More Real Estate Coverage
-
February 23, 2024
Tribal Biz Atty Must Meet Calif. DA Over Greenhouse Wreckage
A California federal judge has ordered the lawyer for a business owned by a tribal conglomerate to attend a hearing with San Bernardino County's district attorney, saying the lawyer must explain why he forced the DA to file a unilateral status report about the destruction of illegal cannabis greenhouses.
-
February 23, 2024
1st Circ. Told Wind Farm's Approval Should've Been A Breeze
A wind farm developer has asked the First Circuit to reject fishing groups' challenge to the U.S. Department of the Interior's approval of a proposed project off the coast of Martha's Vineyard, saying the effort to sink the plan can't survive because the agency did things by the book.
-
February 22, 2024
Wildlife Group Sinks USDA Agricultural Wetlands Rule
A D.C. federal judge on Thursday ruled that the U.S. Department of Agriculture inappropriately altered its program designed to stop the development of wetlands on farmland and struck down those regulations.
-
February 22, 2024
Coldwell Banker Wins Trade Secrets Fight On Directed Verdict
A California state judge issued a directed verdict for Coldwell Banker's Orange County division in a case where a rival real estate company accused it of poaching employees and stealing trade secrets.
-
February 22, 2024
Ex-HFZ Capital Chief Denies $86M Real Estate Fraud Charges
The former head of troubled real estate firm HFZ Capital Group has pled not guilty in New York state court to dozens of criminal charges alleging he spearheaded a series of theft and tax fraud schemes that netted more than $86 million in total.
-
February 22, 2024
3 Firms Steer Stonepeak's $3B Wind Farm Stake Deal
Stonepeak plans to buy a 50% noncontrolling stake in Dominion Energy's Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project for $3 billion and split construction costs with the electricity giant in a deal powered by three law firms, the companies announced.
-
February 21, 2024
Justices Urged To Turn Away $285M Panama Canal Award Suit
The operator of the Panama Canal on Tuesday urged the U.S. Supreme Court to turn away a case in which $285 million in arbitral awards are being challenged over an arbitrator's "evident partiality," saying close relationships between arbitrators are so "ubiquitous" in international arbitration that they are unremarkable.
-
February 21, 2024
Biogas Investment Tax Credit Still Needs Tweaks, IRS Told
While the IRS clarified that the clean energy investment tax credit would cover eligible upgrading equipment integral to biogas properties, the industry could get a boost if final rules allow separate ownership of the equipment, stakeholders told the agency Wednesday.
-
February 21, 2024
Green Groups Press FERC To Rescind Tenn. Pipeline Approval
Environmentalists on Tuesday urged the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to undo its approval of a Tennessee pipeline project that will serve a Tennessee Valley Authority gas-fired power plant that is replacing a coal-fired plant, saying the agency botched its consideration of the project's climate change impacts.
-
February 20, 2024
Fond Du Lac Tribe Seeks Sanctions In Mining Land Suit
The Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians has asked a Minnesota federal judge to sanction PolyMet Mining Inc. in the tribe's suit over a land swap for a copper and nickel mine, arguing that the company and its lawyers are obstructing the discovery process.
-
February 20, 2024
5th Circ. Seeks Texas Justices' Input On LNG Permit Fight
The Fifth Circuit has yanked its prior ruling that scrapped an emissions permit issued by Texas environmental regulators for a proposed liquefied natural gas terminal, saying it wants the state's Supreme Court to weigh in on how to define the best available pollution control technology under Texas law.
-
February 20, 2024
Landlord Bias Can Be Eviction Defense, Colo. Justices Say
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that tenants facing eviction can raise allegations of a landlord's discrimination or retaliation as a defense, directing a trial court to take another look at the case of a woman who accused her landlord of trying to boot her because she refused to have sex with him.
-
February 20, 2024
New Yorker Writer Pans Subpoena Over Adams' Ties To Pastor
A writer for The New Yorker said that being forced to testify about an indicted Brooklyn pastor's ties to Mayor Eric Adams would step on journalistic privilege, arguing that Manhattan federal prosecutors could instead rely on other sources.
-
February 20, 2024
IRS Issues Fix For Tax Treatment Of Gas Upgrading Equipment
The Internal Revenue Service issued a correction clarifying the tax treatment of certain gas upgrading equipment under proposed rules related to the energy credit.
-
February 20, 2024
Justices Won't Review Partnership's $26M Easement Row
The U.S. Supreme Court declined Tuesday to hear a partnership's bid to keep a $26.5 million deduction for a land conservation easement, letting stand a decision that the case was barred by a law that prohibits suits that restrain the collection of taxes.
-
February 16, 2024
Florida Loses Wetland Permitting Authority In D.C. Court Case
A D.C. judge has stripped Florida of its federally delegated authority to permit wetlands development, ruling that U.S. environmental regulators failed to analyze the impact of their decision on endangered and threatened species and handing a victory to conservation groups challenging the program.
-
February 16, 2024
Gov't Wants More Alaskan Native Reps On Subsistence Board
The U.S. government has plans to strengthen Alaskan Native tribal representation on its Federal Subsistence Board, saying the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Department of Agriculture have proposed a new rule to add board members with personal experience of subsistence living in rural Alaska.
-
February 16, 2024
Feds Tell 1st Circ. Mass. Wind Farm Approval Was Sound
The federal government has said a Massachusetts federal judge properly dumped a challenge lodged by commercial fishing groups seeking to upend federal approvals of the Vineyard Wind project, telling the First Circuit that the record shows federal agencies thoroughly studied the project's potential impacts.
-
February 15, 2024
Software Company Seeks $10M Policy Limit For Bad Deal
A software company told a California federal court that its insurer breached its contract by failing to cover $10 million in damages suffered because of misrepresentations made by a property and casualty insurance software company it bought.
-
February 15, 2024
New York Says Thruway Doesn't Cut Through Cayuga Land
New York state officials are asking a federal district court to dismiss litigation by the Cayuga Nation that seeks a cut of the tolls collected on the New York State Thruway, arguing that the tribe can't prove it had possession of the land over which the highway was being built.
-
February 14, 2024
Navajo Say Hopi Tribe Bid To Join Land Trust Suit Is Untimely
The Navajo Nation has said the Hopi Tribe's attempt to intervene in its lawsuit against the U.S. government over a land trust and casino road easement dispute is untimely, coming after nearly four years of litigation.
-
February 14, 2024
Mass. Court Doubts Northeastern Vowed To Keep Land Public
Massachusetts Appeals Court justices appeared Wednesday to question a claim by the town of Nahant and a group of residents that Northeastern University had implicitly dedicated oceanfront land it acquired in the 1960s as a wildlife preserve and park by allowing public access for decades.
-
February 13, 2024
Calif. Clean Energy Storage Secures $350M From Blackstone
Arevon Energy Inc. said Tuesday that it closed on financing for a California renewable energy storage facility, including $350 million from a Blackstone unit in the form of preferred equity, with guidance from three law firms.
-
February 13, 2024
DC Circ. Again Nixes Challenge To FERC Pipeline Powers
The D.C. Circuit has reinstated its prior judgment affirming a lower court's dismissal of Virginia landowners' constitutional challenge to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's approval of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, nearly a year after the U.S. Supreme Court remanded the case.
-
February 12, 2024
Utah Defends Standing In Monument Cases Before 10th Circ.
The state of Utah has doubled down in urging the Tenth Circuit to reverse a Utah federal judge's decision dismissing the state's challenge of the Biden administration's redesignation of large swaths of land as part of two national monuments, saying its case should have readily survived the motions to dismiss that led to its downfall.
Expert Analysis
-
How Crypto-Friendly Bank Failures Will Change Tech Industry
The recent failures of Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank and Silvergate Capital are likely to result in significant shifts in how the global tech industry and its financial partners address legal, compliance, regulatory and business risks, says Erin Bryan at Dorsey & Whitney.
-
4 Ways To Reboot Your Firm's Stalled Diversity Program
Law firms that have failed to see real progress despite years of diversity initiatives can move forward by committing to tackle four often-taboo obstacles that hinder diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, says Steph Maher at Jaffe.
-
What To Expect From A Litigation Finance Industry Recession
There's little data on how litigation finance would fare in a recession, but a look at stakeholders' incentives suggests corporate demand for litigation finance would increase in a recessionary environment, while the number of funders could shrink, says Matthew Oxman at LexShares.
-
Insureds Must Prep For Drought-Related Service Interruptions
Amid the ongoing U.S. water crisis, corporate policyholders must prepare for the emerging risk of service interruption property damage and time element loss, including through careful examination of their current and renewal property policies, says Micah Skidmore at Haynes Boone.
-
How To Select The Right Arbitrator For A Construction Dispute
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
In construction disputes, selecting an arbitrator is a critical decision with many nuances to consider, as different types of potential panelists all come with their own experiences, views and possible biases, says Edward Gentilcore at Blank Rome.
-
Liquefied Natural Gas Outlook: Industry Under Pressure
While last year saw a remarkable turnaround in the liquefied natural gas market, with strong demand for U.S. LNG projects, the industry must now confront problems including increased credit and construction costs, and the possibility of fewer LNG conversions due to higher prices, say Monica Hwang and Silvia Smith at O'Melveny.
-
Bid Protest Spotlight: Lessons For Joint Ventures
In this month's bid protest roundup, Alissandra McCann at MoFo examines recent decisions from the U.S. Government Accountability Office and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims of particular significance to joint ventures, concerning past performance evaluation and misrepresentation, and registration in the System for Award Management.
-
Justices Leave Questions Open On Dual-Purpose Atty Advice
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent dismissal of In re: Grand Jury on grounds that certiorari was improvidently granted leaves unresolved a circuit split over the proper test for deciding when attorney-client privilege protects a lawyer's advice that has multiple purposes, say Susan Combs and Richard Kiely at Holland & Hart.
-
India's Budget Proposals May Ease Entry For Certain Sectors
India’s recently released budget includes proposals to facilitate doing business in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City and moderate thousands of compliance requirements, opening up new opportunities for foreign businesses in the digital infrastructure, manufacturing and renewable energy sectors, say Mukesh Butani and Seema Kejriwal at BMR Legal.
-
Steps Lawyers Can Take Following Involuntary Terminations
Though lawyers can struggle to recover from involuntary terminations, it's critical that they be able to step back, review any feedback given and look for opportunities for growth, say Jessica Hernandez at JLH Coaching & Consulting and Albert Tawil at Lateral Hub.
-
High Court Ax Of Atty-Client Privilege Case Deepens Split
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent dismissal of In re: Grand Jury as improvidently granted maintains a three-way circuit split on the application of attorney-client privilege to multipurpose communications, although the justices have at least shown a desire to address it, say Trey Bourn and Thomas DiStanislao at Butler Snow.
-
3 Job Satisfaction Questions For Partners Considering Moves
The post-pandemic rise in legal turnover may cause partners to ask themselves what they really want from their workplace, how they plan to grow their practice and when it's time to make a move, says Patrick Moya at Quaero Group.
-
4 Exercises To Quickly Build Trust On Legal Teams
High-performance legal teams can intentionally build trust through a rigorous approach, including open-ended conversations and personality assessments, to help attorneys bond fast, even if they are new to the firm or group, says Ben Sachs at the University of Virginia School of Law.