Residential
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January 25, 2023
White House Floats Tenant Protections To Boost Fair Housing
The Biden administration on Wednesday said it is launching an initiative to provide greater protection to renters and increase fair housing, including a blueprint for a renters bill of rights and efforts to identify unfair practices in the rental market.
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January 24, 2023
Bank of America Can't Slip Housing Advocates' Race Bias Suit
A Maryland federal judge has refused to dismiss a race bias suit filed by housing advocacy groups and three homeowners against Bank of America and a property manager but sanctioned the advocates and homeowners for disposing of certain paperwork for real estate owned properties.
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January 24, 2023
Nationstar Seeks Exit In COVID-Era Loan Modification Suit
Mortgage servicer Nationstar Mortgage LLC has asked a federal judge in Cleveland to toss a proposed class action alleging the company improperly denied requests from borrowers who sought certain modifications to their mortgages amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
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January 24, 2023
New RealPage Antitrust Claims Emerge in Calif., Fla.
A pair of antitrust lawsuits in Florida and California federal courts have joined a series of claims against RealPage Inc. and a group of the country's largest landlords in arguing the companies colluded to drive up rent prices and control the supply of units.
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January 24, 2023
3 Firms Shape Howard University's $300M Housing Financing
Preston Hollow Community Capital announced Tuesday it has closed on $300 million in tax-exempt bond financing for several student dormitories at Howard University, in a deal guided by Orrick, Lerch Early and Mintz.
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January 24, 2023
NYC Says State Rules Hinder Basement Apartment Dreams
A pilot program aimed at turning basements into legal apartments has highlighted steep regulatory costs and state-imposed lending limits that must be addressed if such conversions are to be feasible at scale, a New York City agency warned Tuesday.
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January 24, 2023
Texas AG Opens Investigation Into Co.'s Anti-Fraud TV Ads
The Texas Attorney General's Office said Tuesday it is investigating anti-fraud services company Home Title Lock for potentially deceiving consumers about the pervasiveness of home title theft in ads targeting older adults.
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January 24, 2023
Real Estate Rumors: UBS, Bridge Industrial, Amzak
UBS has reportedly sold a New York apartment tower for $115 million, Bridge Industrial is said to be close to a deal to buy an Illinois corporate campus and Amzak Capital Management is said to have loaned $20.5 million for a South Florida multifamily project.
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January 24, 2023
Conn. Contractor Owes $1.37M For Mixed-Use Build, Suit Says
A subcontractor that constructed two new mixed-use buildings in Hartford, Connecticut, is demanding around $1.37 million or more after project leaders allegedly broke their contract by failing to pay for schedule changes and additional work, according to a federal lawsuit filed in the district of Connecticut.
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January 24, 2023
Siemens Liable For Miss. Water System Failure, Residents Say
Residents of Jackson, Mississippi, told a court that Siemens Industry Inc. can't escape responsibility for its work on the city's water system that they say led the system into financial ruin ahead of an August collapse that deprived 150,000 people of drinking water for months.
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January 24, 2023
Fla. Condo Association, Insurer Settle $1M Water Damage Suit
A Miami Beach condo association and its insurance company have settled a suit over an alleged $1 million worth of water damage from an October 2019 storm.
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January 24, 2023
NY Assembly Bill Again Seeks Pied-À-Terre Tax For NYC
New York City could impose a pied-à-terre tax on residential buildings valued at more than $5 million under a bill introduced in the New York state Assembly.
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January 24, 2023
How Attys Are Advising Co-Op Boards Fearful Of Battery Fires
When a lithium-ion battery exploded on the 20th floor of the Rivercourt apartments in Midtown East in November, causing 38 injuries, attorneys who represent cooperative and condominium boards say it also stoked fears about safety and liability.
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January 23, 2023
PNC Borrowers Score Partial Win In Post-Bankruptcy Suit
A Michigan couple partly prevailed Monday in federal court on a key claim in their lawsuit accusing PNC Bank of failing to send certain required disclosures about their loan after they emerged from bankruptcy, although their bid to certify a class of borrowers under similar circumstances has failed.
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January 23, 2023
Ga. Panel Revives Contract Breach Claims Against Bank
The Georgia Court of Appeals on Monday revived a woman's breach of contract claims against Ameris Bank involving almost $100,000 in interest on a loan given to her for home renovations.
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January 23, 2023
Developers Nab $48M Loan To Build Fla. Build-To-Rent Homes
Real estate firms Trusot Developments and Agador Spartacus Development clinched $48 million in financing to construct a build-to-rent project in Central Florida next to the largest retirement community in the country, said borrower-side broker JLL on Monday.
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January 23, 2023
Irish Land Seller Loses Appeal Of $45M Deal's Tax Treatment
Ireland's tax authority had sufficient evidence to rule that a 3.6-acre parcel of land that sold for €42 million ($45.7 million) qualified as development property for capital gains tax purposes, the country's High Court ruled.
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January 23, 2023
Listing Service Asks 9th Circ. To Revive Realtor Antitrust Suit
A real estate listing service claiming a policy from the National Association of Realtors runs afoul of antitrust laws asked the Ninth Circuit on Monday to revive its suit, saying the lower court erred by concluding that the smaller, competing listing platform lacked standing.
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January 23, 2023
Investors Say Fake Renovations Used To Run Ponzi Scheme
Two real estate investors have accused multiple American investment companies of running a Ponzi scheme in which the companies would pay promised rental income with funds of other investors who believed they were paying for property renovations.
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January 23, 2023
Mont. Gov. Proposes $1B In Income, Property Tax Relief
Montana would expand its business equipment tax exemption and provide roughly $1 billion in income and property tax relief under budget proposals put forward by the state's governor.
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January 23, 2023
Real Estate Co. Wants Out Of Mortgage Kickback Suit
A North Carolina real estate agency is seeking to duck a proposed class action alleging it pushed clients toward a mortgage lender in exchange for kickbacks, telling a federal court that the homeowner plaintiffs lack standing to sue.
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January 23, 2023
NC Water Utility Settles Developers' Fee Dispute For $106M
The city of Charlotte, North Carolina, agreed to pay $106 million to settle a lawsuit that alleged two single-family housing developers were overcharged fees to pay the costs of upgrading the city's public water and sewer system.
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January 23, 2023
Insurer Wants Stain Maker To Pay For Mass. Camp Fire
A Philadelphia insurance company told a Massachusetts federal court Monday that a wood stain maker is responsible for $75,000 in damages from a spontaneous combustion at a summer camp, alleging the manufacturer's products caused the fire.
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January 23, 2023
Cozen O'Connor Lobby Firm Adds Ex-Habitat For Humanity VP
Cozen O'Connor's lobbying and public affairs firm said Monday that it has hired the former vice president of government and community partnerships at Habitat for Humanity to advance clients' priorities in Albany and New York City.
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January 20, 2023
Court Won't Shield Housing Developers' Talks With Military
A New York federal magistrate judge has refused to shield communications between military housing developers and the military in a suit alleging the companies were overcharged hundreds of millions of dollars on development loans, saying there was no privilege over those discussions.
Expert Analysis
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My Favorite Law Prof: How I Learned That Culture Shapes Law
U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff of the Southern District of New York considers how a class with Jerry Cohen at Harvard Law helped him understand culture and history’s influence on jurisprudence, and how even seemingly settled law can evolve — all while espousing a more humanistic approach to teaching that restored Judge Rakoff's pride in being a lawyer.
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Time For Construction Cos. To Review Recession Mitigation
As rising interest rates and prices change the economics and viability of real estate development and construction, owners and developers should assess whether they have grown sloppy regarding collection and scrutiny of lien waivers, and with certain nuances of contract negotiation, says Eric Singer at Ice Miller.
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Property Claim Ruling Rightly Backs Texas Removal Policy
The Fifth Circuit’s recent decision in Advanced Indicator v. Acadia Insurance, allowing the insurer to remove a property damage suit to federal court, ensures that abusive practices related to weather claims will continue to be thwarted per an important chapter of the Texas Insurance Code, says Karl Schulz at Cozen.
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My Favorite Law Prof: How I Learned To Put Law Into Practice
Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins looks back at how Judge Charles Spurlock's trial advocacy class at Northeastern University School of Law challenged her to apply what she had already learned about civil and criminal procedure, evidence and criminal law to solving real-world problems.
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The Thorny Road Ahead For Fractional Home Ownership
The rise of fractional home ownership services threatens to disrupt the real estate industry, but even if these services survive the volume of opposition against them, they will likely be heavily regulated, says attorney Paul Weinberg.
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Coverage Ruling Confirms Policy Ambiguities Favor Insureds
A recent Georgia federal court decision, Penn-America Insurance v. VE Shadowood, finding for the insured on a policy containing conflicting endorsements, underscores that coverage cannot be defeated by contradictory terms when policies include coverage extensions, say Shaun Crosner and Tae Andrews at Pasich.
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What To Consider When Leaving BigLaw To Go Solo
Attorneys contemplating leaving their once-ideal job in BigLaw to start their own business should take certain concrete steps before they depart, such as saving money and drafting a business plan, and prepare for some common challenges, says Claudia Springer at Novo Advisors.
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Prepping For Fair Lending Exams Amid NY Enforcement Trend
The New York Department of Financial Services has made clear that it is focused on fair lending compliance — in its recent consent order to resolve violation allegations in a state-chartered bank's indirect auto lending program — so both banks and nonbank lenders must be prepared for detailed, data-driven reviews of their lending programs, says Brian Montgomery at Pillsbury.
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My Favorite Law Prof: How I Learned Education Never Ends
D.C. Circuit Judge David Tatel reflects on what made Bernard Meltzer a brilliant teacher and one of his favorite professors at the University of Chicago Law School, and how Meltzer’s teachings extended well past graduation and guided Judge Tatel through some complicated opinions.
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New-Parent Attorneys Need Automatic Litigation Stays
To facilitate parental leave for solo practitioners and small-firm attorneys excluded from the Family and Medical Leave Act's protections, the American Bar Association should amend its rules to implement automatic litigation stays for attorneys welcoming a new child, says attorney Gabriel Levy.
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Associate Skills That Impress Firms In A Cooling Job Market
With the lateral hiring market calming down and law firms no longer overlooking resume deficiencies when evaluating candidates, associates at all levels should be cognizant of the skills and attributes that make them marketable to prospective employers, says J.B. Pullias at VOYlegal.
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Certificate Of Merit Considerations In Designer Error Suits
Daniel Miktus at Akerman offers tips for bringing error and omission claims against design professionals, unpacking several state statutes that require third-party certification of the designer's failure to meet applicable standards of care.
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Judicial Minority Would Alter Jurisdiction For Foreign Cos.
While the Fifth and Eleventh Circuits recently reaffirmed that a foreign corporation may not be held liable for foreign conduct in U.S. federal court, if the U.S. Supreme Court were to adopt an emerging minority view, it could reshape the personal jurisdiction landscape established by the court's seminal International Shoe v. Washington ruling, says Andrew Rhys Davies at Allen & Overy.