Residential
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March 28, 2024
8th Circ. Won't Revive Fannie, Freddie Investors' FHFA Suit
The Eighth Circuit on Thursday refused to revive Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac investors' suit alleging the Federal Housing Finance Agency's leadership and financial deals violated the U.S. Constitution, saying the investors failed to show how they were harmed by the now-upended restrictions on removing the agency's director.
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March 28, 2024
Q&A: Former Calif. Insurance Chief On Climate & Rate Setting
From intense wildfires to devastating floods, the effects of climate change on California's insurance market cannot be understated, a fact that experts point to often as regulators weigh how to bring insurers back to business in the Golden State.
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March 28, 2024
Ga. Airbnb Owner Must Face Suit Over Off-Property Injury
A woman who was injured by a falling limb outside an Airbnb in Savannah, Georgia, has had part of her suit revived by a state appeals court, which found that the rental owner could be liable for the injury because it occurred on an "approach" to his property though not directly on it.
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March 28, 2024
MLS, Trade Group Say DOJ Deal Fix Itself Anti-Competitive
The U.S. Department of Justice drew fire Wednesday for pushing what a real estate trade group argued would itself be an anti-competitive rule, as the DOJ and other outside groups vie to influence a proposed $3 million settlement over house broker commissions in Massachusetts federal court.
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March 28, 2024
Mortgage Co. Misclassified Workers As OT-Exempt, Suit Says
A Michigan mortgage company has not been paying its loan officers, processors, partners and lead generators overtime premiums for the hours they worked over 40 or all their wages earned, two former employees claimed in a proposed collective action filed in federal court.
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March 28, 2024
Flood Risk Disclosure Law Uptick Offers Insurance Upsides
A growing trend of states adopting and implementing flood risk disclosure laws must continue, experts say, touting such laws as protecting consumers and informing efforts to mitigate climate change costs through insurance and other risk management efforts.
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March 28, 2024
Texas Airbnb Host Says Suit Over Fatal Blast In Wrong Venue
The Texas owner of an Airbnb rental unit in Jamaica where a gas stove exploded, causing fatal injuries to a Connecticut woman, says she cannot be sued where the victim lived, arguing that she never targeted the online listing for the property to anyone in Connecticut and that the federal court there lacks jurisdiction over her as a resident of Texas.
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March 28, 2024
Spokeo Accused Of Flouting NJ Judicial Protection Law
Spokeo Inc., the people search database provider, violated New Jersey state law by not removing information about law enforcement personnel from its database after requests were filed, a data privacy company contends in a lawsuit.
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March 28, 2024
Investors Strike $42.5M Deal In Brookfield-GGP Merger Suit
Brookfield Property Partners LP has reached a tentative $42.5 million deal to bring an end to a yearslong battle with stockholders who alleged they were given misleading information about the global real estate company's 2018 acquisition of U.S. mall operator GGP Inc.
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March 28, 2024
Va. Landowners Return To Supreme Court In FERC Challenge
Virginia residents with property being condemned for the Mountain Valley Pipeline are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review a D.C. Circuit decision dismissing their suit challenging the constitutionality of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's eminent domain authority, and its ability to delegate that authority to private companies.
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March 28, 2024
Ore. To Give Tax Break For Wildfire Settlement Payouts
Oregon victims of wildfires who receive funds in civil actions will not owe income tax on those payments under legislation signed into law by the governor.
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March 27, 2024
5th Circ. Reissues Arb. Decision In Hurricane Damage Case
The Fifth Circuit has reissued its opinion allowing a group of domestic insurers to force arbitration of a dispute over coverage for hurricane damage under an international arbitration clause after the insurers argued that the unanimous decision applied circuit precedent in a new context.
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March 27, 2024
Vrbo Host Is Breaking Zoning Regs, Conn. High Court Told
Some justices of the Connecticut Supreme Court signaled on Wednesday that a lower court may have failed to provide a workable definition of the word "residence" when deciding that a Branford-based zoning board's regulations allowed short-term rentals through services like Vrbo and Airbnb.
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March 27, 2024
NYC Mayor Says City Laws Can't Expand Housing Vouchers
New York City Mayor Eric Adams has urged a state court to rule against a proposed class that wants the court to enforce a set of local laws aiming to expand a housing voucher program, saying those measures conflict with state law.
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March 27, 2024
Zaxby's Co-Founder's $43M Easement Fight Headed For Trial
A trial will be needed to determine whether a co-founder of the Zaxby's restaurant chain and his wife are entitled to a $43.3 million tax refund for donations of conservation easements, a Georgia federal judge ruled Wednesday, saying the value of the easements remains in dispute.
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March 27, 2024
4th Circ. Overturns Fraud Ruling In Suit Over $4.5M Home Buy
The Fourth Circuit on Wednesday revived fraud claims brought by the buyers of a $4.5 million Virginia home who accuse the seller of lying about licenses and permits for improvements to lure them into the purchase, with the panel concluding a federal district court flubbed decisions on the claims.
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March 27, 2024
Minn. Justices Uphold Tax Break For Housing Charity
A Minnesota charity is entitled to a property tax exemption for its low-income housing development, the state Supreme Court ruled Wednesday, finding that the property is operated by the organization in line with its charitable purpose.
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March 27, 2024
Kan. House Passes Tax Rate Cuts, Early End To Food Tax
Kansas would change its income tax structure, lower its bank tax, exempt food from state sales tax and issue property tax relief under a bill passed Wednesday by the state House of Representatives.
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March 27, 2024
Detroit Claims Feds' Headcount Skewed By Demolitions
The federal government is underestimating Detroit's population as it penalizes the city for demolishing abandoned homes and ignores the rehabilitation of vacant homes, causing the city to lose out on federal funds tied to population, Detroit said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday.
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March 27, 2024
CoreLogic Sued For Violating NJ Judicial Protections Law
A proposed class action removed to New Jersey federal court on Tuesday accuses property data company CoreLogic of failing to comply with a state law requiring it to delete records of certain public officials, including judges and law enforcement officials.
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March 27, 2024
11th Circ. Affirms Experian's Win In Credit Reporting Suit
The Eleventh Circuit has determined a district court didn't err in evidentiary rulings in a case brought by a Florida resident against Experian Information Solutions Inc. alleging it inaccurately reported a discharged mortgage in his credit history, upholding a verdict in favor of the company.
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March 27, 2024
Disney Affordable Housing Complex Teed Up For State Review
Disney's proposal to build a 1,410-unit affordable housing complex in Orange County, Florida, is headed to the state for approval after a county Board of Commissioners vote that followed on the heels of residents' divided testimony.
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March 27, 2024
Yardi Says Interest Rates Are Slowing Self-Storage Demand
Real estate software company Yardi said tough market conditions and high interest rates are showing signs of slowing deal volume and construction for self-storage projects, although an improvement in the housing market could bring fresh demand.
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March 27, 2024
Real Estate Exec Asks To Toss Shareholder's Self-Dealing Suit
The president of a real estate management and investment firm asked a California federal court to toss a derivative shareholder suit accusing him of misusing nearly $35 million of company revenue in various ways, including hiring a business he owned with his mistress.
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March 27, 2024
Legal Patchwork On Foreign Land Ownership Stirs Confusion
In the last year and a half, 39 states have taken action to restrict foreign entities and people from owning various forms of real estate. Some lawyers say the patchwork of new legislation has created a quagmire of confusion, chaos and uncertainty for investors, particularly private equity funds with large pools of backers.
Developers Get Creative With Adaptive Reuse In South Florida
South Florida residents may not be expecting to attend a doctor's appointment in a shuttered movie theater, play pickleball in a former warehouse or move into an apartment building in a shopping center's parking lot, but creative redevelopment projects like these are catching on in the region.
NY Landlords Say Rent Law Update OK'd 'Warrantless' Search
Landlords in New York's Hudson Valley have filed suit against the state and two cities, alleging a December law that raised the stakes for property owners that fail to cooperate with municipalities looking to enact rent stabilization is unconstitutional.
NAR Pitches Broker Fee Shakeup To Quiet Antitrust Scrutiny
As soon as this summer, The National Association of Realtors could retire a long-standing system traditionally setting brokers fees at 6% of the cost of a home sale, in a change to escape mounting claims that the rules caused home sellers to pay more than their fair share.
Expert Analysis
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Conn. Loan Law Tweaks May Have 3 Major Effects On Lenders
Recently proposed minor amendments to Connecticut’s consumer protection laws could nonetheless mean major and unexpected changes to state consumer financial services regulations that dictate how lenders and their customer-facing service providers handle fee payments, mortgage servicer licensing and private student loans, says Jonathan Joshua at Joshua Law Firm.
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Document Retention Best Practices To Lower Litigation Risks
As new technologies emerge and terabytes of data can be within the purview of a single discovery request, businesses small and large should take four document management steps to effectively minimize risks of litigation and discovery sanctions long before litigation ensues, says Kimbrilee Weber at Norris McLaughlin.
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Riding My Peloton Bike Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Using the Peloton platform for cycling, running, rowing and more taught me that fostering a mind-body connection will not only benefit you physically and emotionally, but also inspire stamina, focus, discipline and empathy in your legal career, says Christopher Ward at Polsinelli.
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The Challenges SEC's Climate Disclosure Rule May Face
Attorneys at Debevoise examine potential legal challenges to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's new climate-related disclosure rule — against which nine suits have already been filed — including arguments under the Administrative Procedure Act, the major questions doctrine, the First Amendment and the nondelegation doctrine.
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Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: March Lessons
In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses four notable circuit court decisions on topics from consumer fraud to employment — and provides key takeaways for counsel on issues including coercive communications with putative class members and Article III standing at the class certification stage.
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Spartan Arbitration Tactics Against Well-Funded Opponents
Like the ancient Spartans who held off a numerically superior Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae, trial attorneys and clients faced with arbitration against an opponent with a bigger war chest can take a strategic approach to create a pass to victory, say Kostas Katsiris and Benjamin Argyle at Venable.
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How FinCEN Proposal Expands RE Transaction Obligations
Against a regulatory backdrop foreshadowing anti-money laundering efforts in the real estate sector, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's proposed rule significantly expands reporting requirements for certain nonfinanced residential real estate transfers and necessitates careful review, say attorneys at Fried Frank.
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How Calif. Video Recording Ruling May Affect Insured Exams
A recent California appellate decision, Myasnyankin v. Nationwide, allowing policyholders to video record all parties to an insurance examination under oath, has changed the rules of the road for EUOs and potentially opened Pandora's box for future disputes, say John Edson and Preston Bennett at Sheppard Mullin.
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Unpacking FinCEN's Proposed Real Estate Transaction Rule
Phil Jelsma and Ulrick Matsunaga at Crosbie Gliner take a close look at the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's recently proposed rulemaking — which mandates new disclosures for professionals involved in all-cash real estate deals — and discuss best next steps for the broad range of businesses that could be affected.
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Texas Insurance Ruling Could Restore Finality To Appraisal
The Texas Supreme Court's decision in Rodriguez v. Safeco, determining that full payment of an appraisal award precludes recovery of attorney fees, indicates a potential return to an era in which timely payment undoubtedly disposes of all possible policyholder claims, says Karl Schulz at Cozen O'Connor.
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Contractors Need Protection From NJ Homeowner Protections
A recently passed New Jersey law, combined with the state's Consumer Fraud Act, is intended to protect innocent homeowners, but legislative action must be taken to prevent homeowners from abusing the law to avoid paying hardworking contractors, say Gary Strong and Madison Calkins at Gfeller Laurie.
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NY Shouldn't Pair 421-a Restoration And Good Cause Eviction
The good cause eviction system of rent control should not be imposed in New York, nor should its legislation be tied to renewal of the 421-a tax abatement program, which New York City desperately needs, says Alexander Lycoyannis at Holland & Knight.
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Setting The Stage For High Court BofA Escrow Interest Case
Dori Bailey and Curtis Johnson at Bond Schoeneck examine relevant legislation and case law dating back 200 years ahead of oral arguments at the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday in Cantero v. Bank of America, the outcome of which will determine whether state laws governing mortgage escrow accounts can be enforced against national banks.