More Real Estate Coverage
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June 02, 2023
10 States Sue FEMA Over 'Equitable' Flood Insurance Hikes
Louisiana led nine other states in suing the U.S. government in federal court for its 2021 equitable overhaul of the National Flood Insurance Program, which the states say led to wrongful price increases of more than 1,000% for some despite the program's intention of being affordable and "more equitable."
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June 02, 2023
Housing Groups Sue Over Chicago Fire's $23M Land Lease
Several advocacy groups have sued the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Chicago Housing Authority in federal court over a $23 million deal to lease 23 acres of public land to the Chicago Fire Football Club for the construction of a training facility.
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June 02, 2023
US Bars Oil Leasing Near New Mexico Cultural Site
The Biden administration on Friday issued a 20-year ban barring oil and gas leasing on federal land surrounding New Mexico's Chaco Canyon, heeding calls from Native American tribes and state lawmakers who have long sought greater protection for the area.
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June 02, 2023
Iowa To Exempt Some Deeds From Real Estate Transfer Tax
Iowa created an exception to the state's real estate transfer tax for certain deeds that transfer distributions of assets to beneficiaries of a trust under a bill signed by the governor.
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June 02, 2023
Cos. Unable To Sue For Racial Discrimination, 11th Circ. Says
The Eleventh Circuit held this week that qualified immunity protected Atlanta-area officials from an Ethiopian restaurant-turned-nightclub's racial discrimination lawsuit, ruling that a corporation is unable to sue for racial discrimination.
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June 02, 2023
Diversified And EQT Can't Escape W.Va. Unplugged Wells Suit
Diversified Energy Co. can't evade landowners' claims alleging it and other gas companies failed to decommission thousands of West Virginia wells, after a federal judge rejected the company's contention that thousands of mineral owners could lose out on relief if not included in the proposed class.
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June 02, 2023
Feds Want Town To Stop Trespassing On Wis. Tribal Lands
The federal government says the town of Lac Du Flambeau, Wisconsin, which has been embroiled in an ongoing dispute with a local Native American tribe over road access into its reservation, must renew right-of-way easements or face a permanent ban from the properties.
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June 02, 2023
Excello Law Hires Real Estate Pro Rory Nelson
Excello Law has strengthened its U.K. team of more than 200 self-employed lawyers with the addition of real estate expert Rory Nelson, who will also continue to practice at Quinn Barrow.
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May 31, 2023
Fence Builder Gets Another Chance At Tree Injury Suit
A fence builder hit by a falling tree will get another shot at his negligence suit against the owners of the property where the tree stood because it's unclear if he took into account the risk raised by the job, a Georgia appellate panel ruled.
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May 31, 2023
Neb. To Cut Top Tax Rates, Increase Property Tax Credits
Nebraska will lower the state's top individual income tax rate, reduce the corporate tax rate and increase the minimum amount of relief granted by the state's Property Tax Credit Act under bills the governor signed Wednesday.
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May 31, 2023
Winstead Adds Former Goldman, Locke Lord RE Pro In Dallas
Winstead PC has bolstered its Dallas roster with a former Goldman Sachs associate general counsel and partner at Locke Lord LLP whose practice is centered on real estate and lending matters.
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May 30, 2023
Wash. Justice Suggest Limits To Nuisance Standing
Washington state Supreme Court justices on Tuesday questioned the potentially far-reaching implications of allowing an animal rights group to bring a public nuisance claim against a wildlife farm for alleged animal cruelty violations, with one justice suggesting it could spawn suits claiming melting ice on Mount Rainier is a "bummer."
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May 30, 2023
DP World Seeks OK Of $148M Award Against Djibouti
A port terminal operator has kicked off litigation in D.C. federal court to enforce a $148 million arbitral award against the Republic of Djibouti following a yearslong dispute over the operation of a modernized port facility that opened in 2008.
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May 30, 2023
Georgia Accountant Wants Out Of $1.3B Easement Fraud Suit
A public accountant says a Georgia federal judge should throw out his indictment for helping orchestrate a $1.3 billion tax fraud scheme because the U.S. government has repeatedly violated his attorney-client privilege throughout the case.
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May 30, 2023
Shutts & Bowen Adds Land Use Pro From Becker
Shutts & Bowen LLP is expanding its South Florida real estate team, announcing Tuesday the addition of a Becker & Poliakoff PA land use expert as a partner in its Fort Lauderdale office.
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May 30, 2023
Justices Won't Wade Into Shell's Texas Waterway Fees Fight
Phillips 66 Co. and a Shell PLC subsidiary are on the hook to help fund an ongoing $1.2 billion construction project for a key Gulf of Mexico waterway after the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday turned down the companies' appeal.
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May 26, 2023
Blaze Intel Didn't Demand Shutoffs, PacifiCorp Jury Told
A Pacific Power executive who co-directed its emergency center during an Oregon wildfire cluster on Labor Day 2020 batted away claims on Friday that the company failed to shut off power when fire safety dictated, saying safety shutoffs can "create chaos," and he would have done nothing differently.
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May 26, 2023
DC Circ. Orders More Analysis Of $6B Gas Pipeline Impacts
A D.C. Circuit panel on Friday ordered the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to reconsider whether it needs to conduct further environmental impact analysis on a hotly contested $6 billion Appalachian pipeline based on evidence that the project's construction has led to more erosion and sedimentation than originally anticipated.
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May 26, 2023
$3B Calif. Dam Project That Violated State Law At A Crossroad
Activists and Native American tribal members breathed a sigh of relief after a California judge recently ruled a Bay Area water district violated the state's flagship environmental law while examining an environmentally sensitive region for a proposed reservoir expansion, leaving the nearly $3 billion project's future in limbo.
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May 26, 2023
Judge Says Alaska Needs BLM Say-So For Mining Road Work
The Alaska state agency developing a 211-mile mining access road across the state's northern wilderness has to get federal permission before starting any pre-construction groundwork for the project on federal, state or tribal land, a Last Frontier federal judge has clarified.
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May 25, 2023
Homeowners Push Wash. Justices Over Public Trail Access
The Washington State Supreme Court on Thursday weighed whether property owners can block public access to a lakeshore linked to a county recreational trail, with one justice suggesting the owners' argument is weakened by a century-old U.S. Supreme Court ruling that broadly interpreted federal government land patents.
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May 25, 2023
Winstead PC Adds McGinnis Lochridge Atty To P3 Team
Winstead PC has brought on a McGinnis Lochridge partner for the firm's P3, infrastructure and project finance industry group, adding an attorney who brings experience as chief operating officer and general counsel for a nonprofit dedicated to developing a park system via a public-private partnership with the city of Austin, Texas.
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May 25, 2023
Bannon's NY 'We Build The Wall' Trial Set For May 2024
A Manhattan jury is slated to hear evidence next spring that former White House adviser Stephen Bannon swindled donors seeking to build a southern U.S. border wall after a New York judge approved a late May trial date in the state fraud conspiracy case.
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May 25, 2023
High Court Narrows Feds' Power Under Clean Water Act
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday curtailed the federal government's authority to regulate wetlands under the Clean Water Act, issuing a narrow reading of the statute's scope that will have important consequences for permitting and enforcement.
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May 24, 2023
Congo Ducks Bid To Seize Trump Condo In $1B Award Fight
A New York federal judge has tossed for now a contractor's claims seeking to enforce about $1 billion in arbitral awards by seizing a Trump condo the construction company says was purchased with embezzled funds from the Republic of Congo's president for his daughter.
Expert Analysis
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As Sackett Trims Feds' Wetlands Role, States May Step Up
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Sackett v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency extinguishes federal authority over many currently regulated wetlands — meaning that federal permits will no longer be required to discharge pollutants in affected areas, but also that state regulators may take a more active role, say attorneys at Kelley Drye.
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How Fla. Tort Reform Will Shift Construction Defect Suits
Recent modifications to Florida's private statutory action rules for building code violations and to the statute of limitations and repose for defect claims significantly clarify ambiguity that had existed under previous rules, and both claimants and defendants should consider new legal arguments that may become possible, say Ryan Soohoo and George Truitt at Cole Scott.
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Biden's Enviro Justice Focus Brings New Business Risks
A recent executive order from President Joe Biden continues the administration's whole-of-government approach toward environmental justice, and its focus on transparency may increase the risk of permit challenges, enforcement actions and citizen suits, say attorneys at King & Spalding.
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Attorneys Should Have An Ethical Duty To Advance DEI
National and state bar associations are encouraging attorneys to apply diversity, equity and inclusion practices in the legal profession and beyond, and these associations should take it one step further by formally recognizing ethical duties for attorneys to promote DEI, which could better the legal profession and society, says Elena Mitchell at Moore & Van Allen.
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EV Chargers Can Bring Benefits For Calif. Property Owners
California property developers and owners face growing pressure to provide electric vehicle charging infrastructure — but this can be a unique opportunity to add value to real estate assets, and can be accomplished in multiple ways, say Riley Cutner-Orrantia and Eurie Hwang at Crosbie Gliner.
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Brownfield Renewables Guidance Leaves Site Eligibility Murky
Recent IRS guidance sheds some light on the Inflation Reduction Act's incentives for renewable energy development on contaminated sites — but the eligibility of certain sites for brownfield status remains uncertain, say Megan Caldwell and Jon Micah Goeller at Husch Blackwell.
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Water Infrastructure Crisis Requires Private Investment
The federal government is in the process of distributing billions of dollars recently allocated for upgrades to U.S. water infrastructure — but capital, beyond what government can provide, is needed to fully address decades of neglect, meaning that private investment must be a part of the solution, says Damian Georgino at Womble Bond.
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Ambiguity In 'Buy America' Implementation May Slow Projects
The White House Office of Management and Budget's most recent guidance, which builds on a complex patchwork of Buy America restrictions that vary by federal agency, would perpetuate government contractors' uncertainty regarding product and material classification and could delay infrastructure projects, say attorneys at Miles & Stockbridge.
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La. Suit Could Set New Enviro Justice Litigation Paradigm
Inclusive Louisiana v. St. James Parish, a lawsuit filed recently in Louisiana federal court that makes wide-ranging and novel constitutional and statutory claims of environmental racism based on centuries of local history, could become a new template for environmental justice litigation against governments and businesses, say attorneys at King & Spalding.
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It's Time For Lawyers To Stand Up For Climate Justice
The anniversary this week of the Deepwater Horizon disaster offers an opportunity for attorneys to embrace the practice of just transition lawyering — leveraging our skills to support communities on the front lines of climate change and environmental catastrophe as they pursue rebuilding and transformation, says Amy Laura Cahn at Taproot Earth.
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Without Stronger Due Diligence, Attys Risk AML Regulation
Amid increasing pressure to mitigate money laundering and terrorism financing risks in gatekeeper professions, the legal industry will need to clarify and strengthen existing client due diligence measures — or risk the federal regulation attorneys have long sought to avoid, says Jeremy Glicksman at the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office.
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The Legal Consequences Of High PFAS Background Levels
As federal and state regulations around per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances proliferate, emerging scientific literature is showing that PFAS exist in many environments at background levels that exceed regulatory limits — and the potential legal implications are profound, say Grant Gilezan and Paul Stewart at Dykema and Dylan Eberle at Geosyntec Consultants.
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Building On Successful Judicial Assignment Reform In Texas
Prompt action by the Judicial Conference could curtail judge shopping and improve the efficiency and procedural fairness of the federal courts by implementing random districtwide assignment of cases, which has recently proven successful in Texas patent litigation, says Dabney Carr at Troutman Pepper.