Residential
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April 15, 2024
Brookfield Cos. Want Va. Homebuyers' Class Action Tossed
Entities connected to Brookfield Asset Management Inc. urged a Virginia federal court to toss homebuyers' proposed class claims that the entities invalidated their home warranties by building and selling homes without having proper licenses.
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April 15, 2024
9th Circ. Says Court Must Consider Pay In Navajo Benefits Bid
The Ninth Circuit has vacated a ruling that a Navajo Nation member failed to prove he was wrongfully denied relocation benefits after the U.S. gave his ancestral lands to the Hopi Tribe, with a split panel remanding the case to federal district court with instructions to consider evidence of his income.
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April 15, 2024
Ind. Tax Board Hikes Home Value Based On Purchase Price
The Indiana Board of Tax Review increased the valuation of a couple's home based on its purchase price after finding that a sales comparison analysis by the property owners was insufficient to justify a lower value.
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April 15, 2024
Addiction Recovery Home Says City Seeks Wrongful Eviction
An addiction recovery home is suing the city of Lincoln, Nebraska, and the Lincoln-Lancaster County Planning Commission in federal court, saying they are wrongly using zoning rules in a bid to evict residents from one of its homes in violation of the Fair Housing Act and Americans with Disabilities Act.
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April 15, 2024
NYC Real Estate Week In Review
Venable and Holland & Knight are among the law firms that guided the largest real estate deals that hit New York City public records last week, a period that saw four matters north of $20 million become public.
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April 15, 2024
Clark Hill Adds Fla. Real Estate Atty With 17 Years' Experience
Clark Hill PLC has hired a longtime real estate attorney with almost two decades of experience who spent the past nine years working on transactional and other related real estate matters as a solo practitioner, the firm announced Monday.
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April 15, 2024
Justices Won't Hear Brokerage's Arbitration Claim In Fees Suit
The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to hear HomeServices of America's argument that certain class members in a lawsuit over real estate agents' commissions should have been compelled to arbitrate their antitrust claims rather than taking them to a jury.
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April 15, 2024
High Court Passes On Tenants' Debt Collection Dispute
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to consider a Ninth Circuit ruling that revived a suit filed by tenants who hit a California law firm with a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act suit.
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April 12, 2024
NJ Gives Counties Power To Up Tax After Paying Off Debt
New Jersey will allow counties greater authority to impose property taxes after retiring debts under a bill signed into law by Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy.
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April 12, 2024
Feds Say Ga. Apartments Denied Wheelchair Accommodation
Federal prosecutors on Thursday hit a Savannah, Georgia, apartment complex, a local housing authority and other defendants with a Fair Housing Act complaint alleging they denied a disabled resident an accessible apartment in spite of her repeated requests that they accommodate her disability.
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April 12, 2024
Ohio Landlords Win Partial Class Cert. For Outsider Fees Suit
An Ohio federal judge partially certified a class of Cleveland Heights property owners who are challenging the constitutionality of a $100 fee applied to those who lease their properties but don't live in Cuyahoga County.
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April 12, 2024
Mich. High Court Snapshot: Atty Sanctions Kick Off April
The Michigan Supreme Court returns Tuesday for its April session, hearing oral arguments about judges' ability to sanction lawyers for past attorneys' work in a case, what defendants say could be double recovery in wrongful death cases, and an attempt to use a Larry Nassar-inspired law to sue Catholic priests for decades-old abuse allegations.
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April 12, 2024
KB Home's 'Emeritus' Director Bylaw Invalid, Chancery Rules
A KB Home bylaw that allowed the homebuilder's board to unilaterally shift an acting director into a non-functioning "emeritus" role without conducting a stockholder vote is invalid under Delaware law, a Delaware Chancery Court judge said Friday, siding with a shareholder who challenged the rule.
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April 12, 2024
SEC Says Developer Pulled EB-5 Funds From Nursing Homes
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission accused a Las Vegas developer of using $10 million raised by overseas investors hoping to immigrate to the U.S. to pay down a loan for a project unconnected to their immigration applications.
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April 12, 2024
Vermont Attys Can't Be Sued In Connecticut, Court Says
Two Vermont firms that handled the sale of a Connecticut man's second home near a Vermont ski town cannot be sued in Connecticut because the lawyers' business models and the disputed cash transfers that spurred the litigation were not sufficiently directed toward Connecticut, a three-judge appellate panel ruled on Friday.
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April 12, 2024
Justices Back Property Owner In Dispute Over Permit Fees
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Friday that a $23,420 local traffic impact fee charged to a California property owner's rural manufactured home isn't exempt from scrutiny as a Fifth Amendment taking simply because the charge is allowed by legislation.
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April 11, 2024
Colo. Developer Sues Over Remodeling Impact Fees
A Colorado developer has accused Pitkin County's Board of Commissioners in Colorado federal court of wrongfully charging impact fees on the remodel of a residential property.
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April 11, 2024
Okla. City Officials Clear Hurdle For Planned 1,900-Foot Tower
Oklahoma City Planning Commission members recommended approval for zoning Thursday to allow unlimited height on a site where a developer announced plans to build the tallest tower in the U.S., but not without cracking jokes about what would happen if a tornado landed nearby.
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April 11, 2024
NY Appeals Court Nixes Chelsea Hotel Tenant's Rent Suit
A New York appeals court unanimously backed a lower court's ruling that denied a Chelsea Hotel tenant's bid for rent stabilization for his studio apartment.
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April 11, 2024
Maine Eliminates Municipal Property Tax Levy Limits
Maine will no longer set limits on the amount that local municipalities can increase property taxes by each year as part of a law signed by the state's governor.
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April 11, 2024
11th Circ. Says Insurer Owes Defense In Home Damage Suit
A general contractor's insurer must defend it against claims that it abandoned the construction site of a custom-built home, the Eleventh Circuit ruled Thursday, rejecting the insurer's reliance on two exclusions barring coverage for damage to "that particular part" of property the contractor worked on and corresponding repairs.
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April 11, 2024
Proskauer Adds Kirkland Partner For Tax, Estate Issues
Proskauer Rose LLP has added to its private client services department a partner from Kirkland & Ellis LLP who specializes in developing domestic and international tax and estate plans for clients with very high net worth, the firm announced.
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April 11, 2024
Houston Atty Beats Real Estate Deal Malpractice Suit
In a split decision Thursday, a Houston attorney accused of malpractice was handed a win by the majority of a three-justice Lone Star State appellate panel that cleared her of negligence in connection with a 2014 contract inked between the owner of a property management company and a pair of apartment complex investors, finding that she obtained no "improper benefit" from representing both sides.
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April 11, 2024
Treasury Proposes Steeper Foreign Investment Law Penalties
The U.S. Department of the Treasury issued a notice Thursday proposing to sharpen its procedures and enforcement practices for reviewing foreign investment deals for national security issues, according to an announcement.
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April 11, 2024
Akerman Adds Another Real Estate Litigator In NYC Office
Akerman LLP has hired a litigator who focuses his practice on a range of real estate matters and is joining the firm's New York City office as a partner, the firm announced Wednesday.
Expert Analysis
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Tips For In-House Legal Leaders In A Challenging Economy
Amid today's economic and geopolitical uncertainty, in-house legal teams are running lean and facing increased scrutiny and unique issues, but can step up and find innovative ways to manage outcomes and capitalize on good business opportunities, says Tim Parilla at LinkSquares.
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How Cities Can Tackle Post-Pandemic Budgeting Dilemmas
Due to increasing office vacancies around the country, cities may consider politically unpopular actions to avoid bankruptcy, but they could also look to the capital markets to ride out the current real estate crisis and achieve debt service savings to help balance their budgets, say attorneys at Cadwalader.
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What Associates Need To Know Before Switching Law Firms
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
The days of staying at the same firm for the duration of one's career are mostly a thing of the past as lateral moves by lawyers are commonplace, but there are several obstacles that associates should consider before making a move, say attorneys at HWG.
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FHFA Plans Forecast The Year Ahead In Affordable Housing
This year attorneys in the affordable housing sector can expect to see developers utilizing the financing tools included in Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae's updated equitable housing finance plans, including various sponsor-elected programs and Freddie's forward commitment initiative, say Evan Blau and Beth Budnick at Cassin & Cassin.
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A Case For Sharing Mediation Statements With Counterparties
In light of a potential growing mediation trend of only submitting statements to the mediator, litigants should think critically about the pros and cons of exchanging statements with opposing parties as it could boost the chances of reaching a settlement, says Arthur Eidelhoch at Eidelhoch Mediation.
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How To Determine Best Format For Annual Building Meetings
As hundreds of New York City co-ops and condominiums conduct their annual meetings over the next few weeks, they should keep both legal and practical considerations in mind when deciding between virtual and in-person formats, says Robert Braverman at Braverman Greenspun.
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EB-5 Reform Continues To Weigh Heavily On Participants
Recent U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services guidance helps clarify aspects of the 2022 EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act, which increased oversight of EB-5 regional centers, but does not end the industry's continuing state of uncertainty, says Robert Divine at Baker Donelson.
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Colo. Bankruptcy Ruling Clarifies Debt Collection Rules
The Colorado Supreme Court’s recent ruling in U.S. Bank v. Silvernagel provides necessary clarification on the state's debt collection statute of limitations commencement rules and gives lenders breathing room to pursue foreclosure after their borrowers receive a bankruptcy discharge, say Erin Edwards and Justin Balser at Troutman Pepper.
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Preparing For Legal Scrutiny Of Data Retention Policies
Two recent cases involving Google and Meta should serve as a call to action for companies to ensure their data retention policies are updated and properly implemented to the degree of being able to withstand judicial scrutiny, especially as more data is generated by emerging technologies, say Jack Kallus and Labeed Choudhry at Kaufman Dolowich.
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Echoes Of '80s Thrift Crisis Are Present In Today's Bank Woes
The current distress in the banking industry bears an uncanny resemblance to the thrift industry crisis of the 1980s, and while that collapse was a worst-case scenario, it provides lessons for understanding the fundamental economic forces at work today, says Alan Frankel at Coherent Economics.
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Attorneys Should Have An Ethical Duty To Advance DEI
National and state bar associations are encouraging attorneys to apply diversity, equity and inclusion practices in the legal profession and beyond, and these associations should take it one step further by formally recognizing ethical duties for attorneys to promote DEI, which could better the legal profession and society, says Elena Mitchell at Moore & Van Allen.
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Data-Driven Insights Are Key To Attracting Today's Clients
As law firm growth slows and competition for clients increases, modern firms must rely on robust data analytics to develop the sector-based expertise and industry insights that clients increasingly prioritize in relationships with counsel, says Lavinia Calvert at Intapp.
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EV Chargers Can Bring Benefits For Calif. Property Owners
California property developers and owners face growing pressure to provide electric vehicle charging infrastructure — but this can be a unique opportunity to add value to real estate assets, and can be accomplished in multiple ways, say Riley Cutner-Orrantia and Eurie Hwang at Crosbie Gliner.