More Real Estate Coverage
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February 09, 2024
Owens Corning To Buy Door-Maker Masonite In $3.9B Deal
Ohio-based construction materials manufacturer Owens Corning said Friday it has inked a $3.9 billion agreement to buy Tampa, Florida-based door-maker Masonite International Corp., just weeks after the latter company's earlier effort to buy PGT Innovations Inc. fell through.
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February 08, 2024
Jackson Walker Adds Real Estate Pro In Austin From Winstead
Jackson Walker LLP has strengthened its land use practice group in Austin, Texas, with the addition of a senior counsel who came aboard from Winstead PC.
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February 07, 2024
5th Circ. Pressed To Rethink Wipeout Of LNG Air Permit
Developers of a proposed liquefied natural gas terminal on the Texas Gulf Coast told the Fifth Circuit that project opponents are wrongly asserting federal law in opposing requests for the appeals court to reconsider a panel's ruling that scrapped an emissions permit issued by state environmental regulators.
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February 07, 2024
Mass. Residents Want High Court To Undo Tribe's Land Grant
A group of Massachusetts residents are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a ruling that allowed the U.S. Department of the Interior to take 321 acres into trust for the development of a billion-dollar tribal hotel and casino, arguing that a lower court ignored precedent in determining that the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe is under federal jurisdiction.
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February 07, 2024
Ohio County Accused Of Extorting New Property Owners
Montgomery County, Ohio, unlawfully denies water and sewage service to new property owners if the previous owner had an outstanding debt for those services, forcing them to pay off another party's debt through "extortion" and "coercion," according to a new proposed class action filed in federal court.
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February 06, 2024
DC Circ. Unsure FERC Can't Order NextEra To Cover Plant Costs
NextEra Energy's request to be made whole for upgrades to its New Hampshire nuclear power plant's circuit breaker seemed to get a frosty reception from the D.C. Circuit during oral arguments Tuesday.
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February 06, 2024
NC Panel Backs $5M Win For Developers In Water Fee Fight
The North Carolina state appeals court on Tuesday backed a $5.3 million judgment developers won in their suit accusing the city of Greensboro of imposing illegal pre-service water fees, finding the fees were charged late in the construction process but before volume-measuring water and sewer services were available on the properties.
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February 05, 2024
Md. Jury Set To Decide If Ex-State's Atty Lied On Loan Apps
The legal team representing former Baltimore state's attorney Marilyn Mosby said during closing arguments Monday that she mistakenly placed her trust in her then-husband to address tax debts the couple owed to the IRS, while federal prosecutors accused Mosby of shifting the blame for allegedly lying on mortgage loan applications.
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February 05, 2024
FERC Says It Followed Court's Orders With LNG Reapproval
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission defended its reapproval of a Texas liquefied natural gas terminal Monday, telling the D.C. Circuit it addressed the appeals court's concerns after the court ordered the agency to revise its environmental reviews of the project.
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February 05, 2024
States, Businesses Push To Sink Feds' Amended WOTUS Rule
Texas, Idaho and more than a dozen industry groups are asking a Texas federal judge to throw out the U.S. government's latest rule to define the "waters of the United States," arguing that it oversteps federal authorities under the Clean Water Act, is overly vague and flies in the face of a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling.
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February 05, 2024
Va. Landlord Accused Of Exploitation Denied Pretrial Release
A Virginia federal judge refused to release a Hampton-based landlord who is facing trial on allegations of exploiting Black tenants, noting the man previously violated release and will likely face a long sentence if convicted.
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February 02, 2024
Tribes Fight Industry Bid To Weigh In On Land Swap Dispute
The Shoshone-Bannock Tribes are objecting to two industry groups weighing in on a dispute over a federal land transfer for the expansion of a fertilizer plant, telling the Ninth Circuit that the organizations' "impermissibly partisan" arguments offer no novel legal perspectives on the case.
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February 02, 2024
Court's Claims Of Internal Dispute A Myth, Tribe Tells Fed. Circ.
The Winnemucca Indian Colony is asking the Federal Circuit to overturn a decision that dismissed allegations in a $208 million breach of trust suit against the Bureau of Indian Affairs, saying the Court of Federal Claims wrongly characterized the events that underpinned its litigation as an internal dispute within the tribe.
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February 02, 2024
Property Plays: Brennan, PowerHouse Data, Cambridge
Brennan Investment Group has purchased a portfolio of industrial buildings in Florida and Colorado, PowerHouse Data has picked up 145 acres in Virginia and Cambridge Realty Capital has landed $52.5 million in financing for multifamily properties in Kentucky and Illinois.
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February 02, 2024
Green Group Blasts Berkshire Unit's Bid To Flush Water Suit
An environmentalist group urged a North Carolina federal court to keep alive its Clean Water Act complaint against a Berkshire Hathaway Inc. unit, arguing that it's packed with specifics about how pollution from a development has sullied nearby waterways.
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February 02, 2024
Ore. Property Owner Denied Tax Break Over Late Mailing
An Oregon property owner is not eligible for a 3% discount on property taxes granted to early payers because he did not show that he mailed his payments in a timely manner to meet a statutory deadline, the Oregon Tax Court ruled.
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February 01, 2024
Alaska Tribes Seek Canada Recognition To Consult On Mines
A group of tribal governments in southeast Alaska is asking Canadian regulators to acknowledge its historic presence along the boundary-crossing Unuk River, in order to protect the watershed from open-pit gold and silver mining Skeena Resources Ltd. is proposing in British Columbia.
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February 01, 2024
Insurer Settles $1.7M Suit Over School's Tornado Damage
A Nashville private school agreed to permanently end its $1.7 million unpaid tornado damage suit against Cincinnati Insurance Co. and the school's former agent, according to an order in Tennessee federal court.
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February 01, 2024
Remine Shareholder Sues In Del. Over $53.5M MLS Merger
A shareholder of a real estate services platform acquired by five multiple listing services in 2021 sued the company's founders and directors in Delaware's Court of Chancery, alleging that they structured the $53.5 million sale for their own benefit at the expense of common stockholders.
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January 31, 2024
Tenn. Bill Aims To Cap Hikes On Local Hotel Occupancy Taxes
Tennessee would bar municipalities from raising local taxes on hotel and motel stays above a certain level under a bill filed in the state House of Representatives.
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January 31, 2024
Treasury Aims To Finish Credit Monetization Rules In 2024
The U.S. Department of the Treasury aims to issue final rules this year on two new ways to monetize tax credits tied to clean energy construction projects, known as the direct pay and transferability methods, an official said.
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January 30, 2024
Timber Co. Says Seller 'Twisting' Words In Carbon Offset Fight
A New Hampshire-based timber company has told a North Carolina court that an investment firm specializing in forestland is "twisting" words in an attempt to escape claims that it overvalued the carbon offset of a property by about $1 million.
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January 30, 2024
6th Circ. Backs Antero's Win In Oil Royalties Breach Suit
The Sixth Circuit affirmed on Tuesday a lower court's dismissal of a lessor's contract breach suit accusing Antero Resources of underpaying royalties under an oil-and-gas lease, finding the lessor failed to follow the lease's 90-day presuit notice requirement and "made no attempt to provide any prelawsuit notice at all."
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January 30, 2024
Feds, Tesoro Question Landowners' Bid To Join Pipeline Fight
The U.S. government has told a North Dakota federal judge that tribal landowners' push to join a pipeline fight with Tesoro High Plains Pipeline Co. LLC may be premature, while the company said it threatens to turn its litigation against the government "into a circus."
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January 29, 2024
Escrow Agent Not Covered For Fraud Suits, Court Told
An escrow agent no longer has coverage for four underlying suits accusing it of unlawfully withholding funds or distributing them to third parties who had no valid claim to the money, an insurer told a Florida federal court, saying its theft coverage extension endorsement has been exhausted.
Expert Analysis
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The Discipline George Santos Would Face If He Were A Lawyer
Rep. George Santos, who has become a national punchline for his alleged lies, hasn't faced many consequences yet, but if he were a lawyer, even his nonwork behavior would be regulated by the American Bar Association's Model Rules of Professional Conduct, and violations in the past have led to sanctions and even disbarment, says Mark Hinderks at Stinson.
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FinCEN Report Holds Key Russia-Linked Risk Considerations
A recent report from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network reminds financial institutions to review guidance issued on reporting Russia-linked suspicious activity, emphasizing the need to review anti-money laundering and sanctions monitoring processes to remain adaptive to global developments, say Siana Danch and Peter Hardy at Ballard Spahr.
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A Litigation Move That Could Conserve Discovery Resources
Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben proposes the preliminary legal opinion procedure — seeking a court's opinion on a disputed legal standard at the outset, rather than the close, of discovery — as a useful resource-preservation tool for legally complex, discovery-intensive litigation.
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Litigators Should Approach AI Tools With Caution
Artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT hold potential to streamline various aspects of the litigation process, resulting in improved efficiency and outcomes, but should be carefully double-checked for confidentiality, plagiarism and accuracy concerns, say Zachary Foster and Melanie Kalmanson at Quarles & Brady.
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How Proposed BOEM Regs Will Boost Offshore Wind Projects
Newly proposed offshore wind project regulations from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management represent a substantial regulatory shift that will improve transparency around the timing of lease auctions, streamline approval and oversight for projects in development, and provide needed guidance for future projects, say attorneys at K&L Gates.
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Mapping The Transport Sector's Road To Zero Emissions
Transportation companies that hope to lead the multiagency U.S. National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization's recently announced transition to zero-emission vehicles and fuels should anticipate a host of commercial and legal issues, say Levi McAllister and Pamela Wu at Morgan Lewis.
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5 Ways Attorneys Can Use Emotion In Client Pitches
Lawyers are skilled at using their high emotional intelligence to build rapport with clients, so when planning your next pitch, consider how you can create some emotional peaks, personal connections and moments of magic that might help you stick in prospective clients' minds and seal the deal, says consultant Diana Kander.
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A Look At Lease Expansion Options In A Challenging Market
Expansion options can provide a powerful incentive for businesses to sign long-term leases even amid economic uncertainty, but both landlords and tenants must carefully consider the potential rights and terms, says Kris Ferranti at Shearman.
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5 Keys To A Productive Mediation
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Cortney Young at ADR Partners discusses factors that can help to foster success in mediation, including scheduling, preparation, managing client expectations and more.
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Evaluating The Legal Ethics Of A ChatGPT-Authored Motion
Aimee Furness and Sam Mallick at Haynes Boone asked ChatGPT to draft a motion to dismiss, and then scrutinized the resulting work product in light of attorneys' ethical and professional responsibility obligations.
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7 Tips To Increase Your Law Firm's DEI Efforts In 2023
Law firms looking to advance their diversity, equity and inclusion efforts should consider implementing new practices and initiatives this year, including some that require nominal additional effort or expense, say Janet Falk at Falk Communications and Gina Rubel at Furia Rubel.
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Keys To A 9-0 High Court Win: Get Back To Home Base
When I argued for the petitioner in Morgan v. Sundance before the U.S. Supreme Court last year, I made the idea of consistency the cornerstone of my case and built a road map for my argument to ensure I could always return to that home-base theme, says Karla Gilbride at Public Justice.
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New US Waters Definition May Rock The Boat
Federal agencies' latest attempt to define "waters of the United States" attempts to avoid previous rules' failings, though it will potentially increase administrative difficulties for regulated entities and also leaves ample ground for litigation, say Christopher Thomas and Andrea Driggs at Perkins Coie.