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  • July 24, 2024

    State Bank Supervisors' GC On Regulation 'Push And Pull'

    Margaret Liu, general counsel for the Conference of State Bank Supervisors, spoke to Law360 Real Estate Authority about navigating the balance between federal and state financial agencies, sharing information with the Federal Housing Finance Agency and what a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision means for state financial regulators.

  • July 23, 2024

    Real Estate Sector Wrestles With CrowdStrike Outage

    Days after a sprawling information technology outage affecting 8.5 million Windows devices grounded airplanes and halted a number of services, the toll on the real estate industry — especially for the hospitality sector and financial services firms — is still being revealed.

  • July 23, 2024

    Ill. City Says Reparations Opponents Have No Standing

    The city of Evanston, Illinois, has urged a federal judge to toss a proposed class action alleging a 2020 housing reparation program in the city is discriminatory, saying the plaintiffs lack standing since they are not local residents and do not own property in Evanston.

  • July 23, 2024

    KKR Financing REIT Sees The 'Proverbial Light' Ahead

    Executives of KKR & Co.'s financing-focused real estate investment trust struck a hopeful tone about pursuing credit deals in the near future after taking a more guarded approach in the last year, while the company posted fewer losses than it previously forecasted for the second quarter.

  • July 23, 2024

    Mich. Raises Fine For Unreported Property Transfers

    Michigan increased a penalty for property owners who fail to notify an assessor's office of a transfer of ownership under a bill signed Tuesday by Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

  • July 23, 2024

    Tax Foreclosure Kickback Suit Too Late, Mich. County Says

    A Wayne County, Michigan, treasurer has argued in Michigan federal court that a putative class action accusing the county and other parties of engaging in a tax foreclosure and kickbacks scheme is time-barred.

  • July 23, 2024

    Biz Groups Form Lobby Effort To Fight FCC Bulk Billing Rules

    Bulk billing agreements are often a boon for people living in apartment buildings and condos, according to a new coalition made up of multifamily housing organizations and a cable trade group, which was formed to push the Federal Communications Commission to reconsider banning such arrangements.

  • July 23, 2024

    Chicago Arena Owners Propose $7B Mixed-Use Project

    The owners of Chicago's United Center, as well as city and community leaders, unveiled a $7 billion investment that aims to build a mixed-use project across more than 55 acres of land near the sports arena, according to a Tuesday announcement.

  • July 23, 2024

    Insurers Must Defend Well Driller In Lead Contamination Suit

    Insurers must defend a drilling company accused of contaminating a rental property's water supply with dangerous levels of lead, a Montana federal court ruled, saying they haven't shown the underlying claims fall outside the policies' insuring agreements or are otherwise excluded from coverage.

  • July 23, 2024

    Miami-Dade County Nabs $40M For Public Housing Upgrades

    Miami-Dade County announced that it received a $39.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which will support investment in two public housing campuses in Overtown and across the entire neighborhood.

  • July 22, 2024

    EPA Awards $4.3B In Grants For Climate Change Projects

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said it's steering $4.3 billion in grant funding to 25 projects that promise to help curb greenhouse gas pollution, advance environmental justice and transition the country to clean power.

  • July 22, 2024

    Pretium Raises $1.5B For Investing In Single-Family Rentals

    Investment firm Pretium raised $1.5 billion for its sixth single-family housing fund, surpassing its fundraising goal with investments from U.S. pension plans, insurers, U.S. wealth managers and others, the firm announced Monday.

  • July 22, 2024

    New Precedent, New Fate For NAR 'Cooperation' Rule Suit

    A California federal judge reversed course Monday and revived a lawsuit, tossed in 2021, targeting National Association of Realtors rules that prevent real estate agents from listing properties outside their affiliated networks, after an intervening Ninth Circuit decision redirected the product market in question.

  • July 22, 2024

    Colo. Judge Blocks Zoning Ban On Church's Shelter Program

    A Colorado federal judge preliminarily blocked a town from enforcing zoning regulations to prevent a church from allowing homeless people to live in RVs on church property, finding the church could likely prove such enforcement unlawfully violates its religious freedom.

  • July 22, 2024

    Greystar Can Arbitrate Security Deposit Claims, Judge Says

    A California federal judge ruled that Greystar can arbitrate the claims of a named plaintiff in a putative class action that accuses the real estate company of wrongfully withholding its former tenants' security deposits.

  • July 22, 2024

    Nationwide Seeks Travelers' Aid In Hot Tub Illness Row

    Nationwide told a California federal court a Travelers unit must help defend a condominium association in an underlying lawsuit brought by a resident alleging he needed a double lung transplant because of hot tub contaminants, arguing Travelers' pollution exclusion and fungi or bacteria exclusion didn't apply.

  • July 22, 2024

    NAR Economists See Light Amidst Continuing Slow Sales

    Even as sales of existing homes reached a low not seen since 1995, the recent growth of new home inventory may be an early positive indicator if other conditions — including interest rates — improve, National Association of Realtors Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said Monday.

  • July 22, 2024

    Invitation Homes Reaches $20M Deal To End Permit Fee Suit

    Invitation Homes agreed to pay nearly $20 million to end claims that the single-family rental giant defrauded California cities by failing to pay permitting fees when the company carried out renovations on housing properties, according to federal court filings Monday.

  • July 22, 2024

    Ill. Imposes 20-Year Time Limit On Property Tax Refund Claims

    A 20-year time limit was set on refund requests that result from final orders of the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board under a bill signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker. 

  • July 22, 2024

    'Wolf Of Airbnb' Gets 51 Mos. As Judge Sees Lack Of Remorse

    A Manhattan federal judge hit the Florida man who styled himself the "Wolf of Airbnb" with over four years in prison Monday, saying the risk is high that he will break the law again after scamming New York City landlords.

  • July 22, 2024

    Walker & Dunlop Steers $285.5M Refi For Pa. Student Housing

    Walker & Dunlop arranged $285.5 million in refinancing for two Philadelphia student housing properties owned by developer The Goldenberg Group and located on the campus of Temple University, according to a Monday announcement.

  • July 22, 2024

    2 Firms Rep $1.25B PE Takeover Of Senior Living Co.

    Alternative investment firm Stonepeak bought up New Zealand retirement village company Arvida Group Ltd. for $1.25 billion, in an all-cash deal guided by New Zealand-based law firms Bell Gully and Chapman Tripp, according to a Monday announcement.

  • July 22, 2024

    NYC Real Estate Week In Review

    Fried Frank and Greenberg Traurig are among the law firms that landed work on the largest New York City real estate deals to hit public records last week, a busy period that saw 10 transactions above the $20 million mark become public.

  • July 22, 2024

    Orange County's Shrinking Multifamily Vacancies Taper Off

    Second-quarter multifamily housing vacancies in California's Orange County reached a rate of 3.9%, and didn't significantly shift from the first quarter of the year, according to a CBRE report.

  • July 19, 2024

    Property Plays: Barings, Blackstone, Tishman Speyer

    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.

Expert Analysis

  • What CRA Deadline Means For Biden Admin. Rulemaking

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    With the 2024 election rapidly approaching, the Biden administration must race to finalize proposed agency actions within the next few weeks, or be exposed to the chance that the following Congress will overturn the rules under the Congressional Review Act, say attorneys at Covington.

  • How New Rule Would Change CFIUS Enforcement Powers

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    Before the May 15 comment deadline, companies may want to weigh in on proposed regulatory changes to enforcement and mitigation tools at the disposal of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, including broadened subpoena powers, difficult new mitigation timelines and higher maximum penalties, say attorneys at Venable.

  • 2nd Circ. Eminent Domain Ruling Empowers Municipalities

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    The Second Circuit's recent decision in Brinkmann v. Town of Southold, finding that a pretextual taking does not violate the Fifth Amendment's takings clause, gives municipalities a powerful tool with which to block unwanted development projects, even in bad faith, say James O'Connor and Benjamin Sugarman at Phillips Lytle.

  • SEC Should Be Allowed To Equip Investors With Climate Info

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's new rule to require more climate-related disclosures will provide investors with much-needed clarity, despite opponents' attempts to challenge the rule with misused legal arguments, say Sarah Goetz at Democracy Forward and Cynthia Hanawalt at Columbia University’s Sabin Center for Climate Change.

  • 8 Fla. Statutes That Construction Cos. Should Prepare For

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    In this article, Jason Lambert at Hill Ward discusses a number of recent bills out of the Florida Legislature targeting construction companies in the Sunshine State that have been sent to the governor for signature, at least some of which will have broad impacts that affected companies should prepare for ahead of the July 1 effective date.

  • Time To Fix NYC's Broken Property Assessment System

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    A New York appellate court's decision to revive Tax Equity Now New York v. City of New York may force the city to revamp its outdated and unfair real estate tax assessment system, which could be fixed with a couple of simple changes, says Seth Feldman at Romer Debbas.

  • Understanding The IRC's Excessive Refund Claim Penalty

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    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.

  • Bankruptcy Ruling Shifts Lease Rejection Claim Calculation

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    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.

  • Do Not Overstate Fla. Condo Termination Ruling's Impact

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    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.

  • Takeaways From FDIC's Spring Supervisory Highlights

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    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.

  • Walking With My Dog Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Thanks to my dog Birdie, I've learned that carving out an activity different from the practice of law — like daily outdoor walks that allow you to interact with new people — can contribute to professional success by boosting creativity and mental acuity, as well as expanding your social network, says Sarah Petrie at the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office.

  • What Calif. Eviction Ruling Means For Defaulting Borrowers

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    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.

  • How 3D Printing And Prefab Are Changing Construction

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    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.