Residential

  • November 27, 2024

    Compass NJ Tapped To Sell $33M Miles Guo Mansion In Ch. 11

    The trustee handling the Chapter 11 of exiled Chinese businessman and convicted fraudster Miles Guo asked the Connecticut bankruptcy court to let him hire four agents with residential real estate firm Compass to sell a historic 58-room mansion in Mahwah, New Jersey.

  • November 27, 2024

    Mich. Bill Would Bar Local Property Tax Caps Tied To Rate Cut

    Michigan would bar local governments from imposing caps on annual property tax revenue that require an automatic rate reduction as part of a bill introduced in the state House of Representatives.

  • November 27, 2024

    Data Cos. Lose Challenge To NJ Judicial Privacy Law

    A federal judge has ruled that the New Jersey judicial privacy and security measure known as Daniel's Law is constitutional, handing a defeat to a large group of data brokers accused of illegally posting judges' names and addresses online.

  • November 27, 2024

    Howard Hughes Corp. Beats Hurricane Harvey Flood Suit

    A Texas state appellate court has sided with Howard Hughes Corp. and an engineering company in an appeal brought by homeowners who claimed the companies were liable for property damage caused by Hurricane Harvey in August 2017.

  • November 26, 2024

    NAR Buyer-Broker Settlement Approved Over DOJ Concerns

    A Missouri federal judge granted final approval Tuesday to the National Association of Realtors' antitrust settlement with home sellers, signing off on a $418 million payment and changes to broker commission rules, as NAR and the plaintiffs assailed the U.S. Department of Justice for raising last-minute concerns about the deal. 

  • November 26, 2024

    NYC Lawmakers Detail Breakdown Of $5B Housing Plan

    The New York City Council's $5 billion "City for All" initiative aims to provide more funding for affordable housing development and preservation, a down payment assistance program, infrastructure investments and more, the city lawmakers announced.

  • November 26, 2024

    9th Circ. Pauses Ruling For VA To Build Vets' Housing

    The Ninth Circuit paused a federal judge's order for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to build housing for veterans on a Los Angeles campus, allowing time for several constituents to weigh in on the matter.

  • November 26, 2024

    New Orleans Property Owner Revives Bid To Nix Arbitration

    A New Orleans property owner has again urged a Louisiana federal judge to overturn his order forcing it to arbitrate a $7 million Hurricane Ida damage claim with 11 insurers for a block of luxury apartments and retail shops, pointing to a recent ruling by the state's top court.

  • November 26, 2024

    NY Authorizes County, City To Raise Tax Rates On Hotel Stays

    New York authorized Dutchess County and the city of Hudson to increase taxes on hotel and motel stays under legislation signed by Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul.

  • November 26, 2024

    7th Circ. Says Insurer Must Defend $3.4M Faulty Work Row

    An architectural design firm's commercial general liability insurer must defend it and its owner against faulty work claims seeking more than $3.4 million in damages, the Seventh Circuit ruled, after the Illinois Supreme Court overturned prior appellate precedent siding with insurers in such disputes.

  • November 25, 2024

    Gov't Defends EB-5 Rule That Hikes Up Petition Fees

    The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and its U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency pushed for an early win in Texas federal court against a suit challenging increases for filing fees for petitions related to USCIS' EB-5 immigrant investor program.

  • November 25, 2024

    NY State Court Strikes Rent Stabilization In Poughkeepsie

    A New York state court judge vacated the city of Poughkeepsie's recent adoption of rent stabilization, finding that an underlying housing vacancy survey too broadly interpreted a state law that raised the stakes for landlords that failed to cooperate with such surveys.

  • November 25, 2024

    Feds Want Ex-FBI Agent's Bribery Appeal Tossed

    Federal prosecutors have told the D.C. Circuit to reject an ex-Federal Bureau of Investigation agent's appeal of his bribery convictions in a property buying scheme, arguing there was "sufficient evidence" against him.

  • November 25, 2024

    US Bank Loses Bid To Block Fla. Case Over Condo Ponzi Debt

    A federal judge denied a motion from U.S. Bank in abstaining from a Florida condo association's state court moves to free itself from a bond debt tied to a development district that was established nearly two decades ago by the architects of a Ponzi scheme.

  • November 25, 2024

    NJ Judge Allows Nonprofit To Join Affordable Housing Fight

    A New Jersey nonprofit is aligned with the state's government in a challenge to a new affordable housing obligation framework it adopted, but that alignment of goals does not mean the nonprofit should not also be allowed to intervene on the case, a Garden State judge said in an order.

  • November 25, 2024

    Tenant's Death Excluded From Coverage, Kansas Judge Says

    A Kansas federal judge granted an insurer an early win in a coverage dispute with an apartment complex over an underlying lawsuit in which a tenant's son says his father died of hypothermia because of a faulty furnace, finding that a "habitability exclusion" barred coverage for the suit.

  • November 25, 2024

    Mortgage Co. Unfairly Inflated Borrowers' Balances, Suit Says

    Shellpoint Mortgage Servicing was hit Friday with a proposed class action alleging the company and its predecessor in interest, Specialized Loan Servicing LLC, inflated borrowers' balances on long-dormant second mortgages through "unfair, deceptive and unconscionable means."

  • November 25, 2024

    4th Circ. Stands By HELOC 'Offset' Ruling Against PNC

    The full Fourth Circuit has declined to reconsider a panel decision that extended protections under the Truth In Lending Act by barring banks from dipping into a cardholder's deposit account to cover outstanding payments on a home equity line of credit without the borrower's consent.

  • November 25, 2024

    NYC Real Estate Week In Review

    Goldgrub Law and Mandelbaum Barrett are among the law firms that steered the largest New York City real estate deals to hit public records last week, a period that saw several large residential transactions across Manhattan and Queens.

  • November 25, 2024

    Law Firm Leasing Surpasses Pre-COVID Rate So Far In 2024

    The rate at which U.S. law firms are signing major office leases — those at or above 20,000 square feet — has surpassed pre-pandemic levels, according to new data released by Savills on Monday, showing that while activity is up, firms are divided on whether to expand, downsize or maintain their square footage.

  • November 25, 2024

    DOJ Says Realtor Commissions Deal Is No Antitrust Shield

    The U.S. Department of Justice warned the National Association of Realtors that changes to broker commission rules agreed to in a settlement with home sellers do not shield the industry from government antitrust scrutiny.

  • November 25, 2024

    Fla. Judge Trims Complaint Over Deadly Crane Collapse

    A Florida state court judge Monday dismissed several liability counts against a Connecticut manufacturer sued in a lawsuit over a crane collapse in downtown Fort Lauderdale that killed a worker and injured at least two other people, saying the liability allegations must be more specific.

  • November 25, 2024

    Justices Won't Hear Takings Clause Claim For Wrecked House

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday denied a woman's petition seeking to review a Fifth Circuit decision that held McKinney, Texas, did not need to compensate her for destroying her home while resolving a hostage situation with an armed fugitive.

  • November 25, 2024

    Housing Project Will Pollute Public Water, Conn. City Says

    The construction of 16 houses in Ledyard, Connecticut, will contaminate the groundwater and endanger the drinking water supply for people living on the site, the city of Groton's water department said in an appeal of the project's approval to the state court.

  • November 25, 2024

    Condo Boards Likely Safe From Corporate Transparency Law

    New corporate reporting requirements under an anti-money laundering law likely do not apply to condominium associations, a Massachusetts federal judge ruled.

Expert Analysis

  • How CFIUS' Updated Framework Affects Global Investors

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    The recent change to the monitoring and enforcement regulations governing the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States will broaden administrative practices around nonnotified transaction investigations, increase the scope of information demands from the committee and accelerate its ability to impose mitigation on parties, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • Flying Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Achieving my childhood dream of flying airplanes made me a better lawyer — and a better person — because it taught me I can conquer difficult goals when I leave my comfort zone, focus on the demands of the moment and commit to honing my skills, says Ivy Cadle at Baker Donelson.

  • 'Reverse Redlining' Suit Reveals Language Risks For Lenders

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    The Justice Department's case against consumer finance provider Colony Ridge highlights the government's focus on lending to consumers with limited English proficiency and the risks of generating marketing materials in other languages while conducting actual transactions in English, say attorneys at Goodwin.

  • Circus Arts Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    Performing circus arts has strengthened my ability to be more thoughtful, confident and grounded, all of which has enhanced my legal practice and allowed me to serve clients in a more meaningful way, says Bailey McGowan at Stinson.

  • Hurricane Coverage Ruling Clarifies Appraisal Scope In Fla.

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    In a case involving property insurance for hurricane damage, a Florida federal court recently enforced policy limits despite an appraisal award exceeding those limits, underscoring the boundaries between valuation and coverage — a distinction that provides valuable guidance for insurers handling post-catastrophe claims, says Tiffany Bustamante at Cozen O’Connor.

  • Feds May Have Overstepped In Suit Against Mortgage Lender

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's lawsuit against Rocket Mortgage goes too far in attempting to combat racial bias and appears to fail on the fatal flaw that mortgage lenders should be at arm's length from appraisers, says Drew Ketterer at Ketterer & Ketterer.

  • Foreclosing Lenders Still Floating In Murky Legal Waters In NY

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    The New York foreclosure landscape remains in disarray after the state's highest court last month declined to weigh in on whether legal changes from 2022 that severely curtailed lenders' ability to bring successive foreclosure cases were retroactive, says Brian Rich at Barclay Damon.

  • Being A Navy Reservist Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Serving this country in uniform has not only been one of the greatest honors of my life, but it has also provided me with opportunities to broaden my legal acumen and interpersonal skills in ways that have indelibly contributed to my civilian practice, says Phillip Smith at Weinberg Wheeler.

  • Philly's Algorithmic Rent Ban Furthers Antitrust Policy Trends

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    A Philadelphia bill banning the use of algorithmic software to set rent prices and manage occupancy rates is indicative of growing scrutiny of this technology, and reflects broader policy trends of adapting traditional antitrust principles to respond to new technology, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.

  • Playing Ultimate Makes Us Better Lawyers

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    In addition to being fun, ultimate Frisbee has improved our legal careers by emphasizing the importance of professionalism, teamwork, perseverance, enthusiasm and vulnerability, say Arunabha Bhoumik and Adam Bernstein at Regeneron. 

  • How Property Insurance Coverage Shrank After The Pandemic

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    Insurers litigating property claims are leveraging rulings that provided relief in the COVID-19 context to reverse the former majority rule on physical loss or damage in all contexts, say attorneys at Reed Smith.

  • Why Secured Lenders Must Mind The Gap In UCC Searches

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    If not adequately addressed, the Uniform Commercial Code filing indexing gap can interfere with a lender's expected lien priority, but taking appropriate preclosing actions and properly timing searches can eliminate this risk, says Robert Wonneberger at Barclay Damon.

  • Being An Artist Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My work as an artist has highlighted how using creativity and precision together — qualities that are equally essential in both art and law — not only improves outcomes, but also leads to more innovative and thoughtful work, says Sarah La Pearl at Segal McCambridge.