Residential
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February 27, 2025
Judge Won't Force Victim's Atty's Reports In Sex Assault Case
A Florida state judge on Thursday denied a request by three men, including a real estate broker, facing sexual assault charges to force discovery of reports by the victim's attorney at Morgan & Morgan PA.
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February 27, 2025
CFPB Pulls Plug On Rocket Homes Kickback Suit
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has abandoned a lawsuit accusing Rocket Homes of offering kickbacks to brokers and agents who referred homebuyers to Rocket Mortgage, one of several enforcement actions the agency abruptly dismissed on Thursday.
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February 27, 2025
How Adams' Latest Move Might Checkmate The DOJ
New York City Mayor Eric Adams' push to permanently dismiss his federal corruption case is a clever legal strategy that appears to have backed the government into a corner, experts say.
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February 27, 2025
Q&A: Minnesota Law Prof On Hard-To-Read Insurance Policies
How hard is it to understand a homeowners insurance policy? For many, reading a policy will often raise more confusion about what's covered than if they hadn't read a policy at all, according to a new paper from experts in insurance and consumer law. Here, Law360 discusses the subject with Daniel Schwarcz, a University of Minnesota Law School professor who has built a career in studying the transparency of insurance markets.
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February 27, 2025
Housing Project To Drop Receiver After US Trustee Concern
New York City affordable housing complex Valdesia Gardens is transferring control of the property from a receiver back to the debtor after the U.S. Trustee's Office objected to the receiver's involvement and sought instead to appoint a Chapter 11 trustee.
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February 27, 2025
Mich. Bill Would Bar Local Tax Caps That Require Rate Cuts
Michigan would bar local governments from enacting property tax caps on annual revenue that require an automatic tax rate cut under a bill introduced in the state House of Representatives.
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February 26, 2025
Mich. Judge Demands RICO Pattern Details In Foreclosure Suit
A Michigan federal judge on Wednesday pressed attorneys for homeowners to point to specific criminal activities that would help the proposed class establish a pattern of racketeering activity to support their claim that a real estate developer conspired with county and city leaders in a tax foreclosure scheme.
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February 26, 2025
Ga. Judge OKs Deal To End Feds' Apartment Access Probe
A Georgia federal judge has signed off on a series of consent orders resolving a civil suit brought by the federal government against a Savannah apartment complex and a local housing authority over allegations that they denied a disabled resident an accessible apartment in spite of her repeated accommodation requests.
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February 26, 2025
NYCHA Disputes Eviction Hikes At Section 8 Conversions
New York City Housing Authority officials refuted claims that eviction rates varied significantly between the city's public housing units and those developments converted to Section 8 housing, directly disputing a report from the comptroller's office during a Wednesday oversight hearing.
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February 26, 2025
Dewberry Ruling May Lead To More Defendants In TM Fights
Plaintiffs in trademark disputes likely will consider including multiple defendants in their complaints when it's unclear who holds the profits from the alleged infringement, according to intellectual property attorneys, after the U.S. Supreme Court remanded a case because nonparty affiliates of a defendant were ordered to pay an award that reached nearly $47 million.
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February 26, 2025
Low-Key Fort Lauderdale Draws Big-Time Development
Sitting between posh Palm Beach and cosmopolitan Miami, Fort Lauderdale can feel a little overshadowed with its low-key vibe, but during South Florida's recent real estate boom, the city has carved out its own middle ground that has attracted new residents — and developers have taken notice.
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February 26, 2025
Wash. Judge Says Officials Are Immune To Energy Code Suit
A Seattle federal judge has thrown out a building industry coalition's renewed legal challenge to Washington regulations that discourage natural gas appliances in new construction, ruling the state officials named as defendants are protected because they aren't responsible for enforcing the rules.
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February 26, 2025
How One Atty Approached AI Price Gouging Amid LA Wildfires
In a recent Q&A, an LA-area lawyer who helped a hotel handle inadvertent price spikes following the January fires discussed that matter, as well as the larger question of price gouging at hotel and rental properties.
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February 26, 2025
Ariz. Sen. OKs Extending Property Tax Oversight Commission
Arizona would extend the life of its Property Tax Oversight Commission by eight years under legislation approved Wednesday by the state Senate.
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February 26, 2025
Simpson Thacher Guides $1B Real Estate Secondaries Fund
Neuberger Berman, an investment management firm advised by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, has capped its second real estate private equity secondary fund at $1.05 billion, surpassing its target by $200 million, according to a Wednesday announcement.
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February 26, 2025
DOJ Says RealPage Can't Ditch Antitrust Claims
The U.S. Department of Justice and a group of states are urging a North Carolina federal judge to reject a move by RealPage Inc. and a group of landlords to escape claims that use of the company's software paves the way for collusion on setting rental prices.
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February 26, 2025
Michigan Counties Say Firm's Client Solicitations Merit DQ
Michigan counties sought to disqualify plaintiff firm Visser & Associates PLLC Tuesday, telling a federal judge that the lawyers went back on their word by soliciting potential class members in a suit claiming the government entities improperly kept a surplus of foreclosed home sales.
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February 26, 2025
Real Estate Group Of The Year: Weil
Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP served as lead real estate adviser in Home Depot's $18.3 billion acquisition of SRS Distribution Inc. and helped shepherd an $8 billion merger between two rival amusement park companies, earning the firm a spot among the 2024 Law360 Real Estate Groups of the Year.
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February 26, 2025
Vets Press 9th Circ. To Affirm LA Campus Housing Judgment
A group of veterans' organizations, retired military officers and legal scholars are urging the Ninth Circuit to uphold a California federal judge's decision that the federal government must build veterans housing on a Los Angeles campus, saying such housing is greatly needed and complies with federal law.
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February 26, 2025
Adams Says SDNY Memo Leaks Doom His Bribery Case
New York City Mayor Eric Adams opened up a new line of attack against his federal corruption case Wednesday, arguing that the judge must dismiss the charges due to the "extreme prejudice" caused by leaked Justice Department memos alleging a quid pro quo between the mayor and the Trump administration.
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February 26, 2025
Former Trust GC On NYC's Changing Development Game
In this Q&A, Lisa Lim, a partner at Rosenberg & Estis PC, talks about her work as general counsel setting up a new entity to finance public housing repairs and the outlook for New York City development after dramatic changes to its zoning law.
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February 26, 2025
Justices Vacate TM Award That Put Co.'s Affiliates On Hook
The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday vacated an award that reached nearly $47 million in a trademark dispute that questioned whether affiliates of a real estate development company should be liable for the payment even though they were not defendants in the case.
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February 25, 2025
Fla. Bill Targets Last-Resort Coverage For Unsafe Condos
A bill introduced ahead of Florida's 2025 legislative session looks to bar the state's Citizens Property Insurance Corp. from providing or renewing coverage policies for condominiums that fall short of inspection requirements.
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February 25, 2025
NY AG Probe Latest Headache For Crumbling Property Empire
Following New York's passage of a tenant-friendly rent law in 2019, a spate of distressed Emerald Equity Group LLC properties are facing foreclosure or bankruptcy. Now, scrutiny by the state Attorney General's Office has added a new layer to the landlord's ongoing struggles.
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February 25, 2025
Report: 2025 Seen As A Year Of Opportunity For Real Estate
Commercial real estate executives see 2025 as a period of opportunity for investment, according to a Seyfarth Shaw LLP report released Tuesday.
Expert Analysis
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Understanding The IRC's Excessive Refund Claim Penalty
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.
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Bankruptcy Ruling Shifts Lease Rejection Claim Calculation
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.
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Do Not Overstate Fla. Condo Termination Ruling's Impact
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.
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Takeaways From FDIC's Spring Supervisory Highlights
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.
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What Calif. Eviction Ruling Means For Defaulting Borrowers
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.
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How 3D Printing And Prefab Are Changing Construction
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.
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Wave Of Final Rules Reflects Race Against CRA Deadline
The flurry of final rules now leaping off the Federal Register press — some of which will affect entire industries and millions of Americans — shows President Joe Biden's determination to protect his regulatory legacy from reversal by the next Congress, given the impending statutory look-back period under the Congressional Review Act, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.
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A Deep Dive Into High Court's Permit Fee Ruling
David Robinson and Daniel Golub at Holland & Knight explore the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling that a local traffic impact fee charged to a California property owner may be a Fifth Amendment taking — and where it leaves localities and real estate developers.
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The Case For Overturning Florida Foreclosure Ruling
A Florida appellate court's recent decision in Desbrunes v. U.S. Bank National Association will potentially put foreclosure cases across the state in jeopardy, and unless it is reconsidered, foreclosing plaintiffs will need to choose between frustrating and uncertain options in the new legal landscape, say Sara Accardi and Paige Knight at Bradley.
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Bracing For The CFPB's War On Mortgage Fees
As the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau homes in on the legality of certain residential mortgage fees, the industry should consult the bureau's steady stream of consumer lending guidance for hints on its priorities, say Nanci Weissgold and Melissa Malpass at Alston & Bird.
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DOJ Consent Orders Chart Road Map For Lending Compliance
Two recent consent orders issued by the U.S. Department of Justice as part of its efforts to fight mortgage lending discrimination highlight issues that pose fair lending compliance risks, and should be carefully studied by banks to avoid enforcement actions, says Memrie Fortenberry at Jones Walker.
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Reverse Veil-Piercing Ruling Will Help Judgment Creditors
A New York federal court’s recent decision in Citibank v. Aralpa Holdings, finding two corporate entities liable for a judgment issued against a Mexican businessman, shows the value of reverse veil piercing as a remedy for judgment creditors to go after sophisticated debtors who squirrel away assets, says Gabe Bluestone at Omni Bridgeway.
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Calif. Housing Overhaul May Increase Pressure On Landlords
Two recently enacted California laws signal new protections and legal benefits for tenants, but also elevate landlords' financial exposure at a time when they are already facing multiple other hardships, says Laya Dogmetchi at Much Shelist.