Residential
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April 09, 2024
Hawaiian Electric Brass Hit With Suit Over Wildfire Preparation
A Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. shareholder has alleged in a derivative suit that the company's executives and directors knew that it was not prepared for last year's deadly Maui wildfire, which caused reputational and financial damage to the company.
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April 09, 2024
NYC Developers Blame Tax Break Loss For Apartment Slump
The foundation application filings for multifamily housing in New York City declined significantly in March, which signifies a decline that began after the city's 421-A tax break expired in June 2022, the NYC developer trade group Real Estate Board of New York stated.
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April 09, 2024
Real Brokerage $9.2M Settlement Is Latest In Agent Fee Suit
The Real Brokerage Inc. will pay $9.2 million in a settlement to exit a class action in Missouri federal court over broker fees that prompted other big brokerages to change how they charge agent fees.
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April 09, 2024
Property Owners' Bias Claims Belong In Court, NC Justices Told
Three property owners urged the North Carolina Supreme Court on Tuesday to revive their claims that the city of Kinston targeted a Black community for house demolitions, contending that they shouldn't have to argue with City Council members before being able to sue.
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April 09, 2024
Ex-LA Deputy Mayor Says Jury's Chats Warrant Mistrial
Former Los Angeles deputy mayor Raymond Chan is calling for a mistrial following his bribery conviction, telling a federal judge the jury foreperson and two other panel members discussed the case outside the jury room, reaching a premature verdict that likely swayed other jurors.
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April 09, 2024
Pittsburgh Schools Sue To Force Countywide Reassessment
The school district serving the city of Pittsburgh has filed a lawsuit in state court to compel Allegheny County to conduct a countywide reassessment of real estate values, arguing that taxation starting from a 12-year-old base level is putting homeowners in some neighborhoods at an unfair and unconstitutional disadvantage.
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April 09, 2024
Detroit, Chicago Have Riskiest Multifamily Loans, KBRA Says
The cities of Detroit, Chicago, and Denver have the riskiest securitized multifamily loans among the largest metropolitan statistical areas, according to a report from Kroll Bond Rating Agency.
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April 09, 2024
NJ Justices To Hear If Philly Archdiocese Subject To NJ Court
The New Jersey Supreme Court will determine whether the Archdiocese of Philadelphia is subject to Garden State courts in a lawsuit alleging a former priest sexually abused a teenager at the former priest's Jersey Shore house decades ago.
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April 09, 2024
Embattled Houston Law Firm Files Ch. 11
Insurance law firm MMA Law Firm on Tuesday filed for Chapter 11 protection in a Texas bankruptcy court, weeks after a federal judge declined to toss a suit seeking class damages over the Houston firm's allegedly illegal efforts to solicit clients in hurricane-related property damage cases.
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April 08, 2024
AIG Acted In Bad Faith In Hurricane Dispute, Homeowners Say
Owners of a $95 million oceanfront mansion near Miami told jurors Monday that AIG should be punished for acting in bad faith in handling a claim for damage from Hurricane Irma, saying the company repeatedly prioritized maximizing profits at the expense of customer service.
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April 09, 2024
Tech Poised For Key Role In Real Estate Recovery
As the clouds recede from two years of economic headwinds, an anticipated real estate upturn could benefit from enormous advances taking place in technological innovation, according to the many key players who attended the 2024 Real Estate Technology Conference in New York.
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April 08, 2024
Investment Duo Nabs Houston Multifamily Buildings For $60M
Ascendant Capital Partners and Culver Investment Partners have announced that they have acquired a trio of properties in Houston, Texas, for approximately $60 million.
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April 08, 2024
NYC Real Estate Week In Review
Kane Kessler and Nixon Peabody are among the law firms that handled the largest New York City deals that hit public records last week, a slow period that saw only three deeds at or north of $20 million hit records.
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April 08, 2024
Seyfarth Shaw Guides Slate's $150M NYC Construction Loan
Scale Lending inked a $150 million construction loan for Beitel Group's 450-unit multifamily project underway in New York City, according to a statement from the lender Monday.
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April 08, 2024
Oil Co. Sues LA Homeless Vets To Keep VA Site Drill Rights
Oil company Bridgeland Resources LLC defended its agreements to drill on U.S. Veterans Administration land in Los Angeles in an intervenor complaint in California federal court against a group of homeless, disabled veterans arguing the arrangement is illegal because the site lacks housing.
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April 08, 2024
EPA Announces Cleanup Plan For Brooklyn Superfund Site
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is monitoring three Brooklyn, New York, homes for contamination from toxic chemicals as the agency surveys a 190-acre area as part of a plan to address historic pollution from oil refineries along Newton Creek in Greenpoint.
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April 08, 2024
Atty Can't Slip Willkie Partner's Suit Over NY Post Story
A Connecticut federal judge has declined to toss a Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP partner's abuse of process case against a Constitution State attorney who allegedly orchestrated an unflattering New York Post article as retaliation for an underlying disqualification bid, ruling that the suit is not blocked by litigation privilege.
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April 08, 2024
Simpson Reps Blackstone On $10B AIR Communities Buy
Blackstone has agreed to purchase Apartment Income REIT Corp. in a take-private transaction valued at approximately $10 billion, with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP serving as legal counsel, respectively, the firms said Monday.
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April 05, 2024
LA Agrees To Pay $1M For Delay In Homeless Camp Reduction
The city of Los Angeles has consented to getting rid of nearly 10,000 homeless camps in the city over four years and paying $1 million in sanctions for failing to abide by its settlement agreement with a local coalition that sued Los Angeles over how it has handled its homelessness crisis.
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April 05, 2024
DC Circ. Says DOJ Can Reopen Realtor Antitrust Probe
The D.C. Circuit said on Friday that the U.S. Department of Justice can reopen an antitrust investigation into the National Association of Realtors, despite an earlier agency settlement over the association's rules.
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April 05, 2024
Shelter Network Fights Public Camping Ban At High Court
A network of more than 200 women's and family shelters told the U.S. Supreme Court that an Oregon city's prohibition on camping in public spaces subjects involuntarily homeless women and children — who are often put in that position due to gender-based violence — to further potential harm.
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April 05, 2024
Cos. Say Fair Housing Groups Can't 'Manufacture' Injury
Property management company AION Management LLC and multiple property owners urged a Delaware federal court to dismiss a disability bias suit filed by the federal government, arguing that the government's opposition to their dismissal motion "relies on mischaracterizations" of case law and federal law.
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April 05, 2024
Pa. Supreme Court Snapshot: COVID Coverage Starts Spring
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court's April lineup will prepare the justices to deliver highly anticipated guidance on whether business losses stemming COVID-19 pandemic orders should be covered by insurance and if Pittsburgh can compel rental-property owners to register and undergo training.
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April 05, 2024
Conn. Fraudulent Property Transfer Suit Against Atty Resolved
A New York doctor and the real estate attorney and developer he accused of transferring his Fairfield, Connecticut, property to benefit a scammer have resolved a federal lawsuit, agreeing to quiet the title and dismiss all other causes of action, following the reported settlement of a separate state court action.
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April 05, 2024
NC High Court Snapshot: Law Firm Battles Defamation Suit
The Supreme Court of North Carolina has a stacked calendar heading into spring arguments, from an appeal over Black-owned properties targeted for demolition to a law firm's attempt at dodging defamation claims over allegations of voter fraud.
Expert Analysis
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Fla. Banking Brief: All The Notable Compliance Updates In Q2
Florida financial institutions must now navigate minimum interest rates for attorney trust accounts, restrictions on property sales to prohibited foreigners, and a ban on weighing environmental, social and governance factors to determine a customer's creditworthiness — changes that will add to banks' compliance pressures, says Patricia Hernandez at Avila Rodriguez.
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NY Court Sends Mixed Signals On Contested Foreclosure Law
Although New York's Appellate Division, Second Department, has avoided addressing the constitutionality and retroactive application of the Foreclosure Abuse Prevention Act, its conflicting pattern of applying FAPA to existing cases is creating confusion regarding the future of the law, say Christopher Gorman and John Muldoon at Abrams Fensterman and litigation support analyst Robert Marx.
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Expect CFPB Scrutiny On AI In Lending
As the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau prioritizes regulatory oversight of the financial services industry's use of automated systems and artificial technology, it will need to balance regulation and innovation, and companies should prepare to mitigate any potential for bias or unfair, deceptive or abusive acts and practices, say attorneys at Goodwin.
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Level Up Lawyers' Business Development With Gamification
With employee engagement at a 10-year low in the U.S., there are several gamification techniques marketing and business development teams at law firms can use to make generating new clients and matters more appealing to lawyers, says Heather McCullough at Society 54.
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Texas Construction Statute Of Repose Leaves Open Questions
Texas' new significantly shorter statute of repose barring certain suits against construction contractors contains some ambiguous wording that will likely raise questions to be decided by courts, says Mason Hester at Munsch Hardt.
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5 Ways Firms Can Rethink Office Design In A Hybrid World
As workplaces across the country adapt to flexible work, law firms must prioritize individuality, amenities and technology in office design, says Kristin Cerutti at Nelson Worldwide.
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In The CFPB Playbook: Abuse Policy, PACE, Payment Apps
From defining "abusive" conduct to implementing green energy financing to policing payment apps, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was busy last quarter. Akerman's Nora Rigby discusses all this and more in the first installment of bureau activity recaps by former CFPB personnel.
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How To Avoid Flopping When Flipping Fla. Real Estate
As land prices rise, Florida real estate developers are increasingly contracting to flip property to other purchasers for a profit, and they should carefully consider the unique risks and issues associated with the different forms that the process can take, says Gary Kaleita at Lowndes.
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Ghosting In BigLaw: How To Come Back From Lack Of Feedback
Junior associates can feel powerless when senior colleagues cut off contact instead of providing useful feedback, but young attorneys can get back on track by focusing on practical professional development and reexamining their career priorities, says Rachel Patterson at Orrick.
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States Must Fight Predatory Real Estate Listing Agreements
As momentum against long-term real estate listing agreements continues to grow, states should take action to render existing agreements unenforceable and discourage future unfair and deceptive trade practices in real estate, says Elizabeth Blosser at the American Land Title Association.
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Steps To Success For Senior Associates
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Adriana Paris at Rissman Barrett discusses the increased responsibilities and opportunities that becoming a senior associate brings and what attorneys in this role should prioritize to flourish in this stressful but rewarding next level in their careers.
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Legal Profession Must Do More For Lawyers With Disabilities
At the start of Disability Pride month, Rosalyn Richter at Arnold & Porter looks at why lawyers with disabilities are significantly underrepresented in private practice, asserting that law firms and other employers must do more to conquer the implicit bias that deters attorneys from seeking accommodations.
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Ohio Tax Talk: Building On Federal Affordable Housing Credit
Ohio's soon-to-be-implemented low-income housing tax credit could significantly affect the state's affordable housing landscape and influence tax-credit deal financing for these projects, though Senate changes may have dampened the new credit's immense potential, say Raghav Agnihotri and Rachael Chamberlain at Frost Brown.