Residential

  • May 15, 2024

    NYCB To Sell $5B In Warehouse Loans To JPMorgan Chase

    New York Community Bancorp announced it has agreed to sell $5 billion worth of mortgage warehouse loans to JPMorgan Chase Bank.

  • May 15, 2024

    Mortgage Co.'s $2.4M Data Breach Settlement Gets Initial OK

    A Connecticut federal judge gave her initial sign-off to a $2.4 million settlement between mortgage firm Planet Home Lending LLC and a consolidated class of customers whose personal data, including their Social Security numbers, was exposed in a cyberattack.

  • 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.

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • What Upholding Of Short-Term Rental Law Means For NYC

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    A New York state judge's dismissal of Airbnb's challenge against the Short-Term Rental Registration Law will benefit the city's hospitality industry and exert downward pressure on apartment rents, and potentially provide a model for other local governments around the U.S. to curb short-term apartment rentals, says Alexander Lycoyannis at Holland & Knight.

  • Key Provisions In Florida's New Insurer Accountability Act

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    Florida's recent bipartisan Insurer Accountability Act introduces a range of new obligations for insurance companies and regulatory bodies to strengthen consumer protection, and other states may follow suit should it prove successful at ensuring a reliable insurance market, say Jan Larson and Benjamin Malings at Jenner & Block.

  • Fair Lending Activity: Calm On The Surface, Churning Below

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    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recently released annual fair lending report to Congress confirms that despite the paucity of public fair lending enforcement actions in 2022, the CFPB and prudential banking agencies are engaged in significant nonpublic oversight, examination and enforcement activities, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • The Basics Of Being A Knowledge Management Attorney

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    Michael Lehet at Ogletree Deakins discusses the role of knowledge management attorneys at law firms, the common tasks they perform and practical tips for lawyers who may be considering becoming one.

  • To Hire And Keep Top Talent, Think Beyond Compensation

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    Firms seeking to appeal to sophisticated clients and top-level partners should promote mentorship, ensure that attorneys from diverse backgrounds feel valued, and clarify policies about at-home work, says Patrick Moya at Quaero Group.

  • Negotiating Material Escalation In Construction Contracts

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    As material price escalation clauses have remained popular in construction contracts despite an easing of recent supply chain issues, attorneys representing owners should understand key considerations for negotiating such clauses, and strategies to mitigate potential exploitation by contractors, says H. Arthur Black II at Brooks Pierce.

  • Identifying Trends And Tips In Litigation Financing Disclosure

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    Growing interest and controversy in litigation financing raise several salient concerns, but exploring recent compelled disclosure trends from courts around the country can help practitioners further their clients' interests, say Sean Callagy and Samuel Sokolsky at Arnold & Porter.

  • Key Drivers Behind Widespread Adoption Of NAV Financing

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    While net asset value-based lending has existed for years, NAV lending has only started to move into the mainstream recently — likely due to difficult market conditions faced by sponsors including persistent inflation, high interest rates and a lack of exit opportunities, say Matthew Kerfoot and Jinyoung Joo at Proskauer.

  • The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Elrod On 'Jury Duty'

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    Though the mockumentary series “Jury Duty” features purposely outrageous characters, it offers a solemn lesson about the simple but brilliant design of the right to trial by jury, with an unwitting protagonist who even John Adams may have welcomed as an impartial foreperson, says Fifth Circuit Judge Jennifer Elrod.

  • Beware Unique Compliance Risks In Home Equity Lending

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    As borrowers increasingly look to junior-lien mortgages and home equity lines of credit instead of first-lien mortgages, regulators will pay increased attention in turn and lenders will have to watch for a number of legal and regulatory pitfalls as they rush to meet this newfound demand, say attorneys at Orrick.

  • 4 Business-Building Strategies For Introvert Attorneys

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Introverted lawyers can build client bases to rival their extroverted peers’ by adapting time-tested strategies for business development that can work for any personality — such as claiming a niche, networking for maximum impact, drawing on existing contacts and more, says Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein.

  • New AI Lending Tech Could Exacerbate Old Bias Risks

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    As credit and mortgage lending businesses increasingly utilize artificial intelligence technology to help make decisions, they must be aware of the legal risks that may arise under familiar anti-discrimination laws, say Kali Bracey and Grace Wallack at Jenner & Block.