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Real Estate
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May 17, 2013
Latham Witness Can't Claim Piece Of $10M Judgment
Latham & Watkins LLP didn't break the law when it refused to pay a portion of a $10.3 million judgment won by one of its clients in a real estate lawsuit to an auditor who testified at a deposition, since the auditor was a witness, not an expert, a California appeals court ruled Friday.
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May 17, 2013
Fla. High Court Says City Can't Give Its Lien Superpriority
The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday affirmed a lower court's decision that Palm Bay, Fla., could not give its municipal code enforcement liens a superpriority status over a mortgage held by Wells Fargo Bank NA because it conflicts with state law.
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May 17, 2013
Rakoff Gives Dexia's $774M JPMorgan MBS Suit 2nd Life
U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff on Friday vacated an earlier decision dismissing Dexia NV/SA's suit accusing JPMorgan Chase Bank NA of selling defective residential mortgage-backed securities, saying that a New York state court should handle the Belgian bank's $774 million claim.
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May 17, 2013
Shareholder Can't Get Head Start In S&P Suit, Judge Says
A Florida pension fund can't use a special proceeding to get an upper hand in before bringing a shareholder derivative suit against McGraw-Hill Financial Inc. over the role of its affiliate Standard & Poor's in the mortgage-backed securities crisis, a New York state judge ruled Friday.
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May 16, 2013
Free Speech Law Can't Protect Atty From Client Suit
Fresno-based attorney Howard Sagaser can't use a state statute protecting free speech to escape a breach of loyalty lawsuit brought by former clients who accused him of using confidential information about a real estate deal to induce a lawsuit against the clients and his former firm, a California appeals court affirmed.
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May 16, 2013
Pa. High Court Won't Hear Appeal Of Predatory Lending Fine
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court said Wednesday it would not hear an appeal of a decision that upheld the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission's ability to intervene in private business transactions involving mortgages and other loans, and to levy fines against predatory lenders.
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May 16, 2013
Judge Backs Class Cert. In PHH Reinsurance Kickback Suit
A California magistrate judge on Tuesday recommended certifying a class of borrowers claiming that mortgage lender PHH Corp. used a shady reinsurance scheme to rake in an unlawful cut of the premiums they paid for mortgage insurance, finding the U.S. Supreme Court's recent Comcast ruling didn't create a barrier to certification.
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May 16, 2013
NYC Found Liable For Crane Collapse Under Labor Law
In the latest in a string of decisions related to New York's controversial “Scaffold Law,” a supreme court judge ruled Tuesday that the city can't escape liability for damage caused by a 2008 crane collapse on the Upper East Side, despite having transferred ownership of the property to another entity.
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May 16, 2013
Wells Fargo Dodges Claim In $13M RE Investor Suit
A Nevada federal judge on Wednesday dismissed a claim of unauthorized mortgage banker activity in a suit filed against Wells Fargo Bank NA by a group of real estate investors that put $13.4 million into properties owned by a convicted Ponzi schemer, ruling that the claim was preempted by federal law.
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May 16, 2013
Tribe's Floodwater Damage Case Sinks In 11th Circ.
The Eleventh Circuit ruled Wednesday that the federal government and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers properly managed the Central and Southern Florida Project for Flood Control in the Everglades, rejecting a challenge claiming Indian tribal lands suffered from excessive floodwater diversions.
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May 15, 2013
Deutsche Bank Unit Can't Duck $330M MBS Suit
A New York state judge Tuesday declined to dismiss a $330 million suit accusing a Deutsche Bank AG affiliate of making false statements about the quality of loans underlying its mortgage-backed securities, saying the suit fell within the appropriate statute of limitations.
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May 15, 2013
NYC Ordered To Extend Sandy Hotel Aid Program
A New York state judge on Wednesday ordered New York City to extend housing assistance to certain residents rendered homeless by Superstorm Sandy past a planned end date of May 31, saying the city failed to properly inform the victims that it would soon stop paying for their hotels.
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May 15, 2013
Goldman Dodges Insurer's $63M MBS Suit In 2nd Circ.
The Second Circuit on Wednesday refused to revive a $62.5 million Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. suit alleging Goldman Sachs & Co. hid Fannie Mae’s exposure to toxic loans while underwriting the mortgage giant's securities deals in 2007, calling the case a "classic example of pleading fraud by hindsight."
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May 14, 2013
Goldman's Blankfein Needn't Testify In $1B Toxic Assets Suit
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. CEO Lloyd Blankfein escaped having to testify in an investor class action accusing Goldman of using collateralized debt obligations to unload $1.2 billion in toxic subprime mortgage-related assets onto hapless investors, a New York federal judge ruled Tuesday.
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May 14, 2013
Nomura Escapes Suit Over $99M in MBS Trust Losses
A New York state judge on Friday threw out a $99 million lawsuit over allegedly defective mortgage-backed securities issued by Nomura Credit & Capital Inc., finding the majority investor in a loan trust waited too long to sue the bank for failing to repurchase securities.
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May 14, 2013
Brooklyn Developer's $50M Suit Over Property Deal Junked
A New York City developer should have brought its breach of contract claims against the owners of Sky Lofts LLC and S&Y Enterprises LLC in the companies' bankruptcy proceedings, a state judge ruled Monday, dismissing a $50 million suit against the companies with prejudice.
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May 14, 2013
NJ Panel Reverses $4M Judgment In Condo Conversion Suit
A New Jersey appeals court on Tuesday reversed a $3.9 million judgment awarded to a condominium association in its dispute with developer Portofino Waterfront Urban Renewal LLC over a condominium conversion project, saying the lower court improperly suppressed the developer’s pleadings.
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May 14, 2013
Goldman Dodges Insurer's $120M CDO Claims On Appeal
A New York state appeals court on Tuesday tossed ACA Financial Guaranty Corp.'s $120 million action targeting Goldman Sachs over a mortgage-backed securities transaction gone sour, finding Goldman never guaranteed that an outside hedge fund was taking an equity position favorable to ACA.
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May 14, 2013
Merrill Can't Ax Fraud Claims In $60M Magnetar MBS Suit
A German bank can press ahead with allegations Bank of America Corp.'s Merrill Lynch lied about the role hedge fund Magnetar Capital LLC had in shaping a $60 million mortgage-backed transaction, a New York state judge ruled Tuesday.
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May 14, 2013
NJ Blocked From Seizing $140M In Housing Funds
A New Jersey appeals court on Monday blocked the state from taking some $140 million from municipal affordable housing trust funds after fair housing advocates argued the measure would siphon money from the state’s low-income and disabled residents and Hurricane Sandy victims.
Expert Analysis
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Rise Of The Machines — Predictive Coding Goes Mainstream
The pros of using predictive coding far outweigh the cons. Given the heavy pressure on law firms and in-house counsel to reduce discovery costs, as well as the Justice Department's recent stance on the subject, it appears predictive coding will continue to emerge from the obscure world of legal technology to the mainstream of legal practice, say Michael Moscato and Myles Bartley of Curtis Mallet-Prevost Colt & Mosle LLP.
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Know Your Risks Before Going Green In Construction
Although there are benefits to “going green” in the construction, development and operation of buildings, there are also risks unique to green building that will test the boundaries of coverage under typical liability insurance policies, say attorneys with Sedgwick LLP.
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4th Circ. Weighs In On Bona Fide Purchaser Defense
The Fourth Circuit recently issued a ruling in PCS Nitrogen Inc. v. Ashley II of Charleston that may limit the availability of the bona fide prospective purchaser defense. By narrowly construing one of the elements of the BFPP defense, the court has underscored the importance of strict compliance with all requirements of the defense, say attorneys with K&L Gates LLP.
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The Who, What And Why Of Public-Private Partnerships
Public-private partnerships have been used in a wide range of sectors to provide public services, from power plants and railroads to hospitals and sanitation plants. Yet there are a variety of potential contractual arrangements and the financing of a PPP can be complex, say Maryam Khosharay and Herbert Glaser of Haynes and Boone LLP.
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Renovated: Fla. Rules On Design Professional Liability
A new Florida law will effectively permit business entities providing professional services to limit by contract the liability of their individual employees or agents. Attorneys with design professional clients — including architects, interior designers, landscape architects, engineers, surveyors and geologists — should expect requests for limitation of liability provisions in such contracts beginning July 1, 2013, say Keith Ramsey and Monte Starr of Holland & Knight LLP.
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E-Discovery In The Cloud: Who Can Get Your Data?
Many lawyers are asking whether placing electronically stored information in the cloud could inadvertently waive the attorney-client privilege and whether the government or a civil litigant could obtain ESI directly from a cloud service provider. In answering these questions, there are a number of aspects of the cloud worth considering, say Timothy Broas and Matthew Saxon of Winston & Strawn LLP.
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Commercial Leasing Recovery Remains Uneven
In addressing trends in the current commercial leasing market, several patterns are apparent. For one, many property owners that have been able to survive foreclosure now face the specter of refinancing their property in the mixing bowl of loss of market value, lenders requiring a lower loan-to-value ratio, and reduced cash flow from the property, says Barry Katz of Arnstein & Lehr LLP.
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5 Reasons For Optimism In The Venture Capital Community
Not every company can be the next Facebook. But thankfully, for many startups, generating one billion users is not the end goal, nor should it be. Enter “narrowcasting” — one of a few reasons to be optimistic about venture capital, despite the first quarter of 2013 being the slowest for fundraising since 2002, says David Kaufman of Thompson Coburn LLP.
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A Troubling Surprise For Construction Projects
Recently, the D.C. Circuit surprisingly overturned a decision that invalidated the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency’s attempt to veto a Clean Water Act “dredge and fill” permit, putting several construction projects under threat of losing permit authorization. Although the case specifically refers to a coal mining operation in West Virginia, it has serious implications beyond the coal industry and state, say attorneys with Dinsmore & Shohl LLP.
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The ABCs Of Data Center Leasing
Data centers house the computer servers and equipment that allow you to use your computer at work and stream a movie through Netflix, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. With demand continuing to grow for the foreseeable future, this is one of the hottest, but least understood, real property types, says Michael Rechtin of Quarles & Brady LLP.