Residential
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April 29, 2024
NYC Real Estate Week In Review
Davis Polk, Greenberg Traurig and Simpson Thacher are among the law firms that handled the largest New York City real estate deals that hit public records last week, a period that saw two buildings trade for north of $100 million and a four-building portfolio also sell for nine figures.
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April 29, 2024
Supreme Court Declines To Hear 'Unusual' FCRA Case
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up PHH Mortgage Corp.'s call for review of a Fourth Circuit decision allowing a Marine Corps veteran to continue his Fair Credit Reporting Act claims that the company harassed him about his ex-wife's debt on a home they once shared.
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April 26, 2024
Law360 Reveals Titans Of The Plaintiffs Bar
In the past year, plaintiffs have won settlements and judgments for millions and billions of dollars from companies such as Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, Facebook and Fox News, with many high-profile cases finally wrapping up after years of fighting. Such cases — involving over-the-top compensation packages, chemical contamination, gender discrimination and data mining — were led by attorneys whose accomplishments earned them recognition as Law360's Titans of the Plaintiffs Bar for 2024.
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April 26, 2024
How Legos, 'Working Girl' Sealed $10B Sibling Rivalry Win
A father-son attorney team used Legos and an argument borrowed from the 1988 film "Working Girl" to help a Los Angeles jury understand how their client's own brother illegally stole his multibillion-dollar real estate business, leading to a $10 billion verdict for their client and his other brothers, the attorneys told Law360.
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April 26, 2024
HomeServices Brokerage Reaches Deal With Home Sellers
Berkshire Hathaway-owned brokerage firm HomeServices of America reached a deal Friday to settle claims that it forced a class of home sellers to pay inflated commissions, closely following the approval of a $418 million deal between the class and the National Association of Realtors.
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April 26, 2024
Wells Fargo Clients Seek Class Cert. In Race Bias Suit
Mortgage applicants accusing Wells Fargo of discriminating against borrowers from racial minorities with higher interest rates, worse terms and more scrutiny than white clients have asked a California federal judge to approve their class.
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April 26, 2024
Umpqua Bank Seeks Win On Investors' Ponzi Aiding Claims
Oregon-based Umpqua Bank has asked a San Francisco federal judge to toss claims that it aided and abetted a $250 million real estate Ponzi scheme, arguing the investors who brought the suit saw that their funds were put into "legitimate" investments.
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April 26, 2024
Calif. County Wants Out Of RV Parking Site Challenge
San Luis Obispo County urged a California federal court to toss most of the claims filed by a union of homeless people and recreational vehicle residents who accused the county of wrongfully evicting them from a local parking area.
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April 26, 2024
Bankrupt NYC Building Owners, Rent-Strikers Settle Claims
The bankrupt owners of several Manhattan apartment buildings asked a New York federal bankruptcy court to approve the settlement of the claims of rent-striking tenants, the tenants' debt and a related adversary proceeding.
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April 26, 2024
'Nuisance' Atty Neighbor Wins Ch. 11 Eviction Stay
Norman Resnicow, the lawyer and alleged "nuisance neighbor" who lives next to actor Justin Theroux, has won his bid in New York bankruptcy court to hold off his co-op building from evicting him because of his Chapter 11 automatic stay.
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April 26, 2024
Ga. Residents Want In On $300M Monkey Farm Fight
Four Georgia residents have asked a federal judge to let them intervene in a dispute over the construction of a sprawling primate-rearing farm in Bainbridge, alleging the local development authority that approved a $300 million bond deal for the project is colluding with the farm's backers to advance the project.
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April 26, 2024
Colo. House OKs Lower Age For Historic Structure Tax Credit
Colorado would reduce the age requirement for the properties eligible for the state's historic structures tax credit, postpone its sunset and make other changes under legislation approved by the state House on Friday.
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April 26, 2024
Weyerhaeuser Is Optimistic About US Housing Market
Weyerhaeuser remains upbeat about the housing market in 2024 and expects demand for lumber to pick up in the coming months, the lumber real estate investment trust said on its first quarter earnings call Friday.
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April 26, 2024
Default Risk At Major SF Complex Drives April CMBS Distress
Kroll Bond Rating Agency said Friday that special servicing on a $1.3 billion loan for one of San Francisco's biggest apartment complexes accounted for more than a third of new distress among commercial mortgage-backed securities this month.
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April 26, 2024
Philly Mayor Creates Property Assessment Task Force
Philadelphia will designate a task force to study and address inequities in the city's residential property tax assessments, the mayor announced Friday.
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April 25, 2024
PI Ordered To Stay Away From Jury That Issued $10B Verdict
A California judge on Thursday kept in place an order for a private investigator to cease contacting jurors who delivered a $10 billion verdict in March against his client, telling him, "it doesn't sit well with me" that he's "going and bothering jurors" by visiting them at their homes.
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April 25, 2024
Real Estate Exec Can't Escape Shareholder's Self-Dealing Suit
A California federal judge ruled that a derivative shareholder suit accusing the president of a real estate management and investment firm of misusing nearly $35 million of company revenue now passes the so-called Zuckerberg test since the plaintiff sufficiently pled that demand on the company's board members would be futile.
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April 25, 2024
JDS Buys $61M Miami Tower For Dolce & Gabbana Project
An affiliate of JDS Development purchased a Miami office building for $61.2 million, which the developer plans to convert to a Dolce & Gabbana-branded tower with 259 hotel and luxury condominium units, per a Vizzda filing.
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April 25, 2024
Wash. Appeals Court Rejects Seattle High-Rise Permit Dispute
A Washington state appeals court sided with a developer on Thursday in a challenge to its plan for a 17-story apartment building on Seattle's waterfront, concluding that the project's opponents missed their chance to contest the city's decision not to hold the proposal to certain shoreline regulations.
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April 25, 2024
Neb. To Require County Tax Roll Corrections Upon Final Order
Nebraska county clerks or assessors will be required to correct tax rolls and property assessments when an administrative body or court gives a final order, under a bill signed by the governor.
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April 25, 2024
Mr. Cooper's $3.6M Convenience Fee Settlement Gets Final OK
A D.C. federal judge on Thursday gave the final nod to a nearly $3.6 million settlement to resolve class action claims that Mr. Cooper unlawfully charged processing fees to borrowers who made mortgage payments over the phone.
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April 25, 2024
Phoenix-Area Build-To-Rent Project Sells For $57M
Privately held Christopher Todd Capital said Thursday that it has bought a recently completed build-to-rent community near Phoenix for $57 million from an affiliate of Canadian developer WestStone Group.
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April 25, 2024
Peer Street Says It Has Votes To Confirm Ch. 11 Plan
Bankrupt crowd-funded real estate investment platform Peer Street Inc. asked a Delaware bankruptcy judge to confirm its proposed Chapter 11 plan and disclosure statement, saying its creditors have voted overwhelmingly to support the plan ahead of its confirmation hearing scheduled for Friday.
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April 25, 2024
Gibson Dunn, Simpson Thacher Guide $1.6B Campus Deal
KKR on Thursday announced the purchase of a portfolio of 19 student housing properties from Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust, in a $1.64 billion deal advised by Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP.
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April 25, 2024
Mobile Home Co. Pays $85K For Misclassifying Workers
A mobile home transportation company in Texas paid nearly $85,000 in back wages for misclassifying 32 workers, the U.S. Department of Labor announced.
Expert Analysis
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Mass. Banking Brief: The Notable Compliance Updates In Q3
Among the most significant developments in the financial services space in the third quarter of the year, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court handed down a stunning endorsement of the state's fiduciary duty rule, and banking regulators continued their multiyear crackdown on unregistered entities, say attorneys at Mintz.
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Insurance Rulings Continue Expansion Of Appraisal's Ambit
Two recent Illinois insurance cases allowing property damage appraisers to determine causation — Wysoczan v. Cambridge in federal court and Shelter v. Morrow in state appellate court — perpetuate a judicial trend that will result in a slower, more expensive and cumbersome appraisal process that resembles litigation, says Matthew Fortin at BatesCarey.
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In The CFPB Playbook: The Bureau In The Courts
From defending the constitutionality of its funding and the scope of its rulemaking authority in the courts to releasing more nonbinding guidance, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau had a busy summer. Orrick's John Coleman discusses all this and more in the second installment of quarterly bureau activity recaps by former CFPB personnel.
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Fintech Cos. Should Consider Asset-Based Financing For RE
Fintech companies that own or plan to acquire real property may be able to utilize asset-based financings to access more efficient and cost-effective forms of capital beyond traditional venture capital sources, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.
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What To Consider When Converting Calif. Offices To Housing
In light of California legislators' recent efforts to expedite the process for converting offices into residential buildings, developers should evaluate both the societal upsides, and the significant economic and legal hurdles, of such conversions, says Steven Otto at Crosbie Gliner.
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How New Lawyers Can Leverage Feedback For Growth
Embracing constructive criticism as a tool for success can help new lawyers accelerate their professional growth and law firms build a culture of continuous improvement, says Katie Aldrich at Fringe Professional Development.
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9 Consumer Finance Issues To Note From CFPB Report
A recent report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau highlights abusive consumer finance tactics that the agency uncovered during supervisory examinations over the last year — among the most significant issues identified: deceptive practices in automotive loan servicing, and consumer reporting and debt collection compliance failures, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
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Twitter Legal Fees Suit Offers Crash Course In Billing Ethics
X Corp.'s suit alleging that Wachtell grossly inflated its fees in the final days of Elon Musk’s Twitter acquisition provides a case study in how firms should protect their reputations by hewing to ethical billing practices and the high standards for professional conduct that govern attorney-client relationships, says Lourdes Fuentes at Karta Legal.
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Transaction Risks In Residential Mortgage M&A Due Diligence
As the residential mortgage market continues to consolidate due to interest rate increases and low housing volume, buyers and sellers should pay attention to a number of compliance considerations ranging from fair lending laws to employee classification, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.
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Ore. Warranty Ruling Complicates Insurance Classification
The Oregon Court of Appeals' recent TruNorth v. Department of Consumer and Business Services holding that a service contract — commonly referred to as an extended warranty — covering commercial property is subject to the state's consumer service contract laws raises regulatory questions for contract obligors, sellers and administrators, say attorneys at Locke Lord.
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ABA's Money-Laundering Resolution Is A Balancing Act
While the American Bar Association’s recently passed resolution recognizes a lawyer's duty to discontinue representation that could facilitate money laundering and other fraudulent activity, it preserves, at least for now, the delicate balance of judicial, state-based regulation of the legal profession and the sanctity of the attorney-client relationship, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.
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FCRA Legislation To Watch For The Remainder Of 2023
If enacted, pending federal and state legislation may result in significant changes for the Fair Credit Reporting Act landscape and thus require regulated entities and practitioners to pivot their compliance strategies, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
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Regulators Must Get Creative To Keep Groundwater Flowing
Even as populations have boomed in Sun Belt states like Arizona, California and Texas, groundwater levels have diminished due to drought and overuse — so regulators must explore options including pumping limits, groundwater replenishment and wastewater reuse to ensure future supplies for residential and commercial needs, says Jeffrey Davis at Integral Consulting.