Residential
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April 25, 2024
Peer Street Says It Has Votes To Confirm Ch. 11 Plan
Bankrupt crowd-funded real estate investment platform Peer Street Inc. asked a Delaware bankruptcy judge to confirm its proposed Chapter 11 plan and disclosure statement, saying its creditors have voted overwhelmingly to support the plan ahead of its confirmation hearing scheduled for Friday.
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April 25, 2024
Gibson Dunn, Simpson Thacher Guide $1.6B Campus Deal
KKR on Thursday announced the purchase of a portfolio of 19 student housing properties from Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust, in a $1.64 billion deal advised by Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP.
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April 25, 2024
Mobile Home Co. Pays $85K For Misclassifying Workers
A mobile home transportation company in Texas paid nearly $85,000 in back wages for misclassifying 32 workers, the U.S. Department of Labor announced.
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April 25, 2024
EEOC Says Co. Piled Tasks On Black Worker, Then Fired Him
A real estate company gave a Black manager more than twice as much work as his white colleague, paid him less and then fired him because he was "lazy," the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said in a suit filed in Georgia federal court.
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April 24, 2024
Wash. Property Manager Sued Over Lease Cancellation Fees
A proposed class of tenants accused a Seattle property management company and a Washington debt collection agency in state court of using lease cancellation practices that violate state law.
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April 24, 2024
Mass. Golf Course Manager Gets 13 Months For Tax Fraud
A Massachusetts golf course manager was sentenced to 13 months in prison after pleading guilty to tax charges, following prosecutors' accusations that he manipulated contracts with a home developer to deflate their value.
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April 24, 2024
Court Pauses Order To Sell Office Park In $16M Tax Battle
A New Jersey federal court paused its order allowing the U.S. government to sell a family trust's office park to satisfy a trustee's $16.2 million tax debt Wednesday, giving the family time to appeal a decision approving the sale to the U.S. Supreme Court.
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April 24, 2024
Condo Group Says Insurer Is Blowing Off Wind, Hail Damage
Greater New York Mutual Insurance Co. has moved to federal court an Ohio non-profit condominium community's state court lawsuit accusing it of lowballing the group's wind and hail damage costs and then refusing to engage in their agreed-upon appraisal process.
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April 24, 2024
Title Co. Sues Conn. Atty Over Botched Mortgage Payoff
First American Title Insurance Co. has sued a Connecticut attorney in state court for allegedly mishandling a $340,000 Bridgeport residential property sale, claiming the lawyer, who represented the seller, failed to transmit around $163,000 to cover an existing mortgage and left the insurer stuck footing the bill.
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April 24, 2024
Equity Tallies Illegal Late Fees Owed Tenants In Ruling
Equity Residential executives during an earnings call Wednesday said the landlord is still weighing the implications of a California federal judge's decision in early April voiding its fees for late rent after finding Equity only sought to drum up revenue with the charge in violation of state law.
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April 24, 2024
NY's Housing Incentives, Protections Draw Mixed Reviews
The housing provisions in New York's recently approved $237 billion budget, which includes new tax incentives for developers and increased legal safeguards for tenants facing evictions, received varied reactions from attorneys, housing organizations and lobbyists as they digest all the details.
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April 24, 2024
Landlords Bring NY Rent Law Challenge To High Court Again
Thirteen New York property owners urged the U.S. Supreme Court to review their challenge to two 2019 changes to New York rental laws, arguing that the suit is the better-tailored vehicle Justice Clarence Thomas signaled interest in when denying a similar challenge in January.
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April 24, 2024
KKR Financing REIT Expects $140M Loss From Office Distress
The president of KKR & Co.'s financing-focused real estate investment trust said Wednesday that the company will likely face $140 million in losses in the second quarter due to distress in parts of its office loan portfolio.
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April 23, 2024
Realtors, Home Sellers Get OK For $418M Broker Rules Deal
The National Association of Realtors and a nationwide class of home sellers on Tuesday scored a Missouri federal judge's initial approval of their $418 million settlement resolving claims that the trade group's broker commission rules caused home sellers across the country to pay inflated fees.
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April 23, 2024
Cincinnati Owners Allege Code Conspiracy In $27M Suit
Nine current and former Cincinnati property owners have filed a $27.4 million lawsuit against a roster of city officials, city and county offices, development entities and others, alleging that Cincinnati targeted Black homeowners with building code violations and urged them to sell to developers.
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April 23, 2024
HUD Finalizes Rule Raising Building Standards In Flood Zones
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development published a rule on Tuesday setting stricter flood-protection standards for homes built or fixed with funds from the agency in an effort to manage storm risk and rising insurance costs.
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April 22, 2024
Real Estate Investment Cos. Owe SEC $8.4M For $17.5M Fraud
A pair of companies allegedly used in service of a fraudulent real estate investment scheme will pay over $8.4 million to end claims they were part of the $17.5 million ploy that took in more than 150 would-be investors with claims that the securities involved were "recession-proof."
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April 22, 2024
NJ Town Can't Beat Sanctions Over Legal Malpractice Suit
A New Jersey state appeals panel upheld Monday, in a published opinion, sanctions against the borough of Englewood Cliffs for bringing a now-dismissed legal malpractice suit after a purportedly unfavorable affordable housing settlement.
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April 22, 2024
Judge Trims Claims In HUD Housing Conversion Suit
A D.C. federal judge didn't fully side with either party in a suit over the conversion of a Louisiana public housing development into Section 8 housing, but did vacate the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's decision to close and convert the project.
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April 22, 2024
NY Creates New Affordable Housing, Conversion Tax Breaks
Developers in New York City could qualify for new property tax abatement programs for building affordable housing and converting office buildings into affordable housing units under the New York state budget that Democratic Gov. Kathy Hocul signed into law.
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April 22, 2024
Atlanta Housing Authority, Developer Close On $72M Project
Atlanta's housing authority and multifamily developer The Benoit Group closed the funding for a $72 million affordable senior housing project that's part of a larger mixed-use redevelopment plan.
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April 22, 2024
Judge Orders Board Vote For REIT After Ponzi Convictions
An investor plans to nominate trustee candidates at real estate investment trust United Development Funding after a Baltimore judge ordered most board members to face reelection this year, with executives convicted in a Ponzi scheme serving time in federal prison.
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April 22, 2024
High Court Probes Homeless 'Status' In Camping Ban Suit
U.S. Supreme Court justices probed the limits of what might be considered criminalizing status amid oral arguments Monday over whether an Oregon city's law banning camping on public property violates the Eighth Amendment's bar on cruel and unusual punishment.
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April 22, 2024
NYC Real Estate Week In Review
Davis Polk and Rosenberg & Estis are among the law firms that handled the largest New York City real estate deals that hit public records last week, a period that saw properties for a variety of asset classes — including an office building — trade hands.
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April 19, 2024
Attys Wary Of 'Zero Tolerance' Approach In New PFAS Rule
With Friday's finalization of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's rule designating two "forever chemicals" as hazardous, the stakes just got higher for real property due diligence work.
Expert Analysis
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Insurance Rulings Continue Expansion Of Appraisal's Ambit
Two recent Illinois insurance cases allowing property damage appraisers to determine causation — Wysoczan v. Cambridge in federal court and Shelter v. Morrow in state appellate court — perpetuate a judicial trend that will result in a slower, more expensive and cumbersome appraisal process that resembles litigation, says Matthew Fortin at BatesCarey.
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In The CFPB Playbook: The Bureau In The Courts
From defending the constitutionality of its funding and the scope of its rulemaking authority in the courts to releasing more nonbinding guidance, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau had a busy summer. Orrick's John Coleman discusses all this and more in the second installment of quarterly bureau activity recaps by former CFPB personnel.
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Fintech Cos. Should Consider Asset-Based Financing For RE
Fintech companies that own or plan to acquire real property may be able to utilize asset-based financings to access more efficient and cost-effective forms of capital beyond traditional venture capital sources, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.
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What To Consider When Converting Calif. Offices To Housing
In light of California legislators' recent efforts to expedite the process for converting offices into residential buildings, developers should evaluate both the societal upsides, and the significant economic and legal hurdles, of such conversions, says Steven Otto at Crosbie Gliner.
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How New Lawyers Can Leverage Feedback For Growth
Embracing constructive criticism as a tool for success can help new lawyers accelerate their professional growth and law firms build a culture of continuous improvement, says Katie Aldrich at Fringe Professional Development.
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9 Consumer Finance Issues To Note From CFPB Report
A recent report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau highlights abusive consumer finance tactics that the agency uncovered during supervisory examinations over the last year — among the most significant issues identified: deceptive practices in automotive loan servicing, and consumer reporting and debt collection compliance failures, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
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Twitter Legal Fees Suit Offers Crash Course In Billing Ethics
X Corp.'s suit alleging that Wachtell grossly inflated its fees in the final days of Elon Musk’s Twitter acquisition provides a case study in how firms should protect their reputations by hewing to ethical billing practices and the high standards for professional conduct that govern attorney-client relationships, says Lourdes Fuentes at Karta Legal.
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Transaction Risks In Residential Mortgage M&A Due Diligence
As the residential mortgage market continues to consolidate due to interest rate increases and low housing volume, buyers and sellers should pay attention to a number of compliance considerations ranging from fair lending laws to employee classification, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.
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Ore. Warranty Ruling Complicates Insurance Classification
The Oregon Court of Appeals' recent TruNorth v. Department of Consumer and Business Services holding that a service contract — commonly referred to as an extended warranty — covering commercial property is subject to the state's consumer service contract laws raises regulatory questions for contract obligors, sellers and administrators, say attorneys at Locke Lord.
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ABA's Money-Laundering Resolution Is A Balancing Act
While the American Bar Association’s recently passed resolution recognizes a lawyer's duty to discontinue representation that could facilitate money laundering and other fraudulent activity, it preserves, at least for now, the delicate balance of judicial, state-based regulation of the legal profession and the sanctity of the attorney-client relationship, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.
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FCRA Legislation To Watch For The Remainder Of 2023
If enacted, pending federal and state legislation may result in significant changes for the Fair Credit Reporting Act landscape and thus require regulated entities and practitioners to pivot their compliance strategies, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
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Regulators Must Get Creative To Keep Groundwater Flowing
Even as populations have boomed in Sun Belt states like Arizona, California and Texas, groundwater levels have diminished due to drought and overuse — so regulators must explore options including pumping limits, groundwater replenishment and wastewater reuse to ensure future supplies for residential and commercial needs, says Jeffrey Davis at Integral Consulting.
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Law Firm Professional Development Steps To Thrive In AI Era
As generative artificial intelligence tools rapidly evolve, professional development leaders are instrumental in preparing law firms for the paradigm shifts ahead, and should consider three strategies to help empower legal talent with the skills required to succeed in an increasingly complex technological landscape, say Steve Gluckman and Anusia Gillespie at SkillBurst Interactive.