Residential
-
September 22, 2023
Ch. 11 Trustee Flags Family Ties In $75M NYC Site Payout
A U.S. trustee argued that a Chapter 11 plan for a Manhattan ultra-luxury project failed to disclose that a principal for the senior creditor is the father-in-law of a principal for debtor Luxe NYC, calling into question terms of the deal that benefit the creditor company.
-
September 22, 2023
Insurer Settles Negligence Suit Against Plumbing Contractor
An insurer reached a settlement in its negligence lawsuit against a plumbing contractor, resolving its bid to recover more than $700,000 paid to an insured over a water leak following the contractor's work.
-
September 22, 2023
NY Appellate Court Rules Firm Not Liable For Housing Scheme
A private equity firm and a related entity should not be liable for a $13.6 million judgment over an affordable housing tax exemption scheme perpetrated by a company they allegedly controlled, a New York state appeals court ruled.
-
September 22, 2023
Holland & Knight Adds Pair Of Chicago Real Estate Pros
Holland & Knight LLP announced Thursday the firm has brought on a pair of real estate partners in its Chicago office.
-
September 22, 2023
Lower-Income Areas See Most Eviction Filings In Phoenix
Corporate landlords in Phoenix have taken the most eviction cases to court in areas where the combined average household income is below the Maricopa County average, according to an investigation by Law360. In the second part of a two-part series on evictions in Maricopa County among the area’s largest landlords, Law360 looks at demographics.
-
September 22, 2023
Phoenix's Top Corporate Owners More Likely To File Evictions
Law360 took a close look at adjudicated eviction cases in Phoenix and found that the largest Wall Street landlords are filing at a rate that surpasses the average in one of the nation's most populous counties and cities.
-
September 21, 2023
Land-Use Attys Hail NYC Housing Plan But Expect Opposition
Attorneys in New York City who specialize in land-use matters have praised Mayor Eric Adams' administration for a suite of proposals announced Thursday to spur housing development, while cautioning that parts of the wide-ranging plan will likely face pushback.
-
September 21, 2023
Mortgage Lender Wants Arbitration In Trade Secrets Suit
Mortgage lending company New American Funding has asked a California federal judge to send a lawsuit accusing it of stealing a rival's trade secrets to arbitration as required under its employment agreement.
-
September 21, 2023
Insurer Says $3.7M Pool Damage Award Not Covered
A construction company's insurer urged a Montana federal court to find that it doesn't have to indemnify the company for a $3.7 million judgment awarded to homeowners for flawed pool construction, arguing that its commercial general liability policies do not provide coverage.
-
September 21, 2023
Arizona Pols Ask Justices To Nix 9th Circ. Homeless Ruling
Arizona's House speaker and Senate president urged the U.S. Supreme Court this week to undo a Ninth Circuit ruling that has halted the criminalization of "involuntarily homeless" residents in Oregon, alleging it violates the principles of federalism and separation of powers.
-
September 21, 2023
Ill. City Dodges $6M Property Tax Refund After 20-Year Suit
An Illinois city doesn't need to repay $6 million in property taxes to the former owners of an apartment complex who paid those taxes while they were fighting the city's eminent domain suit in court, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled Thursday, reversing a lower appellate panel that held otherwise and ending a nearly two-decade dispute.
-
September 21, 2023
NY Investigating Rental Co. For Housing Discrimination
The New York attorney general is investigating a luxury apartment rental company that manages over 2,000 apartments in New York City for housing discrimination.
-
September 21, 2023
Real Estate Rumors: Elton John, Albany Road, Penske Media
Elton John is rumored to be leaving Atlanta after listing his condo for nearly $5 million, investment firm Albany Road Real Estate Partners has reportedly purchased nearly 30 acres in South Florida for $21 million, and Penske Media is said to be moving its headquarters after signing a 125,000-square-foot lease in Los Angeles.
-
September 21, 2023
Mother's Death In Apartment Fire Not Subject To Arbitration
A Colorado state appeals court on Thursday found that a suit brought by two women over the death of their mother in an apartment fire is immune from an arbitration clause in the mother's lease agreement, as the wrongful death claims fall under the state's Premises Liability Act.
-
September 21, 2023
NYC's New Emissions Law Could Cost Landlords Millions
Months away from New York City imposing its decarbonization law, JLL research director Andrew Lim estimates the changes will affect 50,000 buildings across the city whose owners will need to update their structures and systems or face steep fines as the city races to an ambitious 80% emissions reduction goal.
-
September 21, 2023
Colo. Ski Resort Land In Housing Dispute Valued At $17.5M
A court-appointed commission placed a $17.5 million value on land where a Colorado ski resort's plans to build workforce housing were thwarted to protect a bighorn sheep herd.
-
September 21, 2023
DC Housing Authority, Manager Settle Sexual Harassment Suit
The District of Columbia Housing Authority and a property manager reached a settlement with two tenants who claimed the manager stalked them and sought sex in exchange for resolving eviction threats, according to a Thursday notice to the D.C. federal court.
-
September 21, 2023
11th Circ. Frees Insurers From Covering $54M Tenant Award
Insurers for a pair of apartment management companies have no duty to cover a $54 million arbitration award over underlying claims of poor living conditions at a federally subsidized Georgia apartment complex, the Eleventh Circuit ruled, finding it was the management companies that breached their policies.
-
September 21, 2023
Insurer Fully Escapes Coverage In Texas Shooting Row
An AmTrust unit has no obligations to pay for any defense or potential settlement in an underlying wrongful death and negligence suit over a shooting at a Houston apartment complex, a Texas federal judge ruled.
-
September 21, 2023
Iowa Dept. Floats Updated Regs For Property Tax Appeals
Iowa would clarify processes for the adjudication of property tax appeals before the state Property Assessment Appeal Board under regulatory updates proposed by the state Department of Revenue pursuant to a gubernatorial executive order issued earlier this year.
-
September 21, 2023
Progress Residential Buys 173 Phoenix House Lots For $56M
Progress Residential purchased 173 house lots in a subdivision west of Phoenix from D.R. Horton Inc., according to a deed recorded Monday in Maricopa County.
-
September 20, 2023
11th Circ. Asked To Force IRS Probe Of Whistleblowers' Claims
Whistleblowers who lodged complaints with the IRS that certain companies issuing mortgage-backed investments have been dodging taxes told an Eleventh Circuit panel on Wednesday that their concerns should be investigated, saying the agency is ignoring a congressional mandate to enforce the law.
-
September 20, 2023
Fla. City Says Owners Can't Challenge Vacation Rental Law
A Florida city asked a court to dismiss a claim that a vacation rental law violates property owners' freedom of expression, since the "innocuous" language in the ordinance merely asks renters to be good neighbors.
-
September 20, 2023
Nationstar Says ACI On Hook For Costs After $2.3B 'Incident'
Nationstar Mortgage has told a Texas federal court that ACI Payments Inc. is on the hook for its legal expenses and other costs in the fallout of botched quality-control testing at the payment software company that caused $2.3 billion in unlawful mortgage payment transactions.
-
September 20, 2023
Wildfire Risk Key To 'Climate Bubble' Crisis, Report Finds
The number of buildings in the U.S. that are destroyed by wildfires can be expected to double in the next 30 years, according to an analysis released Wednesday by a climate risk group that warned of a significant "climate bubble" of overvalued U.S. real estate.
Expert Analysis
-
LA's High-Value Real Estate Transfer Tax Should Be Scrapped
Los Angeles’ recently implemented high-value property transfer tax has chilled the real estate market, is failing to meet revenue expectations and raises significant constitutional concerns, making it a flawed piece of legislation that should be invalidated, says attorney Paul Weinberg.
-
How Attys Can Avoid Exposing Their Firms To Cyberattacks
Attorneys are the weakest link in their firms' cyberdefenses because hackers often exploit the gap between individuals’ work and personal cybersecurity habits, but there are some steps lawyers can take to reduce the risks they create for their employers, say Mark Hurley and Carmine Cicalese at Digital Privacy & Protection.
-
Foreign Investment In Real Estate Is Getting More Complicated
Increasing federal scrutiny and a proliferation of new state laws targeting foreign investment in real estate may complicate or prevent transactions even by U.S. companies or funds that have shareholders or limited partners from China and other countries of concern, say attorneys at Akin.
-
Virginia 'Rocket Docket' Slowdown Is Likely A Blip
After being the fastest or second-fastest federal civil trial court for 14 straight years, the Eastern District of Virginia has slid to 18th place, but the rocket docket’s statistical tumble doesn't mean the district no longer maintains a speedy civil docket, says Robert Tata at Hunton.
-
Home Equity Option Contracts Appear Ripe For Rating
Given that home equity option contracts share similarities with evolving asset types like litigation funding, and that courts continue to characterize them as real estate option contracts, it seems they are poised to be rated in the near future, say Darius Horton and Holly Spencer Bunting at Mayer Brown.
-
5 Management Tips To Keep Law Firm Merger Talks Moving
Many law firm mergers that make solid business sense still fall apart due to the costs and frustrations of inefficient negotiations, but firm managers can increase the chance of success by effectively planning and executing merger discussions, say Lisa Smith and Kristin Stark at Fairfax Associates.
-
2 Critical Shortfalls In Fla. Condo Safety Amendments
New amendments to Florida's Building Safety Act provide condominium associations with more flexibility to comply with inspection deadlines, but vaguely defined extension criteria and unambiguous lines of responsibility warrant further legislative action, say Jordan Isrow and Andrew Ingber at Government Law Group.
-
Rethinking In-Office Attendance For Associate Retention
The hybrid office attendance model doesn't work for all employees, but it does for many — and balancing these two groups is important for associate retention and maintaining a BigLaw firm culture that supports all attorneys, says Summer Eberhard at Major Lindsey.
-
Justices' Minn. Takings Ruling May Have Broad Impact
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Tyler v. Hennepin County that a Minnesota tax foreclosure violated the U.S. Constitution's takings clause may, beyond resolving a circuit split, influence well-established foreclosure laws across the U.S., say Emily Ladd and Gregory Nowak at Miller Canfield.
-
Murdaugh Trials Offer Law Firms Fraud Prevention Reminders
As the fraud case against Alex Murdaugh continues to play out, the evidence and narrative presented at his murder trial earlier this year may provide lessons for law firms on implementing robust internal controls that can detect and prevent similar kinds of fraud, say Travis Casner and Helga Zauner at Weaver and Tidwell.
-
Challenging Standing In Antitrust Class Actions: Rule 23
A recent Sixth Circuit decision in Fox v. Saginaw County that rejected the common attempt to use Rule 23 to sidestep Article III's standing limitations shows antitrust defendants' success in challenging standing will rest on happenstance without more clarity from the Supreme Court — which no litigant should be comfortable with, say Michael Hamburger and Holly Tao at White & Case.
-
Key Limited Partnership Provisions During Market Downturns
With a recession potentially on the horizon, fund managers should carefully examine their funds' limited partnership agreements for items that may be affected by economic downturns, and assess whether modifications may be appropriate, says Matthew Posthuma at Ropes & Gray.
-
Firm Tips For Helping New Lawyers Succeed Post-Pandemic
Ten steps can help firms significantly enhance the experience of attorneys who started their careers in the coronavirus pandemic era, including facilitating opportunities for cross-firm connection, which can ultimately help build momentum for business development, says Lana Manganiello at Equinox Strategy Partners.