Other Tech
Years before recent litigation produced a $418 million settlement and revisions to the National Association of Realtors' broker rules, property technology company Beycome was already laying an alternative path to traditional real estate agent commission models to help sellers and buyers reclaim money and control in the transaction process.
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August 28, 2024
Fried Frank Guides $793M Refinance On High Line Condo
Michael Barker, a real estate partner at Fried Frank Harris Shriver Jacobson, worked on a $793 million refinancing for a once-troubled luxury condominium in West Chelsea, Manhattan, according to recent mortgage filings.
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August 28, 2024
Petersen Health Care Delays Hearing On Ch. 11 Exec Bonuses
Bankrupt nursing home operator Petersen Health Care told a Delaware judge Wednesday that it wanted more time to work towards a resolution with creditors and the U.S. Trustee's Office on its proposed executive incentive bonuses.
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August 28, 2024
NFL Concussion Litigation Funder's Case Heading For Trial
A New Jersey federal judge has advanced a case for trial in which a litigation funder accuses a solo practitioner in the NFL concussion case of unfairly shielding assets by buying and transferring himself a house through his firm.
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August 28, 2024
Treasury To Require Reports On All-Cash Real Estate Deals
Anyone who transfers real estate to a legal entity in an all-cash transaction, including attorneys, will be required starting Dec. 1, 2025, to inform the U.S. Treasury Department about that entity's beneficial owners and their identification numbers under a final rule issued Wednesday.
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August 28, 2024
Riemer Braunstein Guides $105M NYC Tower Financing Deal
Rockrose Development Corp. entity 27-34 Jackson LLC has borrowed a combined $105 million in mortgage loans from Wells Fargo for a Queens, New York, residential development project, in a mortgage loan transaction led by Riemer Braunstein LLP, according to official property records.
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August 27, 2024
Wells Fargo Says 'Good Faith' Efforts Ax Investors' Bias Suit
Wells Fargo & Co. urged a California federal judge Tuesday to toss a derivative lawsuit filed by a putative class of shareholders claiming the bank's board of directors failed to address its discriminatory lending and hiring practices, saying there's evidence of "good-faith" efforts to monitor compliance in those areas.
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August 27, 2024
2nd Circ. Urged To Reject Preemption Defense In BofA Row
The Second Circuit should join fellow federal courts in finding that a New York statute requiring all banks to pay at least 2% interest on mortgage-escrow accounts isn't preempted, a former Bank of America mortgage customer has told the appeals court following the U.S. Supreme Court's remand of the matter.
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August 27, 2024
Colo. House Advances Further Cuts To Property Tax Rates
The Colorado House advanced legislation Tuesday to limit property tax growth, a move supporters hope will also stave off a pair of ballot initiatives that critics say would devastate schools and other local services.
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August 27, 2024
Madison Ave. Condo Owners File New Ch. 11
The corporate owner of a luxury Manhattan condominium complex has filed for Chapter 11 in a New York bankruptcy court in what it says is an attempt to resolve the disputed bankruptcy filing of the partnership that owns the corporation.
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August 27, 2024
Citadel's Griffin Unveils Plans For Bayfront HQ Tower In Miami
Billionaire Ken Griffin has revealed his highly anticipated plans to develop a waterfront supertall tower in Miami's Brickell Financial District to house the future headquarters of his hedge fund Citadel LLC, which he moved to the city in 2022.
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August 27, 2024
New Jersey Laws Attorneys Need To Know In 2024
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has signed contentious new bills into law recently that attorneys and business owners are adjusting to, including updates to the state's Open Public Records Act that make "fee shifting" more difficult, and a new wage requirement for temporary workers.
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August 26, 2024
LA To Pay $38.2M In FCA Suit Alleging Inaccessible Housing
The city of Los Angeles will pay $38.2 million to settle allegations it knowingly failed, for over a decade, to ensure federally funded affordable multifamily housing properties were accessible to people with disabilities, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday.
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August 26, 2024
Businessmen Say Feds' Ky. Tower Seizure Suit Can't Proceed
Two Miami businessmen have objected to a federal magistrate judge's recommendation opposing their attempt to toss litigation by the U.S. government as it looks to seize about $9.1 million from the sale of a Kentucky office tower, saying the United States can't prove its case.
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August 26, 2024
Zillow Investors Gain Class Cert. In Suit Over Home-Flipping
A Washington federal judge has certified a proposed class of investors suing Zillow, alleging they were misled about the performance of the real estate marketplace's home-flipping program, and has appointed two firms as lead and local counsel.
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August 26, 2024
Tetra Tech Accuses Atty Of Mistreating Witness In FCA Row
Tetra Tech EC Inc. claimed that an attorney representing a developer accusing it of fraud had mistreated a witness during a deposition hearing, pressing a California federal court to order the release of recordings capturing the alleged misconduct.
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August 26, 2024
Attorneys Break Down DOJ's RealPage Antitrust Suit
The U.S. Department of Justice's lawsuit alleging RealPage, a commercial real estate services company favored by institutional landlords, helped manipulate the rental market contains several positive developments for landlords named in price-fixing suits brought by tenants.
Expert Analysis
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4 Business-Building Strategies For Introvert Attorneys
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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.
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New AI Lending Tech Could Exacerbate Old Bias Risks
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.
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Caregiver Flexibility Is Crucial For Atty Engagement, Retention
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.
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AI Road Ahead Is Promising For Cautious Fintechs
Financial institutions should understand the conceptions and misconceptions about artificial intelligence likely to influence regulators, and proactively study potential adverse impacts and establish use case strategies and other guardrails for deploying AI, say attorneys at Jones Day.
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In-Office Engagement Is Essential To Associate Development
As law firms develop return-to-office policies that allow hybrid work arrangements, they should incorporate the specific types of in-person engagement likely to help associates develop attributes common among successful firm leaders, says Liisa Thomas at Sheppard Mullin.
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How To Recognize And Recover From Lawyer Loneliness
Law can be one of the loneliest professions, but there are practical steps that attorneys and their managers can take to help themselves and their peers improve their emotional health, strengthen their social bonds and protect their performance, says psychologist and attorney Traci Cipriano.
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Why All Eyes Are On Florida's Affordable Housing Reform
Florida's Live Local Act, which took effect last month, promotes much-needed affordable housing developments with a mix of zoning preemption provisions and tax benefits that may attract interest from developers across the nation, say attorneys at Nelson Mullins.
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What Came Of Texas Legislature's Long-Promised Tax Relief
Following promises of historic tax relief made possible by a record budget surplus, the Texas legislative session as a whole was one in which taxpayers that are large businesses could have done somewhat better, but the new legislation is clearly still a positive, say attorneys at Baker Botts.
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Looking Behind The Curtain Of Residential Transition Loans
As residential transition loans and securitizations of such loans grow increasingly popular, real estate stakeholders should take care to understand both the unique features and potential challenges offered by this novel asset class, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.
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Hedging Variable Interest Rates In A Volatile Market
Variable rate loans, which were an advantageous borrowing method prior to the recent Federal Reserve rate hikes and subsequent volatility, are now the difference between borrowers remaining current on their obligations and defaulting due to the sharply increasing debt service requirements of their loans, say attorneys at Cassin & Cassin.
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Mallory Gives Plaintiffs A Better Shot At Justice
Critics of the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Mallory v. Norfolk Southern claim it opens the door to litigation tourism, but the ruling simply gives plaintiffs more options — enabling them to seek justice against major corporations in the best possible court, say Rayna Kessler and Ethan Seidenberg at Robins Kaplan.
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CRA Plays Role In DOJ Fight Against Redlining
The U.S. Department of Justice’s recent consent order with ESSA Bank & Trust is a reminder that although the Community Reinvestment Act lacks a civil enforcement provision, financial institutions' CRA compliance efforts may have ramifications under various anti-discrimination statutes, say Collin Grier and Levi Swank at Goodwin.
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Colo. Eviction Case Could Transform Tenant Rights
The Colorado Supreme Court recently granted certiorari in a case that could open the door for tenants to assert allegations of discrimination and retaliation during eviction proceedings, and dramatically prolong the state's process, says Jacob Hollars at Spencer Fane.