Residential
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February 15, 2023
Real Estate Rumors: Montecito Medical, AHV, James Mills
Montecito Medical Real Estate has reportedly landed $31 million in financing for a South Carolina medical center; AHV Communities is said to be building 525 units in San Antonio; and the Chicago home of the late James Mills, co-founder of Medline, will reportedly soon list for sale.
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February 15, 2023
Texas Court Says Meritage Can't Compel Arbitration In Spat
Claims from two Texas homeowners of shoddy construction cannot be forced into arbitration by homebuilding giant Meritage Homes based on a contract the company had with the building's former owner, according to a ruling from the Lone Star State appeals court.
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February 15, 2023
Timeshare Co. Says Exit Biz Atty Doesn't Represent Clients
A Florida timeshare company on Wednesday asked a federal judge to hand it a favorable ruling against a California attorney purporting to represent owners trying to get out of their contracts, saying he is abusing the attorney-client privilege in order to shield documents from being used as evidence.
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February 15, 2023
Federal Rental Assistance Program Reaches 10M Payments
The U.S. Department of the Treasury released rental assistance data on Wednesday that shows that its Emergency Rental Assistance program has made 9.7 million payments to households that were risking eviction.
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February 15, 2023
Miami Development Panel Approves Series Of Apt. Towers
Miami's Urban Development Review Board on Wednesday greenlighted a number of new apartment buildings that could bring hundreds of new residential units to the city, including the Melo Group's 54-story Downtown 6 project.
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February 15, 2023
Insurer Underpaid Winter Storm Damage By $3.7M, HOA Says
A San Antonio condo association sued a Liberty Mutual unit for coverage of damage from the 2021 Winter Storm Uri, accusing the insurer of underpaying by about $3.7 million.
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February 15, 2023
Landlords Tell 2nd Circ. Rent Stabilization Appeals Hold Water
New York landlord groups challenging recent amendments that strengthened the state's rent stabilization law told the Second Circuit they have a good argument, despite the court's ruling against property owners in two similar cases earlier this month.
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February 15, 2023
NY Landlords, Brokers Can't Duck Housing Voucher Bias Suit
A New York federal judge refused bids from 14 landlords and brokers to avoid a housing watchdog's sweeping claims that they refused to rent to tenants relying on federal housing vouchers, ruling that the nonprofit organization has standing to sue.
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February 15, 2023
Compass Fights Douglas Elliman's Bid For Subpoena Costs
Real estate brokerage Compass Inc. fought rival Douglas Elliman's bid seeking attorney fees for a document subpoena request in an antitrust suit, saying Douglas Elliman never provided the documents.
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February 15, 2023
Pittsburgh Firm Sues To Keep Deposit On Failed Portfolio Sale
Pennsylvania's Wylie Holdings LP on Tuesday sued in state court to keep a $1 million deposit after an affiliate of New York developer Arch Cos. will apparently miss a deadline to purchase Wylie's portfolio of 200 properties in Pittsburgh's Lawrenceville neighborhood.
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February 15, 2023
Reverse Mortgage Servicer Still Fighting Over DIP
Reverse Mortgage Investment Trust Inc. said Wednesday that it had struck a deal with unsecured creditors and its parent sponsor for an additional $15 million for its Chapter 11, but it remains in dispute with its lender Leadenhall Capital Partners, which objects to the terms of the deal.
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February 15, 2023
NY Senate Bill Seeks NYC Property Tax Amnesty Program
New York state would establish a property tax amnesty program for New York City under a bill introduced in the state Senate.
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February 15, 2023
IRS Seeks Comments On Real Estate Investment Trust Return
The Internal Revenue Service on Wednesday asked for comments on a return that real estate investment trusts file to pay an excise tax.
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February 14, 2023
How Far Could Biden Go In Regulating Tenant Screeners?
Consumer protection advocates are celebrating the White House's multiagency commitment to enforcing fair tenant screening in the year ahead and pondering how far the administration may go in regulating an industry that helps landlords assess prospective renters.
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February 14, 2023
Ocwen Can't Escape Whistleblowers' Foreclosure Fraud Suit
A Texas federal judge has ruled that Ocwen Financial Corp. and various major banks must face claims they made false representations to the government under the Treasury Department's Home Affordable Modification Program, rejecting the defendants' bids to toss two whistleblowers' claims.
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February 14, 2023
Manufactured Housing Groups Challenge New Energy Rule
Two industry groups sued the U.S. Department of Energy in Texas federal court Tuesday in an attempt to block new energy conservation standards for manufactured homes from going into effect at the end of May, claiming the standards were put together hastily, sloppily and in breach of the law.
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February 14, 2023
Local Regulation Slows Housing Development, Study Says
An ongoing study of how land use laws influence housing development suggests that local regulations leave too much discretion, stifling progress. University of Virginia researcher and faculty member Moira O'Neill recently spoke to Law360 about what the results could mean for attorneys working with governments and developers.
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February 14, 2023
La. Property Investors Sue Over Home Renovation Scheme
Two Louisiana investors claimed they were defrauded out of more than $700,000 after being enticed into a deal that involved buying, renovating and selling two New Orleans properties in the city's famous French Quarter neighborhood.
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February 14, 2023
7th Circ. Says Homeowner Had No Right To River Water Levels
The Seventh Circuit has ruled that a Wisconsin homeowner isn't owed compensation by his county after the removal of a nearby dam caused the water levels on his riverfront property to drop, finding that the government's interest in maintaining the river for the public takes precedence.
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February 14, 2023
Real Estate Rumors: CareLock, Eagle Bank, Walter Bowen
An entity affiliated with CareLock has reportedly picked up a former Phoenix hospital for $14 million, Eagle Bank is said to have loaned $25 million for a D.C. multifamily project, and developer Walter Bowen is expected to pay a nearly $8 million fine for allegedly failing to meet an affordable housing requirement at a Portland, Oregon, Ritz-Carlton project.
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February 14, 2023
TransUnion May Settle With CFPB, FTC Over Tenant Screening
TransUnion told investors Tuesday that it could face a joint enforcement action from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission for alleged credit reporting compliance lapses tied to its tenant and employment screening business.
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February 14, 2023
Greenspoon Marder Expands RE Group With Chicago Partner
Florida-based firm Greenspoon Marder LLP has added a real estate attorney from Greenberg Traurig LLP as a partner in its Chicago office, the firm said in a Tuesday announcement.
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February 14, 2023
Romer Debbas Appoints Real Estate Group Leaders
Romer Debbas LLP, a boutique law firm specializing in real estate and general practice in New York City, has named three partners as co-managers of the firm's residential real estate department.
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February 14, 2023
Minn. House Panel OKs Restoring Historic Rehab Tax Credit
Minnesota's tax credit for the rehabilitation of historic structures, which expired last year, would be restored under legislation advanced Tuesday by a state House panel, with the credits awarded in lump sums instead of over five years.
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February 14, 2023
Atlanta Says Landlord Waited Too Long To Fight Demolition
The city of Atlanta has told a Georgia federal court that the owner of an apartment complex failed to show that local officials wrongly ordered the property's demolition and argued the company waited two years too long to sue over the teardown.
Expert Analysis
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FTC's New Approach Creates Challenges For M&A Deals
The Federal Trade Commission's recently announced shift in how it will review proposed mergers and acquisitions is part of a broader trend toward increased, social policy-oriented antitrust enforcement, so parties should prepare for longer, more expansive FTC reviews and greater regulatory risks, say attorneys at Fried Frank.
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Enviro Review Standard Tweaks May Clarify Cleanup Liability
Forthcoming revisions to the standard for Phase I environmental site assessments will likely afford property owners and operators clearer protection from liability for hefty environmental cleanups, so interested parties in real estate and M&A deals should pay close attention, say Lorene Boudreau at Ballard Spahr and Mitchell Wiest and Sara Redding at Roux Associates.
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NY Debt Collection Ruling's Narrow Application For Lenders
The New York Supreme Court's recent ruling in Citibank v. Yanling Wu, that licensure as a debt collection agency wasn't necessary to prosecute a mortgage foreclosure, should not be read too expansively, and leaves open whether the failure to meet the licensure requirements could constitute a foreclosure defense, says Christopher Gorman at Abrams Fensterman.
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Insurance Commissioner's Agenda: Wis. Tackles Climate Risk
Wisconsin Commissioner of Insurance Mark Afable talks about educating consumers on potential climate-risk coverage gaps and mitigation efforts, and encouraging insurers to recognize the latter in underwriting, in the face of increasingly frequent and severe weather disasters.
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How A New Law Changes Commercial Receiverships In Conn.
The Uniform Commercial Real Estate Receivership Act, which takes effect in Connecticut next year, will vastly improve the predictability and administration of commercial real estate rent receiverships as a means of protecting a mortgagee's collateral pending a foreclosure, and provides new strategic considerations for creditors, say attorneys at Shipman & Goodwin.
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NY 'Intentional Violation' Ruling May Delay Foreclosure Cases
A recent New York state appellate decision in VFS Lending JV II v. Krasinski may open up lenders to costly and time-consuming discovery in mortgage foreclosure cases where borrowers allege intentional violations of the state’s Banking Law, potentially forcing lenders to reach early resolution with debtors, says Christopher Gorman at Abrams Fensterman.
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Despite Giuliani's Assertion, Lawyers Cannot 'Throw A Fake'
A new transcript reveals Rudy Giuliani telling federal agents in 2018 that it was permissible to "throw a fake" during a political campaign, but the notion that lawyers can commit acts of dishonesty without consequence as long as they do so outside their professional practice is belied by the rules of professional conduct and case law, says Hilary Gerzhoy at Harris Wiltshire.
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NY Bankruptcy Preemption Case Needs High Court Review
Until the U.S. Supreme Court agrees to review Pilevsky v. Sutton 58 Associates — and reverses the New York Court of Appeals’ decision that bankruptcy preemption does not bar state court tortious interference claims — organizations risk civil liability for providing professional services or loans to financially distressed entities, say Darren Azman and Natalie Rowles at McDermott.
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Embracing ESG
In this Expert Analysis series, in-house counsel share how they are adapting to the growing importance of environmental, social and corporate governance factors.
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The Right Condo Governance Provisions Can Enhance Safety
Though condominium and community governance documents cannot prevent a structural failure, such as the Champlain Towers tragedy, developers and their lawyers can draft these documents to better educate board members and remove obstacles to preserving community assets, says Bob Burton at Winstead.
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Worse Can Be Better For Nonjudicial CERCLA Allocation
With the U.S. Supreme Court's recent Guam v. U.S. decision potentially reviving some previously time-barred claims under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, parties seeking nonjudicial Superfund settlements should consider that a quicker, less in-depth allocation process may produce a better result, says William Ford at Lathrop GPM.
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Risks To Consider For Commercial Real Estate Gap Closings
The use of the gap closing mechanism in commercial real estate transactions — when there is a delay between a purchase and the recording of documents — has been increasing amid the pandemic, but certain complications can arise for buyers when an intervening matter influences a title's quality, says Jennifer Ioli at Sherin and Lodgen.
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Time To Rethink Florida's Condo Termination Law
In light of the Champlain Towers tragedy, legislators must find a proactive strategy for dealing with Florida's other aging condominiums, although previous attempts have been complicated by judicial actions and financial downturns, says Martin Schwartz at Bilzin Sumberg.