Residential
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August 23, 2024
Property Plays: KKR, NYC, GSA
Property Plays is a weekly roundup of the latest loans, leases, sales and projects around the country. Send your tips — all confidential — to realestate@law360.com.
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August 23, 2024
PE Fund Says SEC Is Overstepping With 'Fishing Expedition'
A large South Carolina private equity fund has sued the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for allegedly overstepping its authority by trying to regulate the business' activities through an unconstitutional "fishing expedition" investigation that threatens the building of thousands of housing units.
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August 23, 2024
Wire Verification Not Vital In Fla. Fraud Suit, Wells Fargo Says
Wells Fargo urged a Florida federal court Friday to toss a lawsuit alleging the bank allowed a hacker to steal a real estate transaction's proceeds, saying there's no obligation to match a wire beneficiary to their account, and it didn't know the transfer was fraudulent because the process is automated.
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August 23, 2024
2 Firms Guide JV's $210M Refi For NYC Affordable Housing
Real estate company Slate Property Group and its joint venture partner Fundamental Advisors on Friday wrapped up a $210 million refinancing deal for their 304,000-square-foot portfolio of New York City-based affordable and transitional housing properties, in a transaction guided by Seyfarth Shaw LLP and Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft LLP.
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August 23, 2024
Brokerage Startup Challenges NAR Listing Rules
A Utah-based residential brokerage startup has accused the National Association of Realtors, an affiliated Utah multiple listing service and several major brokerages including Keller Williams Realty Inc. of engaging in an antitrust conspiracy that involved the defendants blocking the startup from accessing the NAR's MLS because the startup offers cheaper commission fees.
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August 23, 2024
Insurer Scores Coverage Win Over Retaining Wall Failure
A contractor's insurer has no duty to help cover a $2.66 million settlement over the contractor's faulty construction of retaining walls, a Washington federal court ruled, finding an "impaired property" exclusion applicable.
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August 23, 2024
US Trying Illegal Property Grab For Dad's Tax Debt, Son Says
The son of a man serving a 22-year fraud sentence told a Georgia federal court that the federal government is violating his constitutional rights in trying to take his property to satisfy his parents' tax debts, saying he had nothing to do with his father's crimes.
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August 23, 2024
Williams Mullen Rehires Ellis & Winter Atty In NC
Williams Mullen has brought back a former associate, who is rejoining the firm's Raleigh, North Carolina, team as a partner to work on a range of commercial real estate-related matters.
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August 23, 2024
DOJ Sues RealPage For Helping Fix Rental Rates
The U.S. Department of Justice filed an antitrust lawsuit Aug. 23 accusing RealPage of helping residential landlords across the country fix rental prices through the use of its revenue management software.
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August 22, 2024
Homeowner Loses Atty Fees In Suit Over HOA Fence Policy
A Texas appeals court reversed a homeowner's win in a dispute with his neighbors over privacy fences facing a road, finding that a new state law prevents homeowners associations from enacting any covenant barring homeowners from putting up security measures, so the homeowner couldn't collect attorney fees.
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August 22, 2024
NY Agency Defends Real Estate Plays And Tracking Amid Review
New York's Empire State Development pushed back against an audit from the Office of the New York State Comptroller finding that ESD filed inaccurate reports about its real estate properties and sold off a number of them for too little money.
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August 22, 2024
NY High Court To Hear Case Against Kingston Rent Rollback
New York's highest court will hear a challenge from the Hudson Valley Property Owners Association and a coalition of Kingston landlords against the city's adoption of rent stabilization and a historic 15% rent reduction for tenants.
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August 22, 2024
Bronx Apartment Complex Settles Rental Subsidy Bias Case
New York City Mayor Eric Adams' office announced Thursday that the owners and managers of a Bronx apartment complex have agreed to rent 850 units to those relying on rental assistance, settling claims that the complex's practices discriminated against them.
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August 22, 2024
Fla. Investment Firm Starts $500M Real Estate Credit Strategy
Florida-based investment shop Morning Calm Management has formed a $500 million platform focused on mezzanine lending and preferred equity deals in commercial real estate, with a plan to capitalize on a void in the market left by a pullback in bank lending, the company said Aug. 22.
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August 21, 2024
Top New York Real Estate News This Summer
Catch up on the hottest real estate news out of New York so far this summer, from office sales and foreclosures to casino projects and housing policies.
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August 21, 2024
Fla. Co. To Pay $5M To End CFPB's Illegal Foreclosure Claims
Florida-based mortgage servicer Fay Servicing agreed Wednesday to pay a total of $5 million and its founder and CEO Edward Fay faces potential pay restrictions to resolve the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's claims the company violated a prior 2017 agreement and multiple federal laws that protect borrowers against illegal foreclosure practices.
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August 21, 2024
Finance Guru Can't Send Timeshare Fraud Suit To Arbitration
Celebrity financial planner David L. Ramsey III and his company can't pause and arbitrate a proposed class action alleging they promoted a timeshare exit fraud scheme on his radio show, a Washington federal judge said Wednesday, finding they were not included in arbitration agreements with the timeshare owners.
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August 21, 2024
Minn. Justices OK Denial Of Homestead Tax Break
A Minnesota property was correctly denied a homestead classification and property tax break because the owner did not live at the home as required, the state Supreme Court said Wednesday, affirming a state tax court decision.
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August 22, 2024
Residential Real Estate Cases To Watch In 2024's 2nd Half
A housing bias suit against an Illinois city, ongoing litigation surrounding the National Association of Realtors and the government's related antitrust probe, and a legal malpractice suit stemming from a foreclosure are among the residential cases real estate attorneys should be tracking during the second half of 2024.
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August 21, 2024
NYC Mayor Wants Land Review In Hunt For New Housing Sites
New York City's mayor told city agencies Wednesday to review land owned and operated by the Big Apple to see if any locations can be used for affordable housing development.
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August 21, 2024
Proptech Sector Stuck In The Doldrums, But Eyeing A Way Out
Hopes that the property technology sector would rebound in 2024 after a down year have not materialized so far — with a recent report showing funding has actually dropped further — but investment and technology professionals anticipate improvements soon and see the potential for major long-term growth.
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August 20, 2024
NC Panel Nixes Black Property Owners' Revived Bias Fight
A North Carolina state appeals court handed the city of Kinston a win Tuesday for a second time in a discrimination lawsuit that the state Supreme Court recently revived, finding that Black property owners' claims that the city unfairly demolished their properties aren't viable because they never completed an "adequate" administrative appeals process.
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August 20, 2024
Neb. Lawmakers OK Property Tax Relief In Special Session
The Nebraska Legislature approved emergency legislation Tuesday to provide $750 million annually in property tax relief and limit local tax hikes, rejecting amendments to help pay for the measure by eliminating numerous sales tax exemptions.
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August 20, 2024
Affordable Housing Finance Expert Returns To Ballard Spahr
Ballard Spahr LLP welcomed back to its Washington, D.C., office a transactional attorney specializing in the affordable housing market who returned to the firm after nearly two years at Carlton Fields.
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August 20, 2024
Foster Garvey Adds 5-Person Enviro Team From Seattle Firm
Foster Garvey PC announced this week that a five-person environmental law team from boutique firm Doll Mack Wells PLLC — highlighted by its three name partners — has joined the firm's Seattle office.
Expert Analysis
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Money, Money, Money: Limiting White Collar Wealth Evidence
As courts increasingly recognize that allowing unfettered evidence of wealth could prejudice a jury against a defendant, white collar defense counsel should consider several avenues for excluding visual evidence of a lavish lifestyle at trial, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.
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High Court's BofA Ruling Leaves State Preemption Questions
A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Cantero v. Bank of America sheds light on whether certain state banking regulations apply to federally chartered banks, but a circuit split could still force the Supreme Court to take a more direct position, says Brett Garver at Moritt Hock.
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How A Bumblebee Got Under Calif. Wildlife Regulator's Bonnet
A California bumblebee's listing as an endangered species could lead to a regulatory quagmire as California Department of Fish and Wildlife permits now routinely include survey requirements for the bee, but the regulator has yet to determine what the species needs for conservation, says David Smith at Manatt.
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The Clock Is Ticking For Fla. Construction Defect Claims
Ahead of the fast-approaching July 1 deadline for filing construction defect claims in Florida, Sean Ravenel at Foran Glennon discusses how the state's new statute of repose has changed the timeline, and highlights several related issues that property owners should be aware of.
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Wiretap Use In Cartel Probes Likely To Remain An Exception
Although the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division has recently signaled interest in wiretaps, the use of this technology to capture evidence of antitrust conspiracies and pursue monopolization as a criminal matter has been rare historically, and is likely to remain so, say Carsten Reichel and Will Conway at DLA Piper.
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Playing Chess Makes Me A Better Lawyer
There are many ways that chess skills translate directly into lawyer skills, but for me, the bigger career lessons go beyond the direct parallels — playing chess has shown me the value of seeing gradual improvement in and focusing deep concentration on a nonwork endeavor, says attorney Steven Fink.
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Debate Over CFPB Definition Of Credit Is Just Beginning
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has recently worked to expand the meaning of credit, so anyone operating on the edges of the credit markets, or even those who assumed they were safely outside the scope of this regulatory perimeter, should pay close attention as legal challenges to broad interpretations of the definition unfold, says John Coleman at Orrick.
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A Closer Look At Feds' Proposed Banker Compensation Rule
A recently proposed rule to limit financial institutions' ability to award incentive-based compensation for risk-taking may progress through the rulemaking process slowly due to the sheer number of regulators collaborating on the rule and the number of issues under consideration, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
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The FTC And DOJ Should Backtrack On RealPage
The antitrust agencies ought to reverse course on their enforcement actions against RealPage, which are based on a faulty legal premise, risk further property shortages and threaten the use of algorithms that are central to the U.S. economy, says Thomas Stratmann at George Mason University.
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Fishing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Atop the list of ways fishing makes me a better lawyer is the relief it offers from the chronic stress of a demanding caseload, but it has also improved my listening skills and patience, and has served as an exceptional setting for building earnest relationships, says Steven DeGeorge at Robinson Bradshaw.
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Circuit Judge Writes An Opinion, AI Helps: What Now?
Last week's Eleventh Circuit opinion in Snell v. United Specialty Insurance, notable for a concurrence outlining the use of artificial intelligence to evaluate a term's common meaning, is hopefully the first step toward developing a coherent basis for the judiciary's generative AI use, says David Zaslowsky at Baker McKenzie.
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Ohio Tax Talk: The Legislative Push For Property Tax Relief
As Ohio legislators attempt to alleviate the increasing property tax burden, four recent bills that could significantly affect homeowners propose to eliminate replacement property tax levies, freeze property taxes for longtime homeowners, adjust homestead exemptions annually for inflation, and temporarily expand the homestead exemption, say Raghav Agnihotri and Rachael Chamberlain at Frost Brown.
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In The CFPB Playbook: Regulatory Aims Get High Court Assist
Newly emboldened after the U.S. Supreme Court last month found that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's funding is constitutional, the bureau has likely experienced a psychic boost, allowing its already robust enforcement agenda to continue expanding, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.