Residential
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October 09, 2024
Carlton Fields Group Co-Leader Joins Ballard Spahr
The co-chair of Carlton Fields' commercial finance industry group, who has nearly 40 years of legal experience and served as vice president and deputy general counsel of Fannie Mae, has moved her practice to Ballard Spahr LLP, where she'll continue working on housing finance matters, the firm announced Wednesday.
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October 09, 2024
Real Estate Firm Buys Ga. Build-For-Rent Community
Capital Square bought a 129-unit build-for-rent property in Rossville, Georgia, for the real estate firm's Delaware statutory trust, according to an official announcement.
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October 09, 2024
NYC Housing Bribe Case Is 'Guilt By Association,' Jury Told
Counsel for a New York City public housing superintendent accused of taking nearly $38,000 in bribes told a Manhattan federal jury Wednesday that the defendant is a victim of "guilt by association," kicking off the first trial after an antibribery sweep saw 70 people charged.
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October 09, 2024
12 More NJ Towns Join Affordable Housing Suit
Twelve more New Jersey municipalities have joined a lawsuit challenging new legislation intended to create more affordable housing, bringing the number of plaintiffs to 21.
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October 09, 2024
Disbarred Atty Admits To Defrauding Investors, DOJ Says
A disbarred attorney has pled guilty in connection with a financial services scheme that defrauded investors out of more than $1 million, New Jersey's U.S. attorney announced Wednesday.
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October 08, 2024
Wash. Families Claim Judicial Bias In Tribal Eviction Saga
A trial judge for Washington state's Nooksack Indian Tribe has paused a series of evictions against a group of families after they argued judges on a tribal appeals court were biased for ruling they can be removed from homes purchased using a federal tax credit program.
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October 08, 2024
Jackson, Kagan Target Loper Bright In Ghost Gun Case
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was uncharacteristically quiet during initial arguments Tuesday over the federal government's authority to regulate ghost guns. While her colleagues debated whether kits of unassembled parts qualify as firearms, she waited patiently to post a different question: Can courts now toss agency interpretations they don't like?
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October 08, 2024
Judge Tells VA To Quickly Develop Housing For LA Veterans
The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs and experts picked by a class of homeless, disabled military veterans were ordered by a California federal judge to collaborate on plans for veteran housing on a Los Angeles campus.
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October 08, 2024
IRS Appeals Office's Easement Deals May Sap Independence
The IRS Independent Office of Appeals plans to settle certain conservation easement cases with similar terms offered by other IRS divisions, but these upcoming offers might be challenging for taxpayers to navigate and could undermine the office's independence from the rest of the agency.
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October 08, 2024
Homeowners Again Seek Class Cert. In Tax Foreclosure Suit
A group of former property owners has asked a Michigan federal judge to recertify a class action seeking to recover profits county treasurers made selling their tax-delinquent properties, saying the addition of class representatives fixes the flaw that dismantled the class.
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October 08, 2024
Pa. Developers Defend Efforts To Remediate Landslide Damage
A Western Pennsylvania property development company asked the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court on Tuesday to throw out a contempt order in connection with an agreement to provide remediation to a community it built that was devastated by a landslide, arguing it poured its personal and business funds into the project.
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October 08, 2024
Federal Regs Could Ground Airport Pollution Suit, Judge Hints
A Washington federal judge acknowledged Tuesday that federal regulations are an obstacle to Seattle residents' suit against airlines and the city's primary airport over alleged flight-path pollution, while suggesting more discovery could be needed before he can rule out their claims entirely.
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October 08, 2024
Senior Renters Say Mass. Facility Charged Exorbitant Fees
A proposed class of low-income, elderly residents at an assisted living facility have told a Massachusetts federal court the facility's owner and operators charged an illegal "ancillary fee" calculated to extract all but a $100 monthly allowance from residents.
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October 08, 2024
Ga. Firm Says 'Right To Petition' At Stake In HOA Row
An Atlanta-area real estate law firm urged the Georgia Court of Appeals Tuesday to stand by a trial court's decision to kill a lawsuit filed by two property owners who lost to the firm in court some 17 years ago.
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October 07, 2024
Black La. Residents Urge Overhaul On Discriminatory Land Use
A Fifth Circuit judge asked attorneys for a Louisiana parish Monday whether they believe local government officials could continue racial discrimination for "eternity" because an allegedly discriminatory land-use plan was passed a decade ago without widespread concern.
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October 07, 2024
Justices Won't Hear Commerzbank RMBS Fight With US Bank
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday turned down a bid by Commerzbank AG to revive more of its claims against U.S. Bank NA in a long-running lawsuit over pre-2008 residential mortgage-backed securities trusts, declining to review a recent Second Circuit decision in the case.
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October 07, 2024
Nationstar Mortgage Fails To Dodge Proposed Fee Suit Action
A Washington federal judge refused Monday to let Nationstar Mortgage LLC escape a putative class action accusing the mortgage loan servicer of illegally charging fees for loan payoff statements.
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October 07, 2024
NJ City Sues To Halt Hudson Riverfront Development
The Hoboken Planning Board has turned into a rubber stamp for developers including a duo that wants to build towers that will impede the view from the scenic Palisades cliffs, a neighboring city alleged in a New Jersey state court lawsuit.
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October 07, 2024
Calif. Landlord Sued By Tenants Over 'Hidden' Rent Fees
A California multifamily landlord responsible for over 60,000 apartments wrongfully charged tenants "hidden and misleading" rent fees, a proposed class of tenants has claimed in California federal court.
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October 07, 2024
NYC Real Estate Week In Review
Fried Frank and DLA Piper are among the law firms that steered the largest New York City real estate deals to hit records last week, with several Empire State Realty Trust matters topping the list.
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October 07, 2024
Whistleblower Must Show Docs In Fla. House-Flipping Scheme
A Florida state court judge Monday ordered a woman who uncovered a house-flipping scheme allegedly run by the husband of a former Miami city attorney to produce documents in the case, including communications with journalists, in an attempt to show whether any misconduct occurred over the course of the investigation.
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October 07, 2024
Mass. Justices Unsure If Divisive Housing Law Has 'Teeth'
The Massachusetts high court appeared split Monday on whether the state properly issued guidelines requiring towns in greater Boston to add housing density near mass-transit facilities.
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October 07, 2024
Lender Inks $138M Refi For Texas Multifamily Project
Carbon Cos. secured a $138 million bridge loan from MF1 Capital LLC, which will allow the developer to refinance debt tied to a large, master-planned multifamily project in Frisco, Texas, according to BayBridge Real Estate Capital, which originated the loan.
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October 07, 2024
Multifamily Investor Forum Raises $226M For Gap Financing
Forum Investment Group said on Monday that it has raised $226 million in an investment vehicle specializing in credit on multifamily projects.
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October 07, 2024
Supreme Court Passes On Developer's Takings Case
The U.S. Supreme Court decided Monday not to evaluate an Eleventh Circuit decision in favor of a developer who accused an Alabama county and its zoning board of an unconstitutional regulatory taking after they revoked a permit for a $1 million three-story development and issued a stop-work order.
Expert Analysis
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In The CFPB Playbook: Regulatory Aims Get High Court Assist
Newly emboldened after the U.S. Supreme Court last month found that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's funding is constitutional, the bureau has likely experienced a psychic boost, allowing its already robust enforcement agenda to continue expanding, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.
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What's New In Kentucky's Financial Services Overhaul
Kentucky's H.B. 726 will go into effect in July and brings with it some significant restructuring to the Kentucky Financial Services Code, including changes to mortgage loan license fees and repeals of provisions relating to installment term loans and savings associations, say attorneys at Frost Brown.
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A Comparison Of FDIC, OCC Proposed Merger Approaches
Max Bonici and Connor Webb at Venable take a closer look at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's respective bank merger proposals and highlight certain common themes and important differences, in light of regulators continually rethinking their approaches to bank mergers.
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Tax Assessment: Recapping Georgia's Legislative Session
Jonathan Feldman and Alla Raykin at Eversheds Sutherland examine tax-related changes from Georgia’s General Assembly — such as the governor’s successful push to accelerate income tax cuts — and suggest steps to take before certain tax incentives are challenged in the state's next legislative session.
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11th Circ. Ruling May Foreshadow Ch. 15 Clashes
The Eleventh Circuit's recent decision in In re: Talal Qais Abdulmunem Al Zawawi has introduced a split from the Second Circuit regarding whether debtors in foreign proceedings must have a domicile, calling attention to the understudied nature of Chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code, say attorneys at Cleary.
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Teaching Yoga Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Being a yoga instructor has helped me develop my confidence and authenticity, as well as stress management and people skills — all of which have crossed over into my career as an attorney, says Laura Gongaware at Clyde & Co.
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A Look At New IRS Rules For Domestically Controlled REITs
The Internal Revenue Services' finalized Treasury Regulations addressing whether real estate investment trusts qualify as domestically controlled adopt the basic structure of previous proposals, but certain new and modified rules may mitigate the regulations' impact, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.
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What CRA Deadline Means For Biden Admin. Rulemaking
With the 2024 election rapidly approaching, the Biden administration must race to finalize proposed agency actions within the next few weeks, or be exposed to the chance that the following Congress will overturn the rules under the Congressional Review Act, say attorneys at Covington.
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How New Rule Would Change CFIUS Enforcement Powers
Before the May 15 comment deadline, companies may want to weigh in on proposed regulatory changes to enforcement and mitigation tools at the disposal of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, including broadened subpoena powers, difficult new mitigation timelines and higher maximum penalties, say attorneys at Venable.
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2nd Circ. Eminent Domain Ruling Empowers Municipalities
The Second Circuit's recent decision in Brinkmann v. Town of Southold, finding that a pretextual taking does not violate the Fifth Amendment's takings clause, gives municipalities a powerful tool with which to block unwanted development projects, even in bad faith, say James O'Connor and Benjamin Sugarman at Phillips Lytle.
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SEC Should Be Allowed To Equip Investors With Climate Info
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's new rule to require more climate-related disclosures will provide investors with much-needed clarity, despite opponents' attempts to challenge the rule with misused legal arguments, say Sarah Goetz at Democracy Forward and Cynthia Hanawalt at Columbia University’s Sabin Center for Climate Change.
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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.