Residential
-
August 07, 2024
Biden Trampled Free Speech With Israeli Sanctions, Suit Says
A group of dual U.S.-Israeli citizens sued the Biden administration in Texas federal court Tuesday alleging that an executive order authorizing sanctions and visa restrictions for individuals said to undermine peace and stability in the West Bank violates their First Amendment rights.
-
August 07, 2024
Fund Seeks Forced Sale Of Long-Stalled Baltimore Project
A Boston-based investment fund that backs development projects in disadvantaged communities is seeking to recoup $13 million it poured into a stalled mixed-use project in Baltimore, including through a forced sale, according to a complaint filed in Massachusetts state court.
-
August 07, 2024
Nixon Peabody Real Estate Atty Returns To Boston Office
Nixon Peabody LLP rehired R. Lindsay Wilson II for a counsel position on its affordable housing and real estate team in Boston, the firm announced Wednesday.
-
August 07, 2024
AARP, Trade Groups Provide Deed Fraud Prevention Tips
AARP and trade groups for the real estate, mortgage, notary, and property records industries posted a news brief containing tips to prevent deed fraud.
-
August 07, 2024
Ahead Of Due Date, Land Use Attorneys Steer NY Casino Bids
Applicants for three up-for-grabs New York casino licenses are not expected to formally submit for consideration until next year, but real estate developers working on 11 proposals that have been announced are laying the groundwork, including by engaging law firms.
-
August 07, 2024
Texas Last-Resort Insurer Approves 10% Rate Hike
Texas' windstorm insurer of last resort approved a 10% rate hike subject to state approval following expectations that Hurricane Beryl and other spring storm claims will significantly deplete the insurer's $451 million catastrophe reserve trust fund.
-
August 07, 2024
NJ AG, Data Biz Say Judicial Privacy Law Is Constitutional
The New Jersey Office of Attorney General stepped in to defend the judicial privacy measure Daniel's Law this week, arguing alongside a data privacy company in federal court that a group of data brokers accused of violating it are relying on "hypotheticals and edge cases" to claim the law is unconstitutional.
-
August 07, 2024
Mortgage Banker Says Experian Can't Tie Him To 'Sham' Suits
A New Jersey-based licensed mortgage banker is urging a California federal judge to let him escape Experian's suit alleging that he helped credit reporting law firms identify clients and created false evidence of a mortgage denial in a nationwide scheme to "extort" the credit reporting agency into settling "sham" lawsuits.
-
August 07, 2024
CFPB Backs Homeowners In Nationstar Mortgage Fee Suit
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau asked a Washington federal court to allow it to file a brief in support of a proposed class action accusing Nationstar Mortgage of illegally charging fees whenever homeowners request payoff statements for their loans.
-
August 07, 2024
Miami Realtors CLO Preps Members For New Broker Rules
In a recent conversation with Law360 Real Estate Authority, Miami Assocation of Realtors Chief Legal Counsel Evian White De Leon discussed how the largest local Realtor group in the country is readying its members for the Aug. 17 enactment of new broker rules that the NAR agreed to in a $418 million legal settlement earlier this year.
-
August 07, 2024
Rising Star: Troutman Pepper's Alana T. Sliwinski
Alana Sliwinski of Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP has guided multiple high-profile and climate-focused public-private partnerships in her career, most recently playing a pivotal role in the $7 billion construction of Terminals 1, 2 and 3 at the John F. Kennedy International Airport, earning her a spot among the construction law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.
-
August 07, 2024
Rising Star: Skadden's Anoush Sarkissian
Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP real estate counsel Anoush Sarkissian's work on major transactions such as advising alternative asset management company The RMR Group in an approximately $4 billion mortgage and mezzanine financing and its $80 million acquisition of multifamily real estate firm Carroll landed her a spot among the real estate attorneys under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.
-
August 07, 2024
Rising Star: Willkie's Melissa Fischetti
Melissa Fischetti of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP navigated SL Green's $1.76 billion acquisition of 245 Park Ave, New York, amid contentious bankruptcy proceedings brought without the preferred equity investor's approval, earning her a spot among the real estate practitioners under 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.
-
August 07, 2024
4 Firms Drive $1B Blackstone Residential Property Sale
Four firms guided Equity Residential's nearly $1 billion purchase of 11 properties from Blackstone Real Estate, a deal that added 3,572 new units within three metro markets to the real estate investment trust's portfolio, per a statement from the seller.
-
August 07, 2024
Shumaker Construction Pro Jumps To Carlton Fields In Fla.
Florida's real estate market and construction law practices are continuing their boom after the height of the pandemic, and Carlton Fields has bolstered its expertise in those areas by adding a former construction law partner from Shumaker Loop & Kendrick LLP.
-
August 07, 2024
Eyeing Electrification, Governments Reroute Post-Berkeley
Before it was struck down by the Ninth Circuit, Berkeley, California's 2019 ban on natural gas hookups in new construction paved the way for municipalities seeking to decarbonize their buildings. Now, municipalities keen on clean construction are walking a delicate line around federal preemption.
-
August 06, 2024
Ex-Mayor's Fight With Law Firm No RICO Case, 5th Circ. Told
Counsel for convicted fraudster and former Texas Mayor Laura Maczka-Jordan said it's significant that a law firm accusing her and her husband of racketeering represented itself during oral arguments before the Fifth Circuit Tuesday, arguing that the case deals with a lease dispute rather than a racketeering scheme.
-
August 06, 2024
Appraisal Co. Drops Manager Tied To Freddie, Fannie Probes
BBG Real Estate Services announced that managing director Jon DiPietra has left the appraisal company, following reports that Freddie Mac stopped doing business with DiPietra and BBG while it looks into the company's appraisals.
-
August 06, 2024
11th Circ. Won't Let Chubb Unit Ax $13.8M Appraisal Award
A Florida condo association's insurer waived its ability to challenge an over $13.8 million storm damage appraisal award by only arguing in court that the association's appraiser had a conflict of interest, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed Tuesday, finding the insurer could've lodged a challenge during the appraisal process itself.
-
August 06, 2024
NC Panel OKs Short-Term Rentals In Luxury Home Community
A North Carolina state appeals court on Tuesday upheld a ruling that an Asheville-area neighborhood's ban on short-term rentals is unreasonable, finding the community's covenants don't explicitly outlaw that type of real estate arrangement.
-
August 06, 2024
Finance Co. EasyKnock Scams Poor Homeowners, Suit Says
Home finance company EasyKnock Inc. has been sued on allegations it targeted a low-income Philadelphia resident in an "equity-theft" scheme designed to dupe homeowners with an upfront cash payment for a gradual sale of their home that secretly transfers the title to the company.
-
August 06, 2024
Calif. Hoteliers Denied Tax Break On Property Sale
The owners of a California hotel were correctly assessed taxes on the gains from sale of a property, the state Office of Tax Appeals said, finding the owners did not demonstrate they qualified for a tax deferral.
-
August 06, 2024
Big Brokers Predict Capital Markets Rebound In Late '24
Commercial real estate's largest brokers, in announcing second-quarter earnings, said they are expecting capital markets activity to rebound in the second half of the year, in a turn Cushman & Wakefield's CEO called a "waterfall effect."
-
August 06, 2024
Dentons Names Real Estate Atty As Vancouver Office Leader
Dentons promoted Canadian real estate partner Scott Wilson to an office managing partner role in its Vancouver office, the firm announced.
-
August 06, 2024
More Training Needed On SF Encampment Rule, Judge Says
A California federal magistrate judge has partially sided with homelessness advocates and San Francisco residents accusing the city and county of violating the U.S. and state constitutions by destroying homeless residents' self-made encampments and forcing them out of the city with citations, fines and arrests.
Expert Analysis
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
New Proposal Signals Sharper Enforcement Focus At CFIUS
Last week's proposed rule aimed at broadening the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States' enforcement authority over foreign investments and increasing penalties for violations signals that CFIUS intends to continue expanding its aggressive monitoring of national security issues, say attorneys at Kirkland.
-
Climate Disclosure Mandates Demand A Big-Picture Approach
As carbon emissions disclosure requirements from the European Union, California and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission take effect, the best practice for companies is not targeted compliance with a given reporting regime, but rather a comprehensive approach to systems assessment and management, says David Smith at Manatt.
-
Playing Hockey Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Nearly a lifetime of playing hockey taught me the importance of avoiding burnout in all aspects of life, and the game ultimately ended up providing me with the balance I needed to maintain success in my legal career, says John Riccione at Taft.
-
Illinois EV Charging Act Sparks Developer Concerns
A recent state law in Illinois requiring multifamily housing to provide facilities for electric vehicle charging raises significant concerns for developers over existing infrastructure that isn't up to the task, says Max Kanter at Much Shelist.
-
What NAR Settlement Means For Agent Commission Rates
If approved, a joint settlement agreement between the National Association of Realtors and a class of home sellers will likely take the onus off home sellers to compensate buyers' agents, affecting considerations for all parties to real estate transactions, say attorneys at Jones Foster.
-
Calif. Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q1
The first quarter of the year brought the usual onslaught of new regulatory developments in California — including a crackdown on junk fees imposed by small business lenders, a big step forward for online notarizations and a ban on predatory listing agreements, says Alex Grigorians at Hanson Bridgett.