Residential

  • May 10, 2024

    Colo. Investor Says Fox Rothschild Atty's Missteps Cost $3M

    One of three investors behind a Colorado development has filed suit against Fox Rothschild LLP and an attorney in state court, alleging that the attorney's failures led the entity to lose upwards of $3 million when a relationship with the fellow investors soured.

  • May 10, 2024

    Solar Co. Stockholders Claim Execs, Board Caused Losses

    SunPower's current and former leadership was accused in a derivative shareholder suit of sending the residential solar power company into a financial tailspin by revising financial statements multiple times and causing the stock value to drop.

  • May 10, 2024

    Ore. Court Drops Tax Value Of Rural Property

    The Oregon Tax Court lowered the real market valuation of a rural property with outbuildings used for storage of a car collection, relying partially on the owner's cost approach to the value.

  • May 10, 2024

    Nationstar Mortgage Wants To Escape 'Junk Fee' Suit

    Nationstar Mortgage LLC has asked a Washington federal judge to toss a proposed class action alleging it illegally charged homeowners a "junk fee" for written payoff quotes, saying the suit's claims fail because expedited payoff fees are not unlawful and do not breach the terms of the relevant loan agreements.

  • May 09, 2024

    Industry Orgs Urge DC Circ. To Ax HUD Disparate Impact Rule

    Several industry associations are backing a D.C. Circuit challenge to a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development rule governing disparate impact claims under the Fair Housing Act, contending the federal agency exceeded its powers and ignored Supreme Court precedent in issuing the regulation.

  • May 09, 2024

    Making Borrower Contact Ex Was Reasonable, Court Told

    A Connecticut woman's lawsuit accusing her mortgage servicer of forcing her to get in touch with an abusive ex-partner must be dismissed because it doesn't properly state a claim for violation of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the company told a federal court Thursday.

  • May 09, 2024

    REIT Says Insurers Must Cover Antitrust Conspiracy Claims

    A real estate investment trust accused its insurers of wrongfully denying coverage for an underlying multidistrict litigation alleging that the company was part of an antitrust conspiracy to inflate rents for multifamily housing, telling a Colorado federal court that the MDL falls plainly within multiple coverage parts of its policies.

  • May 09, 2024

    NY Appeals Court Says Parking Garage Is Rent-Stabilized

    A New York state appeals court on Thursday upheld a housing agency's decision finding that a parking garage in a building located in the Bronx borough of New York City is rent-stabilized.

  • May 09, 2024

    NY Tribunal Affirms Couple Can't Claim Real Estate Deduction

    A New York couple was correctly denied a real estate deduction on their personal income tax returns because the husband didn't qualify as a real estate professional, the state Tax Appeals Tribunal affirmed in a decision released Thursday.

  • May 09, 2024

    Mass. Tax Board Axes Home's Value Based On Similar Sales

    A Massachusetts home was overvalued, the state Appellate Tax Board ruled, finding evidence of comparable sales presented by the homeowner to be persuasive.

  • May 09, 2024

    Colo. Lawmakers Approve Extended Property Tax Cuts

    Colorado would extend its current temporary property tax rate reductions into 2024 and would lower tax rates for future years under legislation passed by Colorado lawmakers that could save property owners about $1 billion in its first year.

  • May 09, 2024

    Va. Builder's Sand Purchases Found Subject To Sales Tax

    A Virginia homebuilder that purchased dirt and sand must pay sales tax on those purchases because both are tangible personal property, the state's tax commissioner ruled.

  • May 08, 2024

    Fla. Condo Terminations Could Spread, But Won't Be Easy

    A reckoning is approaching for aging condominium buildings across Florida, with state structural inspections and reserve studies mandated after the deadly 2021 Surfside building collapse due at year's end. But although this could present much needed redevelopment opportunities, the path looks as difficult to navigate as ever, experts said at a real estate conference this week in Miami.

  • May 08, 2024

    Execs Weigh In On Housing Trends At DLA Piper Panel

    Why is it so hard to build housing? Blame high interest rates, spiking insurance rates and maybe even some sort of elderberry beetle — according to a group of housing development executives gathered in Chicago this week for DLA Piper's annual real estate conference.

  • May 08, 2024

    Brokers Lean On Other Business With Transactions Flat In Q1

    Commercial real estate's big four brokers are still waiting for inflation to cool down so capital markets can rebound, despite signs in the first quarter that a recovery was underway.

  • May 08, 2024

    Norfolk Southern Class Counsel Talks Settlement, Legacy

    With residents of East Palestine, Ohio, on the verge of a $600 million payout for the 2023 Norfolk Southern train derailment, plaintiffs' co-lead counsel Jayne Conroy shared some thoughts about the role property values played in the proposed settlement and what ripple effect their arguments might have in similar cases.

  • May 08, 2024

    Coldwell Banker's Lockboxes Draw BIPA Suit

    Coldwell Banker has been sued in Illinois state court by a proposed class of employees who claim it violated Illinois' biometric privacy law by failing to get their informed consent before requiring them to scan their fingerprints to access biometric lockboxes that store keys for rental units shown to potential customers.

  • May 08, 2024

    NAR Magazine Subscribers Drop Data-Selling Claims

    A proposed class has mediated and permanently dismissed claims in Michigan federal court accusing the National Association of Realtors of illegally selling, exchanging and renting the personal data of subscribers to the NAR's Realtor magazine.

  • May 08, 2024

    Homebuyers Can't Stop NAR's $418M Settlement Hearing

    An Illinois federal judge said Wednesday she won't derail a final settlement hearing for the National Association of Realtors' $418 million deal with home sellers, despite a class of homebuyers' claims that the deal interferes with their separate case, saying they will have a chance to voice concerns at the hearing.  

  • May 08, 2024

    Nixon Peabody Closes Green Retrofit Deal For Mass. Housing

    Nixon Peabody LLP has wrapped up a deal that will allow older adults in Quincy, Massachusetts, to use U.S. Department of Housing and Development funds and a federally insured loan to build a new HVAC system that's energy efficient and to make their housing more accessible, the firm announced Wednesday.

  • May 08, 2024

    Colo. Lawmakers OK Historic Structure Tax Credit Extension

    Colorado's tax credit for rehabilitation of historic structures would be extended and apply to structures as young as 30 years old under legislation approved by the Senate and headed to the governor.

  • May 07, 2024

    LA Sued For Landmarking House Marilyn Monroe Died In

    Owners of a Los Angeles home where Marilyn Monroe died sued the city in California state court saying it orchestrating an illegal, rigged process to designate it as a historical landmark, arguing Monday nothing in the home shows the actress spent a single day in it.

  • May 07, 2024

    Real Estate Co. Says Privilege, Immunity Don't Protect Trustee

    A real estate company says a Chapter 7 trustee overseeing a Connecticut woman's personal bankruptcy cannot invoke the doctrine of qualified immunity or assert a litigation privilege to avoid being countersued for trying to stop a home sale the trustee considered fraudulent.

  • May 07, 2024

    Property Co. Gets $365M In Loans Modified For Biz Growth

    Property owner and manager The GSH Group wrapped up the modification of $365 million in multifamily senior loans for its properties with lender Arbor Realty, it announced Tuesday.

  • May 07, 2024

    Real Estate Co. Settles Homeowner's Telemarketing Suit

    A potential class settled its Telephone Consumer Protection Act suit against a New York real estate company that buys and sells homes, according to a New York federal judge's order.

Expert Analysis

  • What CRA Deadline Means For Biden Admin. Rulemaking

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    With the 2024 election rapidly approaching, the Biden administration must race to finalize proposed agency actions within the next few weeks, or be exposed to the chance that the following Congress will overturn the rules under the Congressional Review Act, say attorneys at Covington.

  • How New Rule Would Change CFIUS Enforcement Powers

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    Before the May 15 comment deadline, companies may want to weigh in on proposed regulatory changes to enforcement and mitigation tools at the disposal of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, including broadened subpoena powers, difficult new mitigation timelines and higher maximum penalties, say attorneys at Venable.

  • 2nd Circ. Eminent Domain Ruling Empowers Municipalities

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    The Second Circuit's recent decision in Brinkmann v. Town of Southold, finding that a pretextual taking does not violate the Fifth Amendment's takings clause, gives municipalities a powerful tool with which to block unwanted development projects, even in bad faith, say James O'Connor and Benjamin Sugarman at Phillips Lytle.

  • SEC Should Be Allowed To Equip Investors With Climate Info

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's new rule to require more climate-related disclosures will provide investors with much-needed clarity, despite opponents' attempts to challenge the rule with misused legal arguments, say Sarah Goetz at Democracy Forward and Cynthia Hanawalt at Columbia University’s Sabin Center for Climate Change.

  • 8 Fla. Statutes That Construction Cos. Should Prepare For

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    In this article, Jason Lambert at Hill Ward discusses a number of recent bills out of the Florida Legislature targeting construction companies in the Sunshine State that have been sent to the governor for signature, at least some of which will have broad impacts that affected companies should prepare for ahead of the July 1 effective date.

  • Time To Fix NYC's Broken Property Assessment System

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    A New York appellate court's decision to revive Tax Equity Now New York v. City of New York may force the city to revamp its outdated and unfair real estate tax assessment system, which could be fixed with a couple of simple changes, says Seth Feldman at Romer Debbas.

  • 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.