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Real Estate
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January 28, 2025
Black Homebuyers Seek OK For Predatory Lending Settlement
A proposed class of Black homebuyers has asked a Michigan federal judge to approve their $750,000 settlement with real estate companies and their investors who allegedly bought up run-down Detroit properties to sell to Black buyers with abusive lending terms.
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January 28, 2025
Wells Fargo Exits 2022 Order But Isn't Out Of CFPB Woods Yet
Wells Fargo announced Tuesday that it has wrapped up a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau consent order issued two years ago over its handling of auto loans, mortgages and deposit accounts, though the agency is cautioning that "serious issues" remain at the bank.
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January 28, 2025
DC Judge Doubts Lawfulness Of USCIS EB-5 Guidance
A D.C. federal judge expressed deep skepticism Tuesday that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services acted lawfully when the agency shortened the minimum investment period for foreign investors seeking green cards, outlining plans to toss the rule or pause a lawsuit challenging it pending rulemaking.
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January 28, 2025
Energy Co. Seeks Abeyance In Dakota Access Pipeline Row
The operator of the Dakota Access Pipeline has asked the D.C. federal district court to suspend a South Dakota tribe's suit to shut down the pipeline's use until the court first rules on the tribe and federal government's competing motions for summary judgment.
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January 28, 2025
Lobbying Is Not A Crime, Madigan Co-Defendant Tells Jury
An attorney for an ex-lobbyist standing trial on public corruption charges alongside former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan told jurors on Tuesday the government failed to establish that his client conspired to trade the ex-speaker's support for do-nothing jobs, saying all that really happened was "lobbying and politics."
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January 28, 2025
SoCal Edison Faces More Suits Over Eaton Blaze
At least two more lawsuits were filed in California state court against Southern California Edison, alleging the investor-owned public utility is responsible for sparking the devastating Eaton Fire that began Jan. 7 and destroyed most of Altadena, California, killing at least 17 people.
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January 28, 2025
BCLP Adds Ex-Brownstein Hyatt Real Estate Atty In Denver
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP hired a former Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP real estate attorney as a partner for its commercial real estate team in its Denver office, the firm announced Monday.
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January 28, 2025
Ariz. Judge Rejects Monument Challenge Due To Mining Ban
A federal district court judge dismissed the Arizona State Legislature's challenge to former President Joe Biden's proclamation that established an Indigenous site in the Grand Canyon region as a national monument, saying the lawmakers failed to show how the order would harm the state's mining revenue-related interests.
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January 28, 2025
Beacon Roofing Nails Poison Pill To $11B Hostile Takeover Bid
Beacon Roofing Supply Inc. adopted a poison pill strategy on Tuesday, designed to thwart the $11 billion hostile takeover bid launched by tech and software company QXO Inc. the previous day.
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January 28, 2025
Watchdog Wants Conn. Atty Suspended For Escrow Theft
Connecticut's Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel is calling for an attorney with a history of court reprimands and grievances to face a license suspension, after she was found liable for statutory theft of client funds.
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January 28, 2025
Miami Developer Has To Pay Fees Owed To Carlton Fields
A Miami developer suing the Carlton Fields law firm can't dodge bills for legal work the firm performed for him, as a Florida state judge on Tuesday granted the firm a win on its counterclaim seeking payment of outstanding legal fees.
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January 28, 2025
Calif. Bill Targets Oil Cos. For Climate Disaster Costs
A Democratic lawmaker in California has introduced a bill aimed at improving insurance affordability in the state by allowing insurers and victims of natural disasters to pursue action against oil and gas companies for their role in fueling the climate crisis.
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January 28, 2025
Wynn Fraud Trial Still On As Appeals Court Declines To Step In
A Wynn Resorts subsidiary cannot challenge a decision allowing a trial on accusations that it misled the former owner of the site of its Encore Boston Harbor casino into cutting the property's sale price by $40 million, the state's intermediate-level appeals court has ruled.
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January 28, 2025
Ariz. Panel OKs Nonresident Real Estate Gains Tax Reports
Arizona's tax department would report on the capital gains taxes paid by nonresidents under legislation advanced by a state Senate panel.
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January 27, 2025
Feds May Trim $2B In Leases Over Trump's Term, Trepp Says
Following President Donald Trump's order on Inauguration Day that federal workers return to the office, a Trepp report finds more than a third of all office space leased by the federal government could potentially be terminated during Trump's second term.
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January 27, 2025
SoCal Edison To Leave Power Off Amid Eaton Fire Litigation
Southern California Edison agreed Monday that it won't re-energize the power lines leading to the site of this month's deadly Eaton Fire for three more weeks, after plaintiffs' firm Edelson PC obtained a video that appears to show electrical sparks near the utility's equipment just before the fire began.
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January 27, 2025
Feds' Madigan Informant Is A 'Malignant Tumor,' Jury Told
An attorney for ex-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan took aim Monday at the former Chicago alderman called as the government's star witness in Madigan's criminal racketeering trial, calling him "a malignant tumor at the heart of this case" and urging jurors not to trust his testimony as they prepare to deliberate on his client's fate.
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January 27, 2025
Late Filings Didn't Stymie Tax Challenges, Conn. Justices Say
Failing to file timely appraisals on commercial properties valued over $1 million was not fatal to several owners' tax assessment challenges under a new state law, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled Monday, agreeing that a trial judge properly reopened the cases months after a missed deadline.
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January 27, 2025
Foes Of New NJ Housing Law Criticized For Process Problems
A New Jersey state judge presiding over a challenge to the state's new affordable housing framework ruled Monday that he cannot consider a preliminary injunction motion until procedural issues in the complaint are resolved, telling the suing municipalities: "That is not the way litigation works."
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January 27, 2025
Buddhist Group Wants Army Corps Everglades Plan Blocked
A Buddhist community asked a Florida federal court to block construction on an Everglades restoration water retention project, arguing its concerns that the project will make its adjacent religious retreat center unusable have fallen on deaf ears at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
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January 27, 2025
Ga. Appeals Panel Revives Malpractice Suit Against Law Firm
The Georgia Court of Appeals partly reinstated a malpractice suit accusing a Georgia law firm and one of its former attorneys of failing to show up at a client's bench trial that ended with a $100,000 judgment against the client.
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January 27, 2025
LA Sued Over Closed-Door Meetings About Homeless Camps
The Los Angeles City Council violated state law by holding closed-door meetings about homeless camps in the city, according to a suit filed by advocates for low-income and homeless LA residents in California state court.
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January 27, 2025
Ind. Gov. Orders Analysis Of Nonprofit Hospitals' Tax Breaks
Indiana's governor issued an executive order requiring an analysis of nonprofit hospitals operating in the state to evaluate the tax-exempt benefits they received compared with the amount of charity care they provided.
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January 27, 2025
NJ Shortens Window For Use Of Redevelopment Tax Credits
New Jersey reduced the time in which tax credits for certain mixed-use and commercial real estate redevelopment projects must be used after approval as part of a bill signed by Gov. Phil Murphy.
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January 27, 2025
QXO Goes Hostile With $11B Beacon Roofing Takeover Bid
QXO Inc. on Monday lobbed a hostile takeover bid at Beacon Roofing Supply Inc., which previously rejected its acquisition proposal, announcing plans to launch an all-cash tender offer to purchase Beacon's remaining outstanding shares in a roughly $11 billion deal.
Expert Analysis
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Arbitration Implications Of High Court Coinbase Ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent Coinbase v. Suski ruling not only reaffirmed the long-standing principle that arbitration is a matter of contract, but also established new and more general principles concerning the courts' jurisdiction to decide challenges to delegation clauses and the severability rule, say Tamar Meshel at the University of Alberta.
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Fla. HOA Reforms Bring Major Wins For Homeowners
A recently signed law brings broad changes for homeowners associations in Florida, alleviating some pressure imposed by overly restrictive rules and potentially setting up litigation surrounding how HOAs enforce their governing documents, says Christopher Miller at Varnum.
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Lower Courts May Finally Be Getting The Memo After Ciminelli
A year after the U.S. Supreme Court again limited prosecutors' overbroad theories of fraud in Ciminelli v. U.S., early returns suggest that the message has at least partially landed with the lower courts, spotlighting lessons for defense counsel moving forward, says Kenneth Notter at MoloLamken.
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After A Brief Hiccup, The 'Rocket Docket' Soars Back To No. 1
The Eastern District of Virginia’s precipitous 2022 fall from its storied rocket docket status appears to have been a temporary aberration, as recent statistics reveal that the court is once again back on top as the fastest federal civil trial court in the nation, says Robert Tata at Hunton.
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Addressing Labor Shortages In The Construction Industry
As the construction industry's ongoing struggle with finding sufficient skilled workers continues, companies should consider a range of solutions including a commitment to in-house training and creative contracting protocols, say Brenda Radmacher and Allison Etkin at Akerman.
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A Framework For Investigating Commercial Loan Fraud
As commercial loan transactions are increasingly subject to sophisticated fraud schemes, lenders must adopt dynamic strategies to detect, investigate and mitigate these schemes, say attorneys at Baker Donelson.
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Recruitment Trends In Emerging Law Firm Frontiers
BigLaw firms are facing local recruitment challenges as they increasingly establish offices in cities outside of the major legal hubs, requiring them to weigh various strategies for attracting talent that present different risks and benefits, says Tom Hanlon at Buchanan Law.
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Series
Glassblowing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
I never expected that glassblowing would strongly influence my work as an attorney, but it has taught me the importance of building a solid foundation for your work, learning from others and committing to a lifetime of practice, says Margaret House at Kalijarvi Chuzi.
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How NY Co-Ops Can Minimize Sale Rejections Based On Price
New York co-op sales are regularly rejected for being below undisclosed price minimums, and co-op boards should address this problem by sharing information more transparently and allowing some flexibility for below-market sales, say Pierre Debbas and Seth Feldman at Romer Debbas.
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Money, Money, Money: Limiting White Collar Wealth Evidence
As courts increasingly recognize that allowing unfettered evidence of wealth could prejudice a jury against a defendant, white collar defense counsel should consider several avenues for excluding visual evidence of a lavish lifestyle at trial, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.
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How Associates Can Build A Professional Image
As hybrid work arrangements become the norm in the legal industry, early-career attorneys must be proactive in building and maintaining a professional presence in both physical and digital settings, ensuring that their image aligns with their long-term career goals, say Lana Manganiello at Equinox Strategy Partners and Estelle Winsett at Estelle Winsett Professional Image Consulting.
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Yellow Corp. Lease Assumption Shows Landlord Protections
Yellow Corp.’s recent filing of a motion to assume unexpired leases is a helpful reminder to practitioners to maintain a long-term approach about what is most beneficial for an estate and to not let a debtor's short-term cash position dictate business decisions, says Kyle Arendsen at Squire Patton.
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Firms Must Rethink How They Train New Lawyers In AI Age
As law firms begin to use generative artificial intelligence to complete lower-level legal tasks, they’ll need to consider new ways to train summer associates and early-career attorneys, keeping in mind the five stages of skill acquisition, says Liisa Thomas at Sheppard Mullin.
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High Court's BofA Ruling Leaves State Preemption Questions
A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Cantero v. Bank of America sheds light on whether certain state banking regulations apply to federally chartered banks, but a circuit split could still force the Supreme Court to take a more direct position, says Brett Garver at Moritt Hock.
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Think Like A Lawyer: Always Be Closing
When a lawyer presents their case with the right propulsive structure throughout trial, there is little need for further argument after the close of evidence — and in fact, rehashing it all may test jurors’ patience — so attorneys should consider other strategies for closing arguments, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.