Residential
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July 26, 2024
CFIUS Report Says More On Real Estate Than Meets The Eye
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States' latest report to Congress shows no significant change in the number of real estate-related cases the committee reviewed in 2023, but that does not mean properties weren't on the government's radar, attorneys say.
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July 26, 2024
Property Plays: Pretium, United Center, 830 Brickell
Property Plays is a weekly roundup of the latest loans, leases, sales and projects around the country. Send your tips — all confidential — to realestate@law360.com.
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July 26, 2024
Short-Term Rental Group Defends Colo. City Ordinance Suit
A group of short-term rental owners in Colorado urged a federal court on Thursday to reject a city's bid to dismiss their suit, which claims a 2023 ordinance that regulates where short-term rentals can operate "effectively bans most existing short-term rentals."
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July 26, 2024
Calif. Community Org Opposes FCC Bulk Billing Clampdown
A technology-focused community group in California has joined a chorus of advocates calling for the Federal Communications Commission to hit the brakes on a proposal to tighten rules for bulk billing in multitenant environments.
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July 26, 2024
Chubb Unit Asks 11th Circ. To Undo $13.8M Appraisal Award
A Chubb unit asked the Eleventh Circuit on Friday to reverse the approval of a Florida condominium association's $13.8 million appraisal award for hurricane damage sustained in 2017, arguing that a lower court erred in finding that one of the appraisers was partial to the association.
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July 26, 2024
Insurers See Losses Amid Migration To Severe Weather States
Population migration into parts of the U.S. with more severe weather is one factor driving the worst U.S. homeowner's insurance underwriting results since at least 2000, according to a report on the insurance industry from AM Best.
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July 25, 2024
Newsom Cites High Court In Ordering Encampments Cleared
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday ordered state agencies to start removing homeless encampments on state property while providing outreach services to homeless residents following a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that gave governments broader authority to ban camping in public.
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July 25, 2024
Mr. Cooper Picks Up Flagstar Resi Mortgage Unit For $1.4B
Flagstar Bank NA announced Thursday that it has inked a $1.4 billion deal to sell its residential mortgage servicing business to nonbank mortgage originator Mr. Cooper, as Flagstar and parent New York Community Bancorp eye a turnaround.
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July 25, 2024
Munck Wilson Adds Barnes & Thornburg Litigator In Dallas
Munck Wilson Mandala LLP is growing its litigation team, announcing Wednesday that it is bringing in a Barnes & Thornburg LLP commercial litigator in its Dallas office.
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July 25, 2024
IRS, Zaxby's Co-Founder To Settle $43M Easement Suit
The Internal Revenue Service agreed to settle a $43 million valuation dispute over a conservation easement donated by the co-founder of the Zaxby's restaurant chain and his wife, prompting a Georgia federal court Thursday to cancel next month's anticipated jury trial.
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July 25, 2024
Ore. Court Won't Toss Law Capping Taxable Home Values
A homeowner's attempt to lower the taxable value of his property was denied by the Oregon Tax Court, which said it did not have the authority to determine whether a law capping annual taxable value increases for some properties was unconstitutional.
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July 24, 2024
Top Texas Real Estate News In 2024 So Far
Catch up on the hottest real estate news out of Texas so far this year, from data center construction and roadblocks in a major rail project to a Texas landowner's win in a takings suit and the U.S. Department of Justice's first predatory mortgage suit.
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July 24, 2024
Section 8 Landlords Face Trial In False Claims Act Suit
Tenants who receive Section 8 housing vouchers are staking out their arguments in a False Claims Act suit as landlords and property managers do the same ahead of the class action's trial next week in California federal court.
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July 24, 2024
Real Estate Buyer Says Developer Can't Arbitrate His Claims
A Miami-based venture capitalist has told a New York federal judge that real estate firm Desarrolladora La Ribera can't simultaneously invoke and reject arbitration clauses in a defamation suit against him and another homebuyer in a luxury Four Seasons-branded development in Los Cabos, Mexico.
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July 24, 2024
Connecticut Justices Won't Certify 'Slum' Tenant Class
A Connecticut state court judge was under no obligation to redefine a proposed class of low-income tenants in order to help them meet the certification requirements in a fraud and unfair trade practices lawsuit against their corporate landlord and property manager, the state Supreme Court hs ruled.
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July 24, 2024
NJ Atty Suspended For Using Client Funds From RICO Cases
The New Jersey Supreme Court this week issued a three-year suspension against an attorney accused of misusing client funds from a racketeering case to buy a new computer system and pay his wife for paralegal services.
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July 24, 2024
Ex-McElroy Deutsch Exec Says Ch. 11 Doesn't Pause Claims
A former McElroy Deutsch executive told a New Jersey state court that just because her husband — former McElroy Deutsch chief financial officer John Dunlea — has filed for bankruptcy does not mean she needs to pause her claims against the firm for discrimination and retaliation.
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July 24, 2024
3 Takeaways On CFIUS' Bid To Expand Real Estate Coverage
Real estate practitioners should not overlook the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States' plan to bring 59 more military sites under its jurisdiction for reviewing land deals, even if the proposal comes as no surprise, attorneys said.
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July 23, 2024
Real Estate Sector Wrestles With CrowdStrike Outage
Days after a sprawling information technology outage affecting 8.5 million Windows devices grounded airplanes and halted a number of services, the toll on the real estate industry — especially for the hospitality sector and financial services firms — is still being revealed.
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July 23, 2024
Ill. City Says Reparations Opponents Have No Standing
The city of Evanston, Illinois, has urged a federal judge to toss a proposed class action alleging a 2020 housing reparation program in the city is discriminatory, saying the plaintiffs lack standing since they are not local residents and do not own property in Evanston.
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July 23, 2024
KKR Financing REIT Sees The 'Proverbial Light' Ahead
Executives of KKR & Co.'s financing-focused real estate investment trust struck a hopeful tone about pursuing credit deals in the near future after taking a more guarded approach in the last year, while the company posted fewer losses than it previously forecasted for the second quarter.
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July 23, 2024
Mich. Raises Fine For Unreported Property Transfers
Michigan increased a penalty for property owners who fail to notify an assessor's office of a transfer of ownership under a bill signed Tuesday by Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
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July 23, 2024
Tax Foreclosure Kickback Suit Too Late, Mich. County Says
A Wayne County, Michigan, treasurer has argued in Michigan federal court that a putative class action accusing the county and other parties of engaging in a tax foreclosure and kickbacks scheme is time-barred.
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July 23, 2024
Biz Groups Form Lobby Effort To Fight FCC Bulk Billing Rules
Bulk billing agreements are often a boon for people living in apartment buildings and condos, according to a new coalition made up of multifamily housing organizations and a cable trade group, which was formed to push the Federal Communications Commission to reconsider banning such arrangements.
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July 23, 2024
Chicago Arena Owners Propose $7B Mixed-Use Project
The owners of Chicago's United Center, as well as city and community leaders, unveiled a $7 billion investment that aims to build a mixed-use project across more than 55 acres of land near the sports arena, according to a Tuesday announcement.
Weyerhaeuser CEO Expects Single-Family Sector To 'Hold Up'
Weyerhaeuser Co. is confident the single-family market will hold up in the third quarter despite slumping sales as high mortgage rates persist, the lumber real estate investment trust said on its quarterly earnings call Friday.
How Hinckley Allen Took On Rhode Island Beach-Access Law
A Rhode Island judge this month sided with beachfront property owners, represented by Hinckley Allen & Snyder LLP, ruling that a 2023 law that shifts the public access line landward amounts to a taking.
State Bank Supervisors' GC On Regulation 'Push And Pull'
Margaret Liu, general counsel for the Conference of State Bank Supervisors, spoke to Law360 Real Estate Authority about navigating the balance between federal and state financial agencies, sharing information with the Federal Housing Finance Agency and what a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision means for state financial regulators.
Expert Analysis
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Tips For Lenders Offering Texas Home Equity Lines Of Credit
As interest in home equity lines of credit increases, lenders seeking to utilize such products in Texas must be aware of state-specific requirements and limitations that can make it challenging to originate open-end lines of credit on homestead property, says Tye McWhorter at Polunsky Beitel.
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Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: July Lessons
In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy considers cases touching on pre- and post-conviction detainment conditions, communications with class representatives, when the American Pipe tolling doctrine stops applying to modified classes, and more.
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Expect CFPB To Enforce Warning Against 'Coercive' Fine Print
The recent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau warning against unenforceable terms "deceptively" slipped into the fine print of contracts will likely be challenged in court, but until then, companies should expect the agency to treat its guidance as law and must carefully scrutinize their consumer contracts, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.
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How NJ Worker Status Ruling Benefits Real Estate Industry
In Kennedy v. Weichert, the New Jersey Supreme Court recently said a real estate agent’s employment contract would supersede the usual ABC test analysis to determine his classification as an independent contractor, preserving operational flexibility for the industry — and potentially others, say Jason Finkelstein and Dalila Haden at Cole Schotz.
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After Chevron: Impact On CFPB May Be Limited
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo is likely to have a limited impact on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's regulatory activities, and for those who value due process, consistency and predictability in consumer financial services regulation, this may be a good thing, says John Coleman at Orrick.
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7th Circ Joins Trend Of No CGL Coverage For Structural Flaws
The Seventh Circuit, which recently held potential structural instability did not count as property damage under a construction company's commercial general liability policy, joins a growing consensus that faulty work does not implicate coverage without tangible and present damage to the project, say Sarah Abrams at Baleen Specialty, and Elan Kandel and James Talbert at Bailey Cavalieri.
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In The CFPB Playbook: Making Good On Bold Promises
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision upholding the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's funding structure in the second quarter cleared the way for the bureau to resume a number of high-priority initiatives, and it appears poised to charge ahead in working toward its aggressive preelection agenda, say Andrew Arculin and Paula Vigo Marqués at Blank Rome.
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FBI Raid Signals Growing Criminal Enforcement Of Algorithms
The U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division's increased willingness to pursue the use of algorithmic pricing as a potential criminal violation means that companies need to understand the software solutions they employ and stay abreast of antitrust best practices when contracting with providers, say attorneys at Rule Garza.
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State Licensing Pitfalls Mortgage Servicers Must Beware
A recent enforcement action from the Washington Department of Financial Institutions demonstrates how subtle distinctions in state mortgage servicer licensing laws may come as a surprise to some companies, even if they never directly receive payments or interact with borrowers, says Clayton Swears at Hudson Cook.
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Keys To Strong Parking, Storage Contracts For NYC Buildings
Drafting and enforcing unambiguous parking and storage unit license agreements are essential tasks for co-op and condo boards in New York City, with recent cases highlighting how prudent terms can minimize potential headaches, say Matthew Eiben and Adam Lindenbaum at Rosenberg & Estis.
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Solving Puzzles Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Tackling daily puzzles — like Wordle, KenKen and Connections — has bolstered my intellectual property litigation practice by helping me to exercise different mental skills, acknowledge minor but important details, and build and reinforce good habits, says Roy Wepner at Kaplan Breyer.
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Realtor Settlement May Create New Antitrust Pitfalls
Following a recent antitrust settlement between the National Association of Realtors and home sellers, practices are set to change and the increased competition may benefit both brokers and homebuyers, but the loss of the customary method of buyer broker compensation could lead to new antitrust concerns, says Colin Ahler at Snell & Wilmer.
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What Fla. Ruling Means For Insurer Managed Repair Programs
A recent Florida state court ruling in Fraga v. Citizens Property Insurance, holding that the insurer could not seek to add additional terms in its managed repair program consent form, should promote clear written contract terms that clarify the relationship between insurers, policyholders and contractors, says Chip Merlin at Merlin Law Group.