Residential

  • June 13, 2024

    NYC Real Estate Week In Review

    Willkie, Latham and Milbank were among the law firms that handled the largest New York City real estate deals that hit public records last week, a period that saw three deals north of $100 million hit records.

  • June 12, 2024

    NY Court Axes Landlords' Challenge To Rent Law Tweak

    A New York federal judge dismissed landlords' suit challenging a December law that raised the stakes for property owners that fail to cooperate with municipalities attempting to enact rent stabilization, finding again that their Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment claims fall short.

  • June 12, 2024

    Oversupply Drags On Sun Belt Multifamily Sector

    More than a fifth of multifamily collateralized loan obligations were categorized as concerning in April, with markets in the West and Southwest seeing the most concern, according to a recent report from KBRA Analytics.

  • June 12, 2024

    The Loan Discrimination Suits Notching Through Fed. Courts

    Lawsuits over loan discrimination and the fallout faced by minority borrowers are being litigated in federal courts across the country, with banks, developers and the federal government facing claims.

  • June 12, 2024

    Calif. Pension System Invests $100M In Nuveen Housing Fund

    The California Public Employees' Retirement System has provided $100 million for global investment manager Nuveen's affordable housing fund, Nuveen announced Wednesday.

  • June 12, 2024

    NYC Broker Bill Roils Agents, Who Say Landlords Won't Help

    Scores of brokers rallied Wednesday on the steps of New York City Hall to oppose a bill before the New York City Council that would put the onus on landlords, rather than tenants, to pay broker fees.

  • June 12, 2024

    Mass. Tax Board Says No To Decrease In Parcel Values

    The owner of a pair of Massachusetts land parcels failed to show they were overvalued by local assessors, a state tax board ruled in a decision released Wednesday, saying the owner sought relief beyond the board's authority on several issues.

  • June 12, 2024

    NJ Judicial Privacy Law Hit With Constitutional Challenge

    Companies accused of violating Daniel's Law hit back in New Jersey federal court this week, calling the judicial data privacy protection measure unconstitutionally vague, harsh and riddled with loopholes, and arguing it is being "cynically" misused by the plaintiff, a data privacy company.

  • June 12, 2024

    Saul Ewing, Atty Allowed 'Unconscionable' Lease, Suit Says

    A former Saul Ewing LLP client who is considered a vulnerable adult is suing the firm and one of its partners, claiming the lawyer failed to negotiate the "unconscionable terms" of a lease that required the client to take out a $400,000 loan and allowed his stepbrother tenant to pay rent one-seventieth the property's market value.

  • June 12, 2024

    Ore. Tax Court Affirms No Retroactive Fix To Home Value

    The tax valuation of an Oregon residence erroneously assessed at a larger square footage cannot be retroactively reduced, the Oregon Tax Court said, upholding the state tax department's rejection of the request.

  • June 12, 2024

    First 'Survivor' Winner Wants $3M Tax Case Tossed

    The winner of the first season of the TV series "Survivor" asked a Rhode Island federal court to toss the government's case against him seeking nearly $3.3 million in unpaid taxes, saying the liabilities stem from his flawed criminal conviction for tax evasion nearly 20 years ago.

  • June 11, 2024

    2nd Circ. Cites Macquarie In Booting Suit Over Go-Private Deal

    The Second Circuit refused to revive a proposed class action accusing a real estate services provider of artificially depressing share prices, applying apparently for the first time the U.S. Supreme Court's Macquarie decision on alleged failures to disclose certain information.

  • June 11, 2024

    Listing Co. Urges Court To Ignore DOJ's Broker Deal Issues

    A multiple listing service that has struck a $3 million settlement over broker commission rules told a Massachusetts federal court the changes proposed by the U.S. Department of Justice go far beyond what's required and would create an antitrust problem in the real estate industry.

  • June 11, 2024

    Conn. Man's Land Not Used For Farming, Appeals Court Finds

    A tax assessor in Connecticut properly declassified a property owner's land as farmland, the state's appellate court ruled in an opinion released Tuesday, affirming a trial court's finding that the property was no longer used for farming.

  • June 11, 2024

    San Diego Hit With Class Action Over Homeless Camp Sweeps

    Homeless residents in San Diego County filed a proposed class action against the county, two cities and state agencies in federal court, alleging they effectively criminalized homelessness amid an affordable housing shortage in order to drive unhoused citizens elsewhere.

  • June 11, 2024

    Ga. Justices Say 1-Year Lawsuit Window Stands In Death Case

    The Supreme Court of Georgia won't hold liable a home inspector sued by the family of a man who was killed when his home's retaining wall collapsed, ruling Tuesday that the inspector's one-year statute of limitations doesn't violate a state ban on hold harmless provisions in construction contracts.

  • June 11, 2024

    4th Circ. Sides With Baltimore Couple In Eviction Row

    A married Baltimore couple's constitutional rights were violated due to a local ordinance that caused them to lose their belongings after being evicted from their home by their landlord earlier than they expected, the Fourth Circuit ruled in a published opinion.

  • June 11, 2024

    Gawthrop Greenwood Grows Community Association Practice

    A real estate attorney specializing in homeowners and condominium associations has moved his practice to Gawthrop Greenwood PC's office in the Philadelphia suburbs after more than 21 years with M. Lyons Law Group LLC.

  • June 11, 2024

    Vt. Short-Term Rental Tax Proposal Vetoed

    A Vermont bill that would have imposed a 3% surcharge on short-term rentals was vetoed by the governor.

  • June 10, 2024

    Home Flooding Was Unavoidable, Agency Tells Appeals Court

    A Texas river management agency has told a state appeals court that a group of Houston residents' properties would have flooded regardless of its actions to mitigate Hurricane Harvey's effects, urging the appellate court to overturn a trial court order denying its bid for release from the residents' suit.

  • June 10, 2024

    Judge Sides With Tenants In Legionnaires' Coverage Dispute

    A Kentucky federal court declined to exercise jurisdiction in an insurer's attempt to secure a ruling that coverage isn't available to its landlord-insureds in a $4.5 million underlying state court action in which a tenant alleged that the landlords' negligence caused her to contract Legionnaires' disease.

  • June 10, 2024

    Mass. House Omits Local-Option Tax From $6B Housing Bill

    A proposal by Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey to allow local-option transfer fees on high-value real estate sales was left out of a housing package worth more than $6 billion passed by the state House of Representatives. 

  • June 10, 2024

    Insurer Off Hook For HOA's $7.6M Roof Damage Replacement

    An insurer didn't act in bad faith or partake in deceptive trade practices when investigating and issuing payment for storm damage that a homeowners association suffered, a federal judge ruled, finding the insurer never accepted the HOA's nearly $8 million estimate as valid and did not agree to pay that amount.

  • June 10, 2024

    Gibson Dunn Advises $270M Financing For NYC Complex Plan

    A Douglaston Development affiliate has closed on $270 million in financing for a project to replace an existing Manhattan apartment building with a 39-story complex in a deal advised by Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP.

  • June 07, 2024

    From Delaware To Georgia: Why LaVie Is Taking Ch. 11 South

    Three years ago, LaVie Care Centers units filed for Chapter 11 protection in the common corporate venue of Delaware, but its new filing in its home state of Georgia challenges traditional norms in the practice and highlights not only local convenience, but the quality of Peach State bankruptcy bar.

Expert Analysis

  • Understanding The IRC's Excessive Refund Claim Penalty

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    Taxpayers considering protective refund claims pending resolution of major questions in tax cases like Moore v. U.S., which is pending before the U.S. Supreme Court, should understand how doing so may also leave them vulnerable to an excessive refund claim penalty under Internal Revenue Code Section 6676, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • Bankruptcy Ruling Shifts Lease Rejection Claim Calculation

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    A New York federal court’s recent ruling in In re: Cortlandt provides guidance on how to calculate a landlord's damages claim when a bankruptcy debtor rejects a lease, changing from an approach that considers the remaining rent due under the lease to one that considers the remaining time, say Bethany Simmons and Noah Weingarten at Loeb & Loeb.

  • Do Not Overstate Fla. Condo Termination Ruling's Impact

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    A close look at the unique language at issue in Avila v. Biscayne, in which a Florida appellate court deemed a condo termination to be invalid, shows that the case is unlikely to significantly affect other potential terminations, say Barry Lapides and Edward Baker at Berger Singerman.

  • Takeaways From FDIC's Spring Supervisory Highlights

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    The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s spring 2024 consumer compliance supervisory report found that relatively few institutions had significant consumer compliance issues last year, but the common thread among those that did were inadequacies or failures in disclosures to consumers, says Matthew Hanaghan at Nutter.

  • Walking With My Dog Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Thanks to my dog Birdie, I've learned that carving out an activity different from the practice of law — like daily outdoor walks that allow you to interact with new people — can contribute to professional success by boosting creativity and mental acuity, as well as expanding your social network, says Sarah Petrie at the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office.

  • What Calif. Eviction Ruling Means For Defaulting Borrowers

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    A California appellate court's recent decision in Homeward Opportunities v. Taptelis found that a defaulting borrower could not delay foreclosure with an improperly served notice of pendency of action, but leaves open a possibility for borrowers to delay eviction proceedings merely by filing lawsuits, say Anne Beehler and Krystal Anderson at Holland & Knight.

  • How 3D Printing And Prefab Are Changing Construction

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    The growing popularity of trends like 3D printing technology and prefabrication in the construction industry have positive ramifications ranging from reducing risks at project sites to streamlining construction schedules, say Josephine Bahn and Jeffery Mullen at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Wave Of Final Rules Reflects Race Against CRA Deadline

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    The flurry of final rules now leaping off the Federal Register press — some of which will affect entire industries and millions of Americans — shows President Joe Biden's determination to protect his regulatory legacy from reversal by the next Congress, given the impending statutory look-back period under the Congressional Review Act, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.

  • A Deep Dive Into High Court's Permit Fee Ruling

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    David Robinson and Daniel Golub at Holland & Knight explore the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling that a local traffic impact fee charged to a California property owner may be a Fifth Amendment taking — and where it leaves localities and real estate developers.

  • The Case For Overturning Florida Foreclosure Ruling

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    A Florida appellate court's recent decision in Desbrunes v. U.S. Bank National Association will potentially put foreclosure cases across the state in jeopardy, and unless it is reconsidered, foreclosing plaintiffs will need to choose between frustrating and uncertain options in the new legal landscape, say Sara Accardi and Paige Knight at Bradley.

  • Bracing For The CFPB's War On Mortgage Fees

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    As the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau homes in on the legality of certain residential mortgage fees, the industry should consult the bureau's steady stream of consumer lending guidance for hints on its priorities, say Nanci Weissgold and Melissa Malpass at Alston & Bird.

  • DOJ Consent Orders Chart Road Map For Lending Compliance

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    Two recent consent orders issued by the U.S. Department of Justice as part of its efforts to fight mortgage lending discrimination highlight issues that pose fair lending compliance risks, and should be carefully studied by banks to avoid enforcement actions, says Memrie Fortenberry at Jones Walker.

  • Reverse Veil-Piercing Ruling Will Help Judgment Creditors

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    A New York federal court’s recent decision in Citibank v. Aralpa Holdings, finding two corporate entities liable for a judgment issued against a Mexican businessman, shows the value of reverse veil piercing as a remedy for judgment creditors to go after sophisticated debtors who squirrel away assets, says Gabe Bluestone at Omni Bridgeway.