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  • July 12, 2024

    Law360 Names 2024's Top Attorneys Under 40

    Law360 is pleased to announce the Rising Stars of 2024, our list of 158 attorneys under 40 whose legal accomplishments belie their age.

  • July 12, 2024

    Property Plays: Brookfield, Bally's, Kushner Cos.

    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.

  • July 12, 2024

    Conn. Justices Avoid Entanglement Issues In Rabbi Land Row

    The Connecticut Supreme Court on Friday agreed that a property dispute between the Chabad Lubavitch of Western and Southern New England Inc. and a Stamford rabbi belongs before a private religious panel, settling the case on arbitration principles and declining to analyze broader entanglement questions.

  • July 12, 2024

    Behind Ex-McElroy Deutsch CFO's Ch. 11

    McElroy Deutsch Mulvaney & Carpenter's former chief financial officer, who has admitted to skimming off $1.5 million from his firm, has filed for bankruptcy in New Jersey as he faces both a civil suit and criminal charges over the embezzlement.

  • July 12, 2024

    DC To Offer 15-Year Tax Freeze For Office Conversion Projects

    Washington, D.C., plans to offer a 15-year property tax freeze for projects that aim to reposition an office building for a different commercial use, building on the city's larger effort to enliven its downtown, according to an announcement by Mayor Muriel Bowser.

  • July 12, 2024

    FHFA Unveils New Protections For Multifamily Tenants

    Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will institute new tenant protections for multifamily properties financed by both enterprises, the Federal Housing Finance Agency announced Friday.

  • July 12, 2024

    Loan Guarantor Can't Dodge Citibank's Foreclosure Bid

    A New York federal judge refused to dismiss a loan guarantor from Citibank's mortgage loan foreclosure suit accusing the owner of a Brooklyn apartment building of defaulting on a $15 million commercial mortgage loan.

  • July 11, 2024

    Biden's FDIC Pick Hangs Tough Amid GOP Doubts On Record

    President Joe Biden's candidate for Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. chair faced scrutiny Thursday as Republican senators at her nomination hearing expressed their skepticism about her readiness to lead the agency, but her critics nevertheless appeared unlikely to derail her prospects for confirmation outright.

  • July 11, 2024

    Allstate Must Face Deflated Payments Suit, Judge Rules

    Allstate cannot escape a proposed class action accusing the insurer of wrongfully depreciating labor costs as part of actual cash value payments to insureds for property damage, an Arizona federal judge ruled, finding that the named plaintiff didn't lack standing and that her claims weren't time-barred.

  • July 11, 2024

    Ross Steps Down At Related Cos. To Run Florida-Based Firm

    Stephen M. Ross, a giant in the real estate development world, is stepping away from his leadership role as chairman of Related Cos., which he founded in 1972, to focus on the South Florida market as the head of a new firm.

  • July 11, 2024

    Condo Owner Can Sue Over Icy Sidewalk, Mich. Justices Rule

    A condominium owners' association can be sued by a member who slipped on ice in a common area, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled Thursday, finding an association has a duty to exercise reasonable care to protect condo owners in shared spaces.

  • July 11, 2024

    Pa. Condo Owner Group Takes Inner-Tower Conflict To Court

    The residents association of a downtown Pittsburgh condo building sued the building's commercial association in state court, alleging they have been improperly denied access to commercial sections of the building needed to complete HVAC repair work.

  • July 11, 2024

    Lender Seeks Receivership Of Goldman Sachs SF Properties

    A lender affiliated with the Royal Bank of Canada claimed in California state court that a company affiliated with Goldman Sachs and a property owner defaulted on a $162 million loan and urged the court to place the company's property portfolio into receivership.

  • July 11, 2024

    CLO Holder Can't Duck Portfolio Manager's Feud Just Yet

    A New York federal court has refused to finalize a February decision dismissing all claims against an investment scheme created to hold collateralized loan obligations whose liquidation is at the center of a sprawling dispute.

  • July 11, 2024

    Pa. Lawmakers OK Pittsburgh Homeowner Tax Break Program

    Pennsylvania would authorize Pittsburgh to adopt a property tax relief program that would let longtime homeowners claim tax breaks related to rising real estate taxes under a bill that narrowly passed the state House and next goes to Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro.

  • July 11, 2024

    7th Circ. Says Indiana City's Property Seizure Was Rational

    The Seventh Circuit sided with an Indiana city and its eminent domain seizure of local property owned by a fireworks business, ruling that the city's takeover of the property was rational.

  • July 10, 2024

    NJ Property Developer Files Ch. 11 With Up To $50M Liabilities

    Real estate developer JGA Development LLC, which owns and operates 84 units and has been developing dozens more, filed for Chapter 11 protection in New Jersey on Tuesday with up to $50 million each of assets and liabilities.

  • July 10, 2024

    LA Sues To Block Short-Term Rental Operation

    The City of Los Angeles accused a Ukrainian business owner and his cohorts in California state court of illegally advertising and booking unregistered short-term rentals "thousands upon thousands of times" and raking in millions of dollars.

  • July 10, 2024

    NJ Panel Says Tax Amendment Challenge Had No Real Claim

    A New Jersey state appeals court on Wednesday tossed a challenge to an amendment blocking certain appeals from being litigated in the state's tax court, reasoning that parties can still fight tax matters in trial court.

  • July 10, 2024

    NJ Justices OK Class Waivers Sans Arbitration Mandates

    Class action waivers don't require a mandatory arbitration provision to be enforceable, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled Wednesday, while also warning that waivers deemed unconscionable for other reasons may be invalidated.

  • July 10, 2024

    Property Owners, Developers End $34M Apartment Sale Suit

    A real estate investor, a pair of property sellers and First American Title Insurance Co. have agreed to permanently drop claims involving the $34 million sale of two Ann Arbor, Michigan, student apartment buildings, according to a federal judge's order.

  • July 10, 2024

    Federal Claims Tossed In Colo. Short-Term Rental Row

    A Colorado federal judge partially dismissed and remanded a suit filed by a nonprofit representing vacation rental owners who claim that a resort town's laws governing short-term rental licenses are overly restrictive.

  • July 10, 2024

    Mich. County Fights To Keep $217M Edenville Dam Repair Tax

    Homeowners attacking a localized tax to fund the reconstruction of four dams have already had a chance to contest the assessment and shouldn't get a second one, a Michigan county told a federal judge Tuesday.

  • July 10, 2024

    NY City Adopts 'Good Cause' Eviction Protections Once More

    Poughkeepsie, New York, became the third city to opt in to "good cause" eviction protections since the state Legislature adopted the renter safeguards via the fiscal year 2025 budget, years after a local version of the regulation was struck down in court.

  • July 10, 2024

    7th Circ. Says Foreclosure Limits Man's Fire Coverage Claim

    A homeowner did not have an insurable interest in the full value of a home that burned down while in foreclosure, the Seventh Circuit ruled, affirming that recovery was limited to the value of his temporary right to possess the property until 30 days after its judicial sale was confirmed.

Expert Analysis

  • Strict Duty To Indemnify Ruling Bucks Recent Trend

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    A South Carolina federal court's recent decision that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction to decide an insurer's duty to indemnify prior to the finding of insured liability sharply diverges from the more nuanced or multipronged standards established by multiple circuit courts, says Richard Mason at MasonADR.

  • Ill. Insurance Ruling Helps Developers, Community Orgs. Alike

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    The Illinois Supreme Court's decision in Acuity v. M/I Homes of Chicago, holding that commercial general liability policy exceptions did not prevent coverage for damage caused by faulty workmanship, will bring more potential insurance coverage for real estate developers and, in turn, larger payouts when community organizations sue them, say Howard Dakoff and Suzanne Karbarz Rovner at Levenfeld Pearlstein.

  • NJ Foreclosure Law Will Have Multifaceted Impact On Lenders

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    New Jersey's A.B. 5664 introduces significant reforms to foreclosure proceedings in the state, potentially lessening the burden on lenders and servicers to maintain foreclosed properties, but also brings new limitations and time frames, say Christina Livorsi and Wael Amer at Day Pitney.

  • 11 Noteworthy CFPB Developments From 2023

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    Under Rohit Chopra’s leadership, 2023 was an industrious year for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, with developments including the release of the proposed personal financial data rights rule, publication of proposed rules involving public registries for nonbanks and the bureau's continuous battle against junk fees, all of which are sure to further progress in 2024, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.

  • Insured Takeaways From 10th Circ. Interrelated Claims Ruling

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    The Tenth Circuit's recent ruling in American Southwest Mortgage v. Continental Casualty that multiple claims arising from consecutive audit years were interrelated — and thus subject to a per claim limit — creates a concerning precedent for policyholders, so companies should negotiate relevant policy language, says Michael Stockalper at Saxe Doernberger.

  • Baking Bread Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    After many years practicing law, and a few years baking bread, I have learned that there are a few keys to success in both endeavors, including the assembly of a nourishing and resilient culture, and the ability to learn from failure and exercise patience, says Rick Robinson at Reed Smith.

  • NY Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q4

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    New York's banking and financial sector saw a number of notable regulatory and legislative changes in the final quarter of 2023, including guidance on climate risks and heightened cybersecurity protocols issued by the New York State Department of Financial Services, as well as final revisions to virtual currency listings in the state, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

  • Ill. Justices Set New Standard For Analyzing Defect Claims

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    The Illinois Supreme Court's recent ruling in Acuity v. M/I Homes of Chicago has effectively changed the landscape for how insurers may respond to construction defect claims in the state, so insurers should carefully focus their coverage analysis on whether the business risk exclusions are applicable, say Bevin Carroll and Julie Klein at Kennedys.

  • A Look At Consumer Reporting In 2023, And What's To Come

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    The legal landscape of consumer reporting is evolving as courts, federal regulators and state legislatures continue to weigh in — and while last year may have seen a slight downtick in the overall volume of Fair Credit Reporting Act litigation, 2024 is set to be a watershed year for this area of the law, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

  • How New Fla. Condo Law Will Affect Owners' Finances

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    As this December is the deadline for condominiums in Florida to be in compliance with legislation passed after the Champlain Towers collapse, condo owners will need to prepare for both the immediate and long-term financial implications, says Greg Main-Baillie at Colliers.

  • The Year Ahead In Foreign Investment And National Security

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    In 2024, expect the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, already at the forefront of addressing national security threats, to increase monitoring and enforcement related to outbound investment, focus on supply chain resilience in nondefense sectors, and heighten oversight of agricultural transactions, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • A Challenging CRE Environment Holds Opportunities In 2024

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    As the commercial real estate market faces reduced occupancy levels and rising financing costs, the new landscape will be favorable to those who can leverage capital, strategic vision and expertise to meet challenges like taking on distressed properties and converting office space to residential use, say Nesa Amamoo and Vered Rabia at Skadden.

  • A Former Bankruptcy Judge Talks 2023 High Court Rulings

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    In 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court issued four bankruptcy law opinions — an extraordinary number — and a close look at these cases signals that changes to the U.S. Bankruptcy Code will have to come from Congress, not the courts, says Phillip Shefferly at the University of Michigan Law School.