Residential
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March 19, 2024
Conn. Supreme Court Snapshot: Housing Battles Heat Up
The Connecticut Supreme Court in March is set to consider two cases that would clarify landlords' obligations to tenants and local governments when their buildings are ruined through wrongdoing.
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March 19, 2024
Fla. City Atty Says Law Grants Immunity In Realty Fraud Suit
An attorney for the city of Miami told a state appellate panel Tuesday that the law entitles her to sovereign immunity in a lawsuit in which she's accused of aiding her husband in a real estate fraud scheme, saying the allegations aren't specific enough to remove that protection from her.
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March 19, 2024
Finance Co., Canadian Pension Board Unveil $750M Partnership
California-based specialty finance company Redwood Trust Inc. and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board unveiled a $750 million partnership that includes a $500 million asset joint venture and a $250 million two-year "corporate secured financing facility," according to a joint official announcement.
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March 19, 2024
Bradley Arant Adds Ex-Chamberlain Hrdlicka RE Team In Ga.
Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP has strengthened its real estate practice in Atlanta with a four-attorney team from Chamberlain Hrdlicka White Williams & Aughtry.
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March 19, 2024
Colo. Panel OKs Expanding Historic Structure Tax Credit
Colorado would expand its tax credit for preservation of historic structures, reducing the age requirement for the properties, postponing the sunset of the credit and making other changes under legislation passed by the state House panel.
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March 19, 2024
Md. House OKs Property Tax Credits For Residential Projects
Local governments in Maryland would be authorized to grant property tax credits for certain hotel and residential developments that include affordable housing under legislation approved by the state House of Delegates.
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March 18, 2024
Philly Nonprofit Execs Lived Large On Co. Money, Jury Told
Jurors should not believe arguments from two nonprofit executives who are former associates of City Councilman Kenyatta Johnson who said they simply made bookkeeping mistakes and didn't concoct an alleged scheme to spend company money on things like huge bonuses, lavish vacations and bribing a Milwaukee school official, federal prosecutors said Monday.
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March 18, 2024
New York Allots $260M To Create, Preserve Affordable Homes
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Monday that the state has allocated $260 million in low-income housing tax credits and subsidies to create and preserve 1,852 affordable homes across every region of the state.
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March 18, 2024
Colo. HOA Not Covered In Travelers Repair Payment Row
A Colorado federal judge ruled a Travelers unit doesn't have a duty to defend or indemnify a Denver homeowners association seeking coverage for a dispute with a different Travelers unit that alleged it overpaid for a hailstorm property damage claim.
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March 18, 2024
Battle Over Mass. Rezoning Law Headed To High Court In Fall
The Massachusetts attorney general's lawsuit to force a Boston suburb to comply with an ambitious housing law was fast-tracked Monday to the state's high court later this year, as more than a hundred towns around Boston watch how the dispute plays out.
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March 18, 2024
Ore. Tax Court Rejects Valuation Corrections By County
The Oregon Tax Court agreed with a residential property owner that a county assessor's corrections of a valuation due to errors were not valid, restoring the valuation to the property's real market value before the corrections.
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March 18, 2024
4 Times Federal Courts Confronted NY Split On Pay Frequency
New York federal courts are confronting a choice of whether to greenlight lawsuits alleging workers haven't been paid weekly, as state law requires for those who perform manual work, now that a split regarding such cases' viability has arisen in state appeals courts. Here, Law360 explores four cases where federal courts have picked a side amid the split in authority.
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March 18, 2024
Mass. Condo Owners Didn't Prove Property Was Overvalued
Two Massachusetts property owners failed to prove their condominium was overvalued in the 2022 tax year because they didn't account for differences in the comparable properties they offered, the state tax board said in a decision released Monday.
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March 18, 2024
Walker & Dunlop Closes $109M Loan For Multifamily Project
Walker & Dunlop lined up $109 million in construction financing for a 247-unit, 17-story, Class A multifamily development project in Brooklyn, New York, the commercial real estate finance services firm announced Monday.
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March 18, 2024
NYC Real Estate Week In Review
Blaivas & Associates and Kriss & Feurstein were among the law firms that helped with the largest New York City real estate deals that hit public records last week, with a pair of $70 million-plus transactions in Queens and Brooklyn leading the way.
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March 15, 2024
Hagens Berman Defends Bid To Lead Yardi Price-Fixing Suit
A putative class on Friday continued to push for the appointment of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP as interim lead counsel for a rent price-fixing class action in Washington federal court after property management software company Yardi Systems Inc. and multiple landlords opposed the bid.
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March 15, 2024
Fla. Appeals Court Ruling Could Upend Condo Terminations
A decision by a Florida state appeals court has thrown a wrench into a common strategy employed by developers to acquire and terminate existing condominiums to replace them with new buildings, potentially upending an expected wave of such transactions in the coming years.
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March 15, 2024
Paxton Joins Feds In Fraud Suit Against Houston Developer
The Texas Office of the Attorney General sued a Houston-area real estate developer for deceptive trade, fraud in real estate transactions and other offenses, joining previously announced federal litigation accusing the company and its affiliates of widespread predatory practices.
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March 15, 2024
NYC Settles Its Challenge Of 'Right-To-Shelter' Mandate
New York City and the Legal Aid Society have settled the city's legal challenge of the "right-to-shelter" mandate that requires shelter to be provided to any homeless person in the city, according to a stipulation filed Friday in New York state court.
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March 15, 2024
Manufactured Housing Renters Defend Price-Fixing Claims
A proposed class of manufactured housing renters has asked an Illinois federal court not to let a mobile homes data company and several manufactured housing companies escape its price-fixing claims.
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March 15, 2024
Mich. Judge Wrong To Toss Weather Expert From Icy Fall Suit
A trial court judge erred by finding that a weather expert's testimony wouldn't be relevant in a caretaker's suit alleging she slipped on black ice at her employer's property, a Michigan appellate panel has said, holding that the weather leading up to and during her fall is directly related to her claims.
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March 15, 2024
Ariz. Rep. Urges FTC Investigation Of RealPage Software
Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., has urged the Federal Trade Commission to investigate alleged anti-competitive practices by RealPage Inc., whose rent-pricing algorithm is the subject of multidistrict antitrust litigation.
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March 15, 2024
NC Landowner Sues Feds, Alleging Overreach In New Water Rule
A North Carolina landowner seeking to develop property in wetlands areas has sued the federal government over its recently amended Waters of The United States Rule, saying the rule, which includes provisions on "adjacent wetlands," directly contravenes the Supreme Court's ruling in Sackett v. EPA.
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March 15, 2024
Realtors Cut $418M Deal, Agree To Make Broker Fee Changes
The National Association of Realtors said Friday that it has reached a settlement to end claims that its broker commission rules caused home sellers across the country to pay inflated fees, agreeing to pay $418 million over four years and to implement changes to its rules.
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March 14, 2024
Lehman Brothers Can't Undo Trial Loss Over Crisis-Era CDS
A New York appeals court on Thursday affirmed a bench trial loss Lehman Brothers' bankrupt European unit suffered last year in a suit attempting to claw back nearly half a billion dollars from Assured Guaranty over losses on credit default swaps tied to the 2008 financial crisis.
Expert Analysis
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Fla. Foreign Real Estate Law Brings Broad Investment Risks
Last month, Florida became the latest state to enact legislation prohibiting Chinese investors from acquiring certain interests in real property, introducing significant legal uncertainty and consequences for real estate stakeholders and the private equity industry, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.
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Prepping Your Business Ahead Of Affirmative Action Ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court's upcoming ruling on whether race should play a role in college admissions could potentially end affirmative action, and companies will need a considered approach to these circumstances that protects their brand power and future profits, and be prepared to answer tough questions, say Nadine Blackburn at United Minds and Eric Blankenbaker at Weber Shandwick.
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Tackling Judge-Shopping Concerns While Honoring Localism
As the debate continues over judge-shopping and case assignments in federal court, policymakers should look to a hybrid model that preserves the benefits of localism for those cases that warrant it, while preventing the appearance of judge-shopping for cases of a more national or widespread character, says Joshua Sohn at the U.S. Department of Justice.
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How Attorneys Can Help Combat Anti-Asian Hate
Amid an exponential increase in violence against Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, unique obstacles stand in the way of accountability and justice — but lawyers can effect powerful change by raising awareness, offering legal representation, advocating for victims’ rights and more, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.
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Congress Needs To Enact A Federal Anti-SLAPP Statute
Although many states have passed statutes meant to prevent individuals or entities from filing strategic lawsuits against public participation, other states have not, so it's time for Congress to enact a federal statute to ensure that free speech and petitioning rights are uniformly protected nationwide in federal court, say attorneys at Skadden.
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Banking Tips For Lending To Calif. Homeowners Associations
With current financial markets and recent changes to California law putting a brighter spotlight on lending, banks should understand the special considerations involved in lending to homeowners associations and the various possible remedies in the event of a default, says Alex Grigorians at Hanson Bridgett.