Residential
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March 11, 2025
Charities, Developer Buy Buffalo Section 8 Site, Plan Overhaul
Developer BFC Partners and two nonprofits have partnered to buy out of foreclosure a 360-unit affordable housing complex for $21.7 million in East Buffalo, New York, as part of an expected $120 million redevelopment project.
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March 11, 2025
Zillow Investors Urge 9th Circ. To Uphold Class Certification
A class of Zillow Group Inc. investors told the Ninth Circuit to reject the property listing company's bid to overturn the class certification of their suit accusing the company of making misleading statements about its home-flipping program and causing stock prices to drop.
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March 11, 2025
DOJ's RealPage Antitrust Case Gets New Judge
The U.S. Department of Justice's price-fixing lawsuit against algorithmic real estate pricing company RealPage is getting a new judge due to a conflict.
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March 11, 2025
Pinecrest Starts Texas A&M Luxury Student Housing Build
Pinecrest announced on Tuesday that it broke ground on a 605-bed luxury student housing community near Texas A&M University, as the speed of new supply deliveries cools from prior highs.
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March 11, 2025
Eric Adams Case Dying Slow Death In 'Sovereign' District
Experts say New York City Mayor Eric Adams' criminal corruption case appears on track to be tossed permanently — a looming development that could signal the end of the fierce independence of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.
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March 11, 2025
NJ Power Broker Fights Civil Suit After Criminal Case Victory
South Jersey power broker George Norcross and his brother moved this week to dismiss a civil racketeering suit against them arguing that the plaintiff's claims "parroted" a criminal indictment against them that was recently dismissed.
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March 11, 2025
Utah Lawmakers OK Min. Tax Rate Consensus Certification
Utah would require a minimum property tax rate imposed by school districts to be certified by the state's tax commission, the governor's Office of Planning and Budget and the state Legislature's Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst under a bill approved by state lawmakers and headed to the governor.
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March 10, 2025
JPMorgan Sued Over $481M CMBS Loan With 'Inflated' Metric
Wells Fargo sued JPMorgan in New York federal court on Monday to make it pay up for a soured $481 million commercial real estate loan that it originated and securitized, allegedly based on "dramatically inflated" supporting financial data.
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March 10, 2025
Ex-NFL Player Gets 2½ Years For $5.3M Ponzi Scheme
A former NFL linebacker was sentenced to two and a half years in prison Monday after pleading guilty to running a Ponzi scheme in which he bilked $5.3 million from investors who believed they were buying into luxury real estate and gold mines in Alaska and Ghana.
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March 10, 2025
Judge Tosses Challenge To Chicago Tenant Law
An Illinois federal judge dismissed a Chicago apartment building owner's suit over a local ordinance that requires the owners of foreclosed rental properties to pay qualifying tenants with a one-time relocation fee or offer them a new lease.
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March 10, 2025
The Legal Team Behind The Waldorf Astoria's Transformation
The iconic Waldorf Astoria in Manhattan recently concluded a 10-year renovation of the original hotel and partial conversion to retail, a club with amenities, and luxury residential condos. Law360 Real Estate Authority caught up with two attorneys from Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP who worked on the project and left their mark on the famed property.
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March 10, 2025
2 Firms Sued After Cyber Thief Steals $442K From Estate
Law firms SutterWilliams LLC and Allender & Allender PA were hit with a negligence and malpractice suit after a cybercriminal allegedly used spoofed email accounts to trick an attorney at the latter firm into handing over $442,600 from the sale of a late Pennsylvania sheriff's deputy's house in Florida.
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March 10, 2025
Paul Weiss, Fenwick Build Rocket's $1.75B Redfin Buy
Detroit-based real estate-focused fintech platform Rocket Cos., advised by Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP, on Monday announced that it has agreed to buy Fenwick & West LLP-led digital real estate brokerage Redfin in a $1.75 billion all-stock deal.
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March 10, 2025
NYC Real Estate Week In Review
Sullivan & Cromwell and Phillips Nizer are among the law firms that assisted with the largest New York City real estate deals that hit public records last week, with most of the week's biggest transactions in Manhattan.
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March 10, 2025
High Court Skips Florida Brokerage's Copyright Fee Appeal
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review a Florida real estate brokerage firm's challenge to lower court decisions denying it attorney fees when another company accusing it of copyright infringement voluntarily dropped the case.
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March 07, 2025
Condo Says Insurer Is Delaying $2M Hidden Damage Claim
A condo owners association told a Washington federal court that its insurer is deliberately delaying investigation and payment of its claim for over $2 million in hidden rain damage to its Seattle property, saying the carrier is trying to run out the limitations period in its policies.
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March 07, 2025
NYC Bar Atty On New Shelter Advocacy Project
The New York City Bar Association's pro bono arm recently rebranded and expanded its homeless assistance program into the Shelter Advocacy Project. Its leader, attorney Jennifer Quijano, talked to Law360 about how the program aims to tackle urgent day-to-day issues creating barriers for people who are homeless, such as storage facility disputes, shelter placement challenges, and housing voucher delays.
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March 07, 2025
SD Lawmakers Request Study Of Tax Relief For Homeowners
South Dakota instructed its Legislative Research Council to review the state's property tax policies and identify ways to provide property tax relief to homeowners under a concurrent resolution approved by state lawmakers.
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March 07, 2025
False Policy Info Tanks Property Owner's Coverage Suit
A New York federal judge ruled that an insurer doesn't have to cover a property owner and manager embroiled in a dispute with Vrbo tenants who fell through the balcony of a South Carolina condo, because the owner lied to the carrier and said it didn't offer short-term rentals.
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March 07, 2025
Flatiron Realty Inks $1B Credit Facilities For Luxury Housing
Flatiron Realty Capital LLC announced Friday that the private equity firm has closed on several credit facilities totaling $1 billion, adding that the facilities are intended to spur the production of luxury single-family homes in the U.S.
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March 07, 2025
DOJ Cites SDNY Prosecutors' Texts In Bid To End Adams Case
President Donald Trump's Justice Department doubled down Friday on its bid to toss the corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, citing newly released internal correspondence showing "troubling conduct" by Southern District of New York prosecutors the agency criticized as "careerist" and insubordinate.
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March 07, 2025
Kan. House Approves Limits On Property Tax
Kansas would limit the taxable valuation of real property and would create a property tax funding limit through protest petition under two measures passed in the House of Representatives on Friday.
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March 07, 2025
Mass. Housing Law Called Unfunded Mandate In Latest Suit
A controversial Massachusetts housing law requiring multifamily zoning near Boston-area transit facilities is facing a new legal challenge after the town of Wrentham argued in a Thursday state court suit that it's an unfunded mandate on localities.
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March 07, 2025
Jailed Developer Dropped From RICO Foreclosure Suit
A Michigan federal judge dropped a developer from a suit alleging a racketeering scheme stripped homeowners of their foreclosed homes' surplus equity, finding the harm they allege is not tied closely enough to a bribery scheme the developer later pled guilty to.
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March 07, 2025
Minn. Bills Seek Sales Tax Break For Home Construction
Construction materials for single-family and multifamily homes for first-time homebuyers would be exempt from some Minnesota sales and use taxes under legislation introduced in the state Senate.
Expert Analysis
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Reassessing Lease Provisions To Account For ESG Initiatives
As companies seek to build ESG considerations into their businesses, it's crucial to understand how such initiatives can quickly become significant enough to compel reassessment of lease agreement provisions, and how best to modify leases accordingly, say Julian Freeman and Gabe Pitassi at Cox Castle.
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Avoid Getting Burned By Agencies' Solar Financing Spotlight
Recently coordinated reports and advisories from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission maximize the spotlight on the consumer solar financing market and highlight pitfalls for lenders to avoid in this burgeoning field, says Mercedes Tunstall at Cadwalader.
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Assessing Algorithmic Versus Generative AI Pricing Tools
A comparison of traditional algorithmic pricing models and those powered by generative artificial intelligence can help regulators and practitioners weigh the pros and cons of relying on large language models to price products or services, say Maxime Cohen at McGill University, and Tim Spittle and Jimmy Royer at Analysis Group.
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Navigating A Potpourri Of Possible Transparency Act Pitfalls
Despite the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's continued release of guidance for complying with the Corporate Transparency Act, its interpretation remains in flux, making it important for companies to understand potentially problematic areas of ambiguity in the practical application of the law, say attorneys at Sidley.
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DOJ Must Overcome Hurdles In RealPage Antitrust Case
The U.S. Department of Justice's recent claims that RealPage's pricing software violates the Sherman Act mark a creative, and apparently contradictory, shift in the agency's approach to algorithmic price-fixing that will face several key challenges, say attorneys at Clifford Chance.
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What To Know About CFPB Stance On Confidentiality Terms
A recent circular from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau represents a growing effort across government agencies to address overbroad confidentiality agreements, and gives employers insight into the bureau's perspective on the issue as it relates to the Consumer Financial Protection Act, say Holly Williamson and Elizabeth King at Hunton.
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What's Next For Federal Preemption In Financial Services
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's review of its preemption interpretations and growing pressure from state regulators signal potential changes ahead for preemption in U.S. financial services, and the path forward will likely involve a reevaluation of the entire framework, say attorneys at Clark Hill.
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Increased Scrutiny Raises Int'l Real Estate Transaction Risks
Recently proposed regulations expanding the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States' oversight, a White House divestment order and state-level legislative efforts signal increasing scrutiny of real estate transactions that may trigger national security concerns, say Luciano Racco and Aleksis Fernández Caballero at Foley Hoag.
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Financial Incentives May Alleviate Affordable Housing Crisis
There is a wide array of financial incentives and assistance that the government can provide to both real estate developers and individuals to chip away at the housing affordability problem from multiple angles, say Eric DeBear and Madeline Williams at Cozen.
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Portland's Gross Receipts Tax Oversteps City's Authority
Recent measures by Portland, Oregon, that expand the voter-approved scope of the Clean Energy Surcharge on certain retail sales eviscerate the common meaning of the word "retail" and exceed the city's chartered authority to levy tax, say Nikki Dobay at Greenberg Traurig and Jeff Newgard at Peak Policy.
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The Bank Preemption Ripple Effects After Cantero, Flagstar
The importance of federal preemption for financial institutions will only increase as technology-driven innovations evolve, which is why the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Cantero v. Bank of America and vacatur of Kivett v. Flagstar Bank have real modern-day significance for national banks, say attorneys at WilmerHale.
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Assessing The Practicality Of Harris' Affordable Housing Plan
Vice President Kamala Harris' proposed "Build the American Dream" plan to tackle housing affordability issues takes solid recommendations into account and may fare better than California's unsuccessful attempt at a similar program, but the scope of the problem is beyond what a three-point plan can solve, says Brooke Miller at Sheppard Mullin.
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RealPage Suit Shows Growing Algorithm, AI Pricing Scrutiny
The U.S. Department of Justice's suit against RealPage for helping fix rental rates, filed last week, demonstrates how the use of algorithmic and artificial intelligence tools to assist with pricing decisions is drawing increasing scrutiny and action across government agencies, and specifically at the Federal Trade Commission and the DOJ, say Andre Geverola and Leah Harrell at Arnold & Porter.