Real EstateRSS

  • March 19, 2012

    Fed To Fine 8 More Banks Over Foreclosure Violations

    The Federal Reserve is preparing to lodge monetary sanctions against eight banks over foreclosure violations, it said Monday, on top of the $766.5 million it fined five other institutions last month in a massive $25 billion settlement over the mortgage crisis.

  • March 19, 2012

    Ruby Foo's Owner Sues To Extend Times Square Lease

    The company operating popular New York dining spot Ruby Foo's filed suit in state court Monday against the new landlord of the Times Square building that houses the restaurant, accusing the landlord of refusing to honor Ruby Foo's right of renewal.

  • March 19, 2012

    BofA Dodges Class Suit Over 2008 MBS Risk Tally

    A New York federal judge on Friday dismissed a putative class action alleging Bank of America Corp. duped investors about its risks in the secondary mortgage market in 2008, faulting the plaintiffs for claiming the bank’s opinion-based loss estimates were untrue.

  • March 19, 2012

    Judge Says Cabot Unit Must Pay $51M To BofA

    Bank of America NA on Friday won summary judgment in its foreclosure suit against several units of real estate investment company Cabot Investment Properties LLC over $51.2 million owed on a loan for a 1 million-square-foot shopping mall in Ohio.

  • March 16, 2012

    ResCap Ch. 11 Looms Closer As Buyout Rumors Swirl

    Ally Financial Inc. unit Residential Capital LLC is expected to seek Chapter 11 protection and a possible sale to Fortress Investment Group LLC in coming weeks, as it reels from steep losses in the faltering mortgage market, according to Friday news reports.

  • March 16, 2012

    2nd Circ. Picks Lankler Atty To Rep Rakoff In SEC-Citi Case

    The Second Circuit on Friday appointed a Lankler Siffert & Wohl LLP attorney to represent U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Citigroup Inc.’s appeal of his decision to reject their $285 million mortgage-backed securities settlement.

  • March 16, 2012

    Mintz Levin Set To Open San Francisco Office

    Law firm Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky & Popeo PC has entered into a lease for a floor of a San Francisco tower that was once the tallest building west of the Mississippi River, and expects lawyers to start reporting to the new office by March 26, the firm said Friday.

  • March 16, 2012

    Schron Triumphs Over Ex-Troutman Sanders Real Estate Atty

    A New York state judge on Friday granted summary judgment in two suits in favor of New York real estate investor Rubin Schron, who claimed a group led by a former Troutman Sanders LLP attorney refused to honor his purchase options for two nursing home operators.

  • March 16, 2012

    Calif. Real Estate Developer Indicted In $7M Bond Scheme

    Federal prosecutors indicted a California real estate developer on Thursday for allegedly trying to deceive the city of Modesto, Calif., into issuing $6.6 million in bonds to make improvements to a plot of land she owned.

  • March 16, 2012

    Ex-Omni Execs Face FDIC Suit Over Collapse

    The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on Friday sued 10 former Omni National Bank officials, including two already jailed for fueling the Georgia bank’s collapse through shoddy home lending standards.

  • March 16, 2012

    Dick's NJ Mall Dispute With Vornado Moves Forward

    A New Jersey state judge on Friday refused to toss Dick's Sporting Goods Inc.'s suit against a subsidiary of Vornado Realty Trust, saying the two should work out their differences over whether Vornado must build Dick's a new home at its North Jersey mall.

  • March 16, 2012

    Neighbors Resist George Lucas Studio Development Plans

    A California homeowner's association has appealed Marin County's approval of George Lucas' proposed 200-acre, three-story Lucasfilm Ltd. production studio, citing concerns about its impact on the environment and their quality of life.

  • March 16, 2012

    Texas Court Reinforces LLC Veil In Ruling For Builders

    A Texas limited liability company's corporate veil can be pierced only if the LLC was used to perpetrate actual fraud, a Texas appeals court ruled 2-1 Friday in a dispute between homeowners and the developers who built their house.

  • March 16, 2012

    Empire State Building Owners Sued Again Over $1B IPO

    Shareholders in the company that owns the Empire State Building launched a proposed class action against it on Thursday ahead of a proposed $1 billion initial public offering on a new real estate investment trust they say was crafted to potentially rob investors of hundreds of millions and line owners' pockets.

  • March 16, 2012

    Lender Wants $80M From PE-Backed Buyer Of Jameson Inns

    A New York lender on Thursday demanded that a unit of private equity firm JER Partners repay more than $80 million in outstanding mezzanine loans that had been used to acquire more than 100 hotels in the now-bankrupt Jameson Inns chain.

  • March 16, 2012

    After $470M Default, MPG To Surrender LA Skyscrapers

    MPG Office Trust Inc. is planning on surrendering to receivership a major Los Angeles office skyscraper complex after defaulting on the $470 million loan, the company said in a Thursday filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

  • March 16, 2012

    Rising Star: Shearman's Lisa Brill

    A robust real estate finance practice bolstered by a broad capital markets background helped Shearman & Sterling LLP partner Lisa Brill close a blockbuster $3.4 billion resort project deal in the Bahamas and earned her a spot as one of four attorneys under 40 honored by Law360 as a rising legal star in the real estate industry.

  • March 16, 2012

    Judge Says GSA Immune From Property Purchase Claims

    A Michigan federal judge on Thursday dismissed a property company’s proposed class action against the U.S. General Services Administration for allegedly backing out of a building purchase and costing the plaintiff $4.3 million, ruling the GSA is protected by sovereign immunity for some claims.

  • March 16, 2012

    Loan Servicer Aurora Beats Suit Challenging Foreclosures

    Aurora Loan Services LLC on Thursday claimed victory in a putative class action in California accusing it of causing illegitimate foreclosures, successfully arguing the Truth In Lending Act did not apply to loan servicers like itself.

  • March 15, 2012

    Insurer Targets Bear Stearns Over $75M MBS Loss

    Assured Guaranty Corp. launched a suit in New York state court Thursday over Bear Stearns & Co. Inc. mortgage-backed securities that have lost about $75 million, saying Bear Stearns misrepresented the securities' risk and won't honor contractual buyback obligations.