Residential
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March 25, 2024
3rd Circ. Says NJ City Can't Stop Sale Of Failed Project's Sites
The Third Circuit tossed a New Jersey city's challenge of a bankruptcy court ruling that allowed the two local properties of a failed affordable housing project to be sold to a third party, according to an unpublished opinion Monday.
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March 25, 2024
NJ Law Paves An Aggressive Affordable-Housing Path
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill that will overhaul the state's affordable housing framework, signaling state priorities with an aggressive approach that has already garnered pushback from municipalities.
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March 25, 2024
Jury Hands Mortgage Co. $73K Win In Trade Secrets Fight
An Ohio federal jury has found that Revolution Mortgage owes just over $73,700 to competitor Equity Resources in a case where Equity accused its rival of misappropriation of trade secrets.
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March 25, 2024
'Infested Slum' Suit Warrants Class Cert., Conn. Justices Told
Former tenants of a Hartford apartment complex are urging the Connecticut Supreme Court to let them pursue class claims that the complex turned into a "mold and cockroach infested slum," arguing in a hearing Monday that a lower court focused too heavily on the differences between the conditions of each unit.
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March 25, 2024
DeSantis OKs Bill Easing Teardown Of Old Coastal Buildings
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a bill limiting local control over the takedown and replacement of coastline structures that are out of step with building codes, after changes to the measure exempted some historic waterfront districts.
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March 25, 2024
High Court Won't Weigh In On ND Mineral Rights Takings Suit
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to wade into a fight over oil and gas mineral rights underneath a North Dakota lake, rejecting former rights owners' argument that states' sovereign immunity does not protect them from takings claims in federal court.
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March 25, 2024
Law360 2024 Real Estate Authority Editorial Board
Law360 is pleased to announce the formation of its 2024 Real Estate Authority Editorial Board, which includes leading industry experts, to provide feedback and shape coverage goals.
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March 22, 2024
OCC Fines Sterling Bank's Ex-COO $150K For Lax Oversight
The former president of Michigan-based Sterling Bancorp Inc. has been ordered to pay $150,000 by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for allegedly failing to properly oversee the bank's Advantage Loan Program, which presented "high risks for fraud, money laundering, and lending misconduct."
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March 22, 2024
Feds Delay Community Lending Assessment Change To 2026
Federal banking regulators have pushed back a looming implementation date for part of their revamped community lending rules, delaying the roll-out of certain changes in a move that is raising fresh criticism of the rulemaking amid an industry-backed legal challenge.
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March 22, 2024
US Bank Ends $3.5B RMBS Trusts Suits Against BofA, Others
U.S. Bank on Friday notified a New York federal judge it permanently discontinued two lawsuits against First Franklin Financial, Merrill Lynch Mortgage and Bank of America relating to substandard loans in residential mortgage-backed securities trusts worth $3.5 billion, two years after the parties reached a conditional settlement.
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March 22, 2024
Real Estate Co. Says Ch. 7 Trustee Ginned Up Conn. AG Probe
A company that buys houses from financially distressed individuals and rents the homes back to their former owners filed a scathing adversary proceeding against a Chapter 7 trustee's avoidance action, claiming the trustee ginned up a "baseless" state government probe and is harming several estates she claims to be protecting.
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March 22, 2024
Airbnb Sued Over Conn. Woman's Fatal Burns In Jamaica
Airbnb has taken to Connecticut federal court to defend against claims that it is financially responsible for an explosion at a Jamaican rental property that caused first-degree burns over 56% of a renter's body, eventually leading to the woman's death in the U.S. two months later.
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March 22, 2024
5th Circ. Lifts SEC Climate Rule Stay After 8th Circ. Lottery Win
The Fifth Circuit on Friday lifted a temporary block on the implementation of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's new emissions reporting requirements, following the selection of the Eighth Circuit as the venue for consolidated proceedings of the various suits about the agency's controversial rules.
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March 22, 2024
Home Sellers Hope $58M Compass Deal Helps Spur Others
Compass Inc. announced Friday that it would pay home sellers $57.5 million in the first settlement since the National Association of Realtors reached its own deal this month to pay $418 million and overhaul rules that have effectively restricted how brokers buy and sell homes and how they're paid.
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March 22, 2024
Crow Buys Portfolio Of Nearly 10K Manufactured Homesites
Crow Holdings has closed a portfolio deal for 46 manufactured housing properties containing 9,838 homesites in Indiana, Ohio, Florida, Missouri, Illinois and Montana, the real estate investment and development firm announced.
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March 22, 2024
NY Landlords Say Rent Law Update OK'd 'Warrantless' Search
Landlords in New York's Hudson Valley have filed suit against the state and two cities, alleging a December law that raised the stakes for property owners that fail to cooperate with municipalities looking to enact rent stabilization is unconstitutional.
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March 22, 2024
Fla. Judge Allows Sale Of Ex-MLBer's House In Fraud Suit
A Florida state court judge on Friday allowed the sale of a house owned by ex-Boston Red Sox outfielder Rusney Castillo to go forward over the objection of a sports managing company, which accused the baseball player of fraudulent transfer in order to avoid a $3 million judgment against him.
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March 22, 2024
5th Circ. Asked For Do-Over In Hurricane Coverage Feud
The owners of a New Orleans apartment complex urged the Fifth Circuit to rethink ordering them to arbitrate Hurricane Ida damage claims under New York law, arguing New York's choice-of-law clause would ordinarily be unenforceable under Louisiana law if it weren't couched within the arbitration provision.
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March 22, 2024
Colo. Water District Illegally Doubled Tax Rate, Panel Says
A water conservancy district violated the Colorado Constitution when it doubled its property tax rate without voter approval, a state appeals court ruled, reversing a lower court's decision against a proposed class of property owners.
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March 22, 2024
NYC Landlord Jailed For 'Notoriously Negligent' Conditions
One of New York City's "most notoriously negligent landlords" will spend up to 60 days in Riker's Island jail after he ignored the conditions of two apartment buildings in Manhattan's Washington Heights neighborhood, the city's Department of Housing Preservation and Devleopment has announced.
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March 22, 2024
NYC Realty Co. Seeks Ax of Building Super's Wage Suit
A New York realty group asked a federal judge Friday for an early win in a building superintendent's lawsuit alleging he was denied overtime and adequate meal and rest breaks, saying his claims are baseless and he contradicts himself in subsequent court filings.
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March 21, 2024
Navy Federal Wants Racial Lending Discrimination Suit Axed
Navy Federal Credit Union on Thursday urged a Virginia federal court to toss a consolidated proposed class action accusing it of racial lending discrimination following a CNN report last year, arguing the plaintiffs have not shown that they were qualified for the loans they applied for, or that the credit union considered race when denying their applications.
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March 21, 2024
Developer Says Partner Mishandled Funds In Denver Project
A real estate developer and a related online platform have accused a hedge fund in Colorado state court of misusing grant money and owing fees for a Denver commercial housing project.
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March 21, 2024
8th Circ. Backs Attys' Win In COVID Hotel Eviction Challenge
Two government attorneys did not violate the U.S. Constitution when they gave the green light to a Minnesota police department to forcibly remove a resident from a Super 8 motel in June 2020 amid a COVID-19 era eviction ban, the Eighth Circuit ruled in a precedential opinion Thursday, citing a "dearth of precedent."
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March 21, 2024
Judge In Blackstone Lease Row Wants Colo. Justices' Input
A Colorado federal judge has said he would like to have the state Supreme Court answer key questions in a putative class action against Blackstone subsidiaries, writing that tenants' claims alleging the companies' lease agreements violate state law present novel legal issues with little case law to provide guidance.
Expert Analysis
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LA's High-Value Real Estate Transfer Tax Should Be Scrapped
Los Angeles’ recently implemented high-value property transfer tax has chilled the real estate market, is failing to meet revenue expectations and raises significant constitutional concerns, making it a flawed piece of legislation that should be invalidated, says attorney Paul Weinberg.
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How Attys Can Avoid Exposing Their Firms To Cyberattacks
Attorneys are the weakest link in their firms' cyberdefenses because hackers often exploit the gap between individuals’ work and personal cybersecurity habits, but there are some steps lawyers can take to reduce the risks they create for their employers, say Mark Hurley and Carmine Cicalese at Digital Privacy & Protection.
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Foreign Investment In Real Estate Is Getting More Complicated
Increasing federal scrutiny and a proliferation of new state laws targeting foreign investment in real estate may complicate or prevent transactions even by U.S. companies or funds that have shareholders or limited partners from China and other countries of concern, say attorneys at Akin.
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Virginia 'Rocket Docket' Slowdown Is Likely A Blip
After being the fastest or second-fastest federal civil trial court for 14 straight years, the Eastern District of Virginia has slid to 18th place, but the rocket docket’s statistical tumble doesn't mean the district no longer maintains a speedy civil docket, says Robert Tata at Hunton.
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Home Equity Option Contracts Appear Ripe For Rating
Given that home equity option contracts share similarities with evolving asset types like litigation funding, and that courts continue to characterize them as real estate option contracts, it seems they are poised to be rated in the near future, say Darius Horton and Holly Spencer Bunting at Mayer Brown.
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5 Management Tips To Keep Law Firm Merger Talks Moving
Many law firm mergers that make solid business sense still fall apart due to the costs and frustrations of inefficient negotiations, but firm managers can increase the chance of success by effectively planning and executing merger discussions, say Lisa Smith and Kristin Stark at Fairfax Associates.
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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.