Residential

  • May 14, 2024

    RealPage, Landlords Look To Trim Ariz. Price-Fixing Case

    Rental algorithm company RealPage and several landlords have urged an Arizona state court to trim fraud claims from the attorney general's case accusing them of using software to illegally raise rents for hundreds of thousands of renters, and they also asked to limit the time frame for enforcers' antitrust claims.

  • May 14, 2024

    Keller Williams Freed From Fla. 'Shotgun' Class Action, For Now

    A Florida federal judge on Tuesday released Keller Williams Realty from a proposed racketeering class action, agreeing with a magistrate judge that the suit was a "shotgun pleading" claiming the broker sought to generate commissions by harassing homeowners into selling their properties.

  • May 14, 2024

    Colo. Lawmakers OK Sales Tax Exemption For Modular Homes

    New modular homes would be exempt from Colorado's sales and use taxes, saving taxpayers about $1 million annually, under legislation passed by lawmakers and heading to Gov. Jared Polis.

  • May 14, 2024

    Tenn. Judge Wants Default Win For Bank But No Atty Fees

    A Tennessee magistrate judge recommended partially granting a default judgment win to a bank suing a Florida-based developer accused of defaulting on about $15.3 million in loans, but also suggested denying the bank attorney fees.

  • May 14, 2024

    NJ Tax Court Nixes Condo Owners' Exemption Claims

    A New Jersey condominium building is not eligible for a five-year property tax exemption because the developer and owners did not enter into a tax agreement with the city prior to the units being built, the state Tax Court ruled.

  • May 14, 2024

    Activist Investor Pressures Proptech Co. To Privatize Or Sell

    Land & Buildings Investment Management urged SmartRent Inc. to consider privatizing or selling to a bigger business, arguing Tuesday that the property technology company is delivering lackluster results, despite the platform's popularity.

  • May 14, 2024

    Texas City, Homeowners Get Early Win In Land Dispute

    A federal judge has sided with a Texas city, a property owners association and others against a manufactured housing company's suit accusing the defendants of wrongfully impeding its development of nearly 300 lots.

  • May 13, 2024

    NYC Nonprofits Want Landlords' Housing Courts Suit Tossed

    New York City tenant and immigrant rights nonprofits urged a New York state court to toss a suit from landlords who claim the state's court system handles eviction proceedings so slowly and inefficiently that they're deprived of their property rights.

  • May 13, 2024

    REIT Says Vegas Hotels Win Backs Tossing DC RealPage Suit

    A real estate investment trust seeking out of the D.C. attorney general's rental algorithm price-fixing suit pointed the superior court judge to last week's decision tossing what it said are extremely similar allegations against a group of Las Vegas hotels.

  • May 13, 2024

    Peer Street Ch. 11 Ruling Hinges On Pro Se Creditor's Protest

    A Delaware bankruptcy judge told real estate investment platform Peer Street Inc. on Monday that she would make a final ruling on confirmation of the company's Chapter 11 plan in the coming days, but only after finishing a review of a pro se creditor's complaints about the otherwise consensual wind-down deal.

  • May 13, 2024

    NJ Justices Hold Contract Supersedes Real Estate Wage Law

    The contract a real estate agent signed deeming him an independent contractor is enough to resolve his claims of improper wage deductions, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled Monday, saying that a state three-prong test doesn't need to apply.

  • May 13, 2024

    JLL, Multifamily Developer Drop Row Over Procurement Fee

    Jones Lang LaSalle Americas Inc. permanently dropped its Florida federal court suit accusing a multifamily developer of owing it a procurement fee after JLL secured $24 million in financing for a Sunshine State apartment complex.

  • May 13, 2024

    Mass. Tax Board Rejects Plea To Cut Home Valuation

    A Massachusetts homeowner's argument that his property was overvalued because its assessment increased by a higher percentage than those of neighboring properties was rejected by the state's tax appeals board in a decision released Monday.

  • May 13, 2024

    NY Bill Seeks Property Tax Break For Upgrades To Cut Carbon

    New York would create a property tax exemption for capital improvements made to residential property for the purpose of reducing carbon emissions under a bill introduced in the state Assembly.

  • May 13, 2024

    NJ Firm's Former Exec Says Home Purchase Not Tied To Theft

    A previous McElroy Deutsch executive is fighting a claim on her house after her husband, another former firm leader, copped to stealing $1.5 million, arguing his theft began after January 2017 and therefore the firm could not show funds were used to purchase their New Jersey home in 2016.

  • May 13, 2024

    Justices Deny Review Bid From Convicted REIT Execs

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a bid by four incarcerated executives with Texas real estate investment trust United Development Funding to overturn a Fifth Circuit ruling upholding their convictions in a Ponzi scheme.

  • May 13, 2024

    Ex-Pa. City Housing Head Gets 3 Years In Prison For Fraud

    The former head of an economically distressed Pennsylvania city's public housing authority was sentenced Monday to over three years in prison for bilking the agency out of $545,000 through a yearslong scheme of submitting inflated contracting bills for housing repairs to line his own pockets.

  • May 13, 2024

    High Court Won't Take Up Wyo. Wildfire Suit

    The Supreme Court on Monday declined to review a suit by survivors of the 2018 Roosevelt wildfire in Wyoming against the U.S. Forest Service over the government's decisions in fighting the fires.

  • May 10, 2024

    Colo. Investor Says Fox Rothschild Atty's Missteps Cost $3M

    One of three investors behind a Colorado development has filed suit against Fox Rothschild LLP and an attorney in state court, alleging that the attorney's failures led the entity to lose upwards of $3 million when a relationship with the fellow investors soured.

  • May 10, 2024

    Solar Co. Stockholders Claim Execs, Board Caused Losses

    SunPower's current and former leadership was accused in a derivative shareholder suit of sending the residential solar power company into a financial tailspin by revising financial statements multiple times and causing the stock value to drop.

  • May 10, 2024

    3 Takeaways From The Real Deal's New York City Forum

    Industry professionals at The Real Deal's New York City Real Estate Forum this year aired a lot of grievances about housing and development policies in the Big Apple and Empire State, though panels also touched on a major problem facing lenders. 

  • May 10, 2024

    Ore. Court Drops Tax Value Of Rural Property

    The Oregon Tax Court lowered the real market valuation of a rural property with outbuildings used for storage of a car collection, relying partially on the owner's cost approach to the value.

  • May 10, 2024

    Nationstar Mortgage Wants To Escape 'Junk Fee' Suit

    Nationstar Mortgage LLC has asked a Washington federal judge to toss a proposed class action alleging it illegally charged homeowners a "junk fee" for written payoff quotes, saying the suit's claims fail because expedited payoff fees are not unlawful and do not breach the terms of the relevant loan agreements.

  • May 09, 2024

    Industry Orgs Urge DC Circ. To Ax HUD Disparate Impact Rule

    Several industry associations are backing a D.C. Circuit challenge to a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development rule governing disparate impact claims under the Fair Housing Act, contending the federal agency exceeded its powers and ignored Supreme Court precedent in issuing the regulation.

  • May 09, 2024

    Making Borrower Contact Ex Was Reasonable, Court Told

    A Connecticut woman's lawsuit accusing her mortgage servicer of forcing her to get in touch with an abusive ex-partner must be dismissed because it doesn't properly state a claim for violation of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the company told a federal court Thursday.

Expert Analysis

  • Insurance Rulings Continue Expansion Of Appraisal's Ambit

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    Two recent Illinois insurance cases allowing property damage appraisers to determine causation — Wysoczan v. Cambridge in federal court and Shelter v. Morrow in state appellate court — perpetuate a judicial trend that will result in a slower, more expensive and cumbersome appraisal process that resembles litigation, says Matthew Fortin at BatesCarey.

  • In The CFPB Playbook: The Bureau In The Courts

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    From defending the constitutionality of its funding and the scope of its rulemaking authority in the courts to releasing more nonbinding guidance, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau had a busy summer. Orrick's John Coleman discusses all this and more in the second installment of quarterly bureau activity recaps by former CFPB personnel.

  • Fintech Cos. Should Consider Asset-Based Financing For RE

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    Fintech companies that own or plan to acquire real property may be able to utilize asset-based financings to access more efficient and cost-effective forms of capital beyond traditional venture capital sources, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.

  • What To Consider When Converting Calif. Offices To Housing

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    In light of California legislators' recent efforts to expedite the process for converting offices into residential buildings, developers should evaluate both the societal upsides, and the significant economic and legal hurdles, of such conversions, says Steven Otto at Crosbie Gliner.

  • How New Lawyers Can Leverage Feedback For Growth

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    Embracing constructive criticism as a tool for success can help new lawyers accelerate their professional growth and law firms build a culture of continuous improvement, says Katie Aldrich at Fringe Professional Development.

  • 9 Consumer Finance Issues To Note From CFPB Report

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    A recent report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau highlights abusive consumer finance tactics that the agency uncovered during supervisory examinations over the last year — among the most significant issues identified: deceptive practices in automotive loan servicing, and consumer reporting and debt collection compliance failures, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

  • Twitter Legal Fees Suit Offers Crash Course In Billing Ethics

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    X Corp.'s suit alleging that Wachtell grossly inflated its fees in the final days of Elon Musk’s Twitter acquisition provides a case study in how firms should protect their reputations by hewing to ethical billing practices and the high standards for professional conduct that govern attorney-client relationships, says Lourdes Fuentes at Karta Legal.

  • Transaction Risks In Residential Mortgage M&A Due Diligence

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    As the residential mortgage market continues to consolidate due to interest rate increases and low housing volume, buyers and sellers should pay attention to a number of compliance considerations ranging from fair lending laws to employee classification, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.

  • Ore. Warranty Ruling Complicates Insurance Classification

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    The Oregon Court of Appeals' recent TruNorth v. Department of Consumer and Business Services holding that a service contract — commonly referred to as an extended warranty — covering commercial property is subject to the state's consumer service contract laws raises regulatory questions for contract obligors, sellers and administrators, say attorneys at Locke Lord.

  • ABA's Money-Laundering Resolution Is A Balancing Act

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    While the American Bar Association’s recently passed resolution recognizes a lawyer's duty to discontinue representation that could facilitate money laundering and other fraudulent activity, it preserves, at least for now, the delicate balance of judicial, state-based regulation of the legal profession and the sanctity of the attorney-client relationship, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.

  • FCRA Legislation To Watch For The Remainder Of 2023

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    If enacted, pending federal and state legislation may result in significant changes for the Fair Credit Reporting Act landscape and thus require regulated entities and practitioners to pivot their compliance strategies, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

  • Regulators Must Get Creative To Keep Groundwater Flowing

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    Even as populations have boomed in Sun Belt states like Arizona, California and Texas, groundwater levels have diminished due to drought and overuse — so regulators must explore options including pumping limits, groundwater replenishment and wastewater reuse to ensure future supplies for residential and commercial needs, says Jeffrey Davis at Integral Consulting.

  • Law Firm Professional Development Steps To Thrive In AI Era

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    As generative artificial intelligence tools rapidly evolve, professional development leaders are instrumental in preparing law firms for the paradigm shifts ahead, and should consider three strategies to help empower legal talent with the skills required to succeed in an increasingly complex technological landscape, say Steve Gluckman and Anusia Gillespie at SkillBurst Interactive.