More Real Estate Coverage

  • December 21, 2023

    Feds, Osage Nation See Win In Wind Farm 'Mining' Row

    A federal judge in Oklahoma largely granted summary judgment to the U.S. government and Osage Nation in their long-running wind farm dispute with Enel Green Power North America Inc. and two subsidiaries, and ordered the ejectment of 84 wind turbines after the companies failed for years to get a required mineral lease.

  • December 21, 2023

    How Miami Law Firms Combined To Meet Condo Law Demand

    To help meet a spike in the demand for condominium and construction law expertise in South Florida, Haber Law recently brought on the entire seven-attorney team from boutique Gursky Ragan PA, which specializes in construction and condominium law. Law360 Pulse recently caught up with the founders of the two firms to learn more about the combination and the market for their services in the Sunshine State.

  • December 20, 2023

    9th Circ.'s 1st Hidden Rain Damage Ruling Favors Insurers

    Taking up the matter of hidden water damage for the first time, a Ninth Circuit panel affirmed that former insurers of a Washington condo don't have to cover more than $8.9 million in wind-driven rain damage because the claims came decades too late.

  • December 20, 2023

    Biden Admin Tells 10th Circ. To Uphold Monument Rulings

    The Biden administration is urging the Tenth Circuit to back a pair of lower court rulings finding its two proclamations redesignating large swaths of southern Utah as part of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments do not exceed presidential limits under federal law.

  • December 20, 2023

    DOJ, CFPB Hit Texas Lender With 1st Predatory Lending Suit

    The U.S. Department of Justice and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau have brought a precedent-setting predatory lending suit against a Texas real estate developer and lender, alleging that it participated in a "bait and switch land sale scheme" that targeted Spanish-speaking borrowers. 

  • December 20, 2023

    Developer Faces Accessibility Suit Over 3 NYC Properties

    The Fair Housing Justice Center has filed suit against New York City developer Chess Builders LLC and a handful of affiliates and architect partners in federal court, saying fair housing testers reported numerous inaccessible features at three new developments.

  • December 20, 2023

    The Biggest Environmental Regulatory Actions Of 2023

    The Biden administration continued to strengthen environmental regulations during 2023, finalizing rules that imposed new asbestos reporting requirements, banning some uses of hydrofluorocarbons and cracking down on methane emissions, as well as floating a new proposal to control greenhouse gas pollution from power plants — but a signature Clean Water Act action was dealt a devastating blow by the U.S. Supreme Court. Here are some of the top environmental policy developments in 2023.

  • December 19, 2023

    Ga., Park Service Want Out Of Suit Over Island's Feral Horses

    The U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service authorities and two Georgia commissioners told a state federal judge Tuesday that a lawsuit claiming they unlawfully allowed malnourished feral horses to run roughshod on Cumberland Island must be thrown out.

  • December 19, 2023

    Sackett Warrants Win For La. Landowner, 5th Circ. Says

    The Fifth Circuit declared "enough is enough" Monday, freeing a Louisiana pine timber plantation from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' claim that its property contains Clean Water Act-protected wetlands, citing a recent important U.S. Supreme Court decision.

  • December 19, 2023

    FERC Approved Unneeded La. LNG Pipeline, DC Circ. Told

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission unlawfully approved an unneeded project when it gave the go-ahead to a Tellurian subsidiary's $1.4 billion plan to construct 67 miles of gas pipelines in Louisiana to feed a liquefied natural gas export terminal, environmental groups told the D.C. Circuit.

  • December 19, 2023

    Chiesa Shahinian Makes Leadership Moves For RE 'Explosion'

    Chiesa Shahinian and Giantomasi PC has announced a reorganization of its real estate department with the establishment of teams for taxation and for redevelopment, land use and zoning, and the promotion of longtime experts from within the firm to lead them.

  • December 18, 2023

    Contractor Brings $285M Arbitrator Bias Case To High Court

    A contractor enlisted on a multibillion-dollar project to widen the Panama Canal has urged the U.S. Supreme Court to review an Eleventh Circuit decision refusing to vacate $285 million in arbitral awards, arguing the justices must resolve lingering confusion over the vacatur standard for evident partiality.

  • December 18, 2023

    Kentucky Urges 6th Circ. To Revive WOTUS Suit

    Kentucky on Monday urged the Sixth Circuit to revive its lawsuit challenging the federal government's controversial rule defining its jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act.

  • December 18, 2023

    Alaska LNG Enviro Review Still Lacking, DC Circ. Told

    The U.S. Department of Energy continues to unlawfully discount the climate change harms associated with a $43 billion liquefied natural gas project in Alaska despite performing a supplemental environmental review, environmental groups told the D.C. Circuit.

  • December 18, 2023

    Oil Co. Defends Appeal In Fraud Suit Against Pittsburgh Firm

    An oil and gas producer alleging it was defrauded by a Pittsburgh-based law firm in a land purchase deal defended its appeal to the Third Circuit, asking the court to reinstate its fraud litigation against Tucker Arensberg after the case was dismissed as time-barred.

  • December 15, 2023

    Parties Want To Revisit Ore. Dam Review In 5 Years

    The states of Oregon and Washington, as well as a coalition of green groups and Native American tribes, have entered into a joint agreement with the federal government to pause their lawsuit over hydropower practices on the Columbia River until 2029, as the parties begin restoring salmon habitats.

  • December 15, 2023

    Tulsa Can't Prosecute Crimes In Indian Country, Judge Says

    The city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, lacks jurisdiction to prosecute Native Americans for municipal crimes committed on reservation lands, a federal court judge determined Friday, saying an appellate court mandate that dismissed an early 19th-century law governing judicial authority over Indian Country will remain in effect.

  • December 15, 2023

    Property Plays: Hines, MG Properties, Prudential

    Hines plans to build a Dallas residential tower, MG Properties has paid $76 million for a Denver multifamily property and Prudential Financial has loaned $75 million for an Illinois apartment building.

  • December 14, 2023

    Seattle Woman Drops Trafficking Suit Against Red Roof

    A woman who says she was trafficked in a Seattle Red Roof Inn voluntarily dropped her case against the hotel company Thursday.

  • December 13, 2023

    NY Thruway Uses Cayuga Land Without Permission, Suit Says

    The Cayuga Nation has filed suit against New York State seeking a cut of the tolls collected on the New York State Thruway where it passes through the 64,000-acre reservation promised to the nation in a 1794 treaty.

  • December 13, 2023

    SG Urges High Court To Back 5th Circ. In Texas Takings Case

    U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar filed an amicus brief in a U.S. Supreme Court takings dispute related to traffic barriers along a Texas highway, urging the high court to uphold the Fifth Circuit's ruling that the takings clause of the Fifth Amendment does not itself supply a cause of action for monetary relief against a state. 

  • December 13, 2023

    Justices Urged To Review $26M Easement Deduction Tax Row

    A partnership asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear its bid to keep a $26.5 million deduction for a land conservation easement, saying the case was not barred by a law that prohibits suits to restrain the collection of taxes.

  • December 12, 2023

    Fishing Groups Seek 1st Circ.'s Take On Vineyard Wind Farm

    Commercial fishing groups are asking the First Circuit to undo a Massachusetts federal judge's ruling nixing their challenge of U.S. Department of the Interior approvals for the Vineyard Wind 1 project, and to block development of the offshore wind farm before it causes more harm to their livelihoods and the environment.

  • December 12, 2023

    NY Bills Could Cut Private Universities' Tax Breaks

    New York would pare tax breaks granted to private universities by repealing exemptions for real and personal property tax exemption as well as taking away tax-exempt status for institutions, under two bills introduced in the state Senate.

  • December 12, 2023

    Real Estate Rumors: Affinius Capital, Relevant Group, Adler

    Affinius Capital and Simmons Bank have reportedly loaned $85.1 million for an Arizona multifamily property, Relevant Group is said to have sold a Los Angeles hotel for $12 million, and Adler Real Estate Partners is said to have sold three Maryland properties for $4.2 million.

Expert Analysis

  • Litigators Should Approach AI Tools With Caution

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    Artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT hold potential to streamline various aspects of the litigation process, resulting in improved efficiency and outcomes, but should be carefully double-checked for confidentiality, plagiarism and accuracy concerns, say Zachary Foster and Melanie Kalmanson at Quarles & Brady.

  • How Proposed BOEM Regs Will Boost Offshore Wind Projects

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    Newly proposed offshore wind project regulations from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management represent a substantial regulatory shift that will improve transparency around the timing of lease auctions, streamline approval and oversight for projects in development, and provide needed guidance for future projects, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • Mapping The Transport Sector's Road To Zero Emissions

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    Transportation companies that hope to lead the multiagency U.S. National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization's recently announced transition to zero-emission vehicles and fuels should anticipate a host of commercial and legal issues, say Levi McAllister and Pamela Wu at Morgan Lewis.

  • 5 Ways Attorneys Can Use Emotion In Client Pitches

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    Lawyers are skilled at using their high emotional intelligence to build rapport with clients, so when planning your next pitch, consider how you can create some emotional peaks, personal connections and moments of magic that might help you stick in prospective clients' minds and seal the deal, says consultant Diana Kander.

  • A Look At Lease Expansion Options In A Challenging Market

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    Expansion options can provide a powerful incentive for businesses to sign long-term leases even amid economic uncertainty, but both landlords and tenants must carefully consider the potential rights and terms, says Kris Ferranti at Shearman.

  • 5 Keys To A Productive Mediation

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    Cortney Young at ADR Partners discusses factors that can help to foster success in mediation, including scheduling, preparation, managing client expectations and more.

  • Evaluating The Legal Ethics Of A ChatGPT-Authored Motion

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    Aimee Furness and Sam Mallick at Haynes Boone asked ChatGPT to draft a motion to dismiss, and then scrutinized the resulting work product in light of attorneys' ethical and professional responsibility obligations.

  • 7 Tips To Increase Your Law Firm's DEI Efforts In 2023

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    Law firms looking to advance their diversity, equity and inclusion efforts should consider implementing new practices and initiatives this year, including some that require nominal additional effort or expense, say Janet Falk at Falk Communications and Gina Rubel at Furia Rubel.

  • Keys To A 9-0 High Court Win: Get Back To Home Base

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    When I argued for the petitioner in Morgan v. Sundance before the U.S. Supreme Court last year, I made the idea of consistency the cornerstone of my case and built a road map for my argument to ensure I could always return to that home-base theme, says Karla Gilbride at Public Justice.

  • New US Waters Definition May Rock The Boat

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    Federal agencies' latest attempt to define "waters of the United States" attempts to avoid previous rules' failings, though it will potentially increase administrative difficulties for regulated entities and also leaves ample ground for litigation, say Christopher Thomas and Andrea Driggs at Perkins Coie.

  • Atty-Client Privilege Arguments Give Justices A Moving Target

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    Recent oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court in a case regarding the scope of the attorney-client privilege appeared to raise more questions about multipurpose counsel communications than they answered, as the parties presented shifting iterations of a predictable, easily applied test for evaluating the communications' purpose, say Trey Bourn and Thomas DiStanislao at Butler Snow.

  • 5 Gen X Characteristics That Can Boost Legal Leadership

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    As Generation X attorneys rise to fill top roles in law firms and corporations left by retiring baby boomers, they should embrace generational characteristics that will allow them to become better legal leaders, says Meredith Kahan at Whiteford Taylor.

  • 6 Questions For Boutique Firms Considering Mergers

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    To prepare for discussions with potential merger partners, boutique law firms should first consider the challenges they hope to address with a merger and the qualities they prioritize in possible partner firms, say Howard Cohl and Ron Nye at Major Lindsey.

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