Residential

  • October 02, 2024

    EXp Investors Accuse Execs Of Ignoring Sex Assault Culture

    Shareholders of eXp World Holdings Inc. have hit the real estate brokerage company's top-brass with a derivative lawsuit in Delaware Chancery Court Wednesday, claiming they intentionally ignored repeated reports that its top "influencers" were drugging and sexually assaulting real estate agents at company events, thereby exposing the company to millions in liabilities.

  • October 02, 2024

    Colony Ridge Seeks Quick Appeal In 'Reverse Redlining' Suit

    A Texas real estate developer that recently lost a bid to exit a lending discrimination suit brought by the U.S. government and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has moved to begin a Fifth Circuit appeal, arguing the "novelty" of the case's reverse redlining theory warrants immediate appellate review.

  • October 02, 2024

    Convicted Judge Owes Feds Retirement Funds, 7th Circ. Says

    A former Illinois judge convicted of running a $1.4 million mortgage fraud scheme must cough up assets from her retirement accounts to cover her restitution obligations, the Seventh Circuit ruled Wednesday, agreeing with a Chicago district court that the government can access her retirement savings to satisfy that debt.

  • October 02, 2024

    Riemer & Braunstein Rehires Corporate Atty For Boston Office

    Riemer & Braunstein LLP has brought back corporate attorney Adam W. Jacobs, and this time he'll be working as a partner and group leader in the firm's business law/real estate department in Boston.

  • October 02, 2024

    Husch Blackwell Atty Says Bill Would Boost Rural Housing

    A bill in the U.S. House of Representatives would provide much-needed support for projects to convert vacant commercial spaces to residential ones, and rural areas in particular would stand to benefit from the program, a Husch Blackwell attorney who's closely watching the legislation recently told Law360 in an interview.

  • October 02, 2024

    2nd Circ. Prods NY Appeals Court To Weigh Foreclosure Law

    The Second Circuit has urged a state appeals court to provide input on a ruling retroactively canceling U.S. Bank's attempt to foreclose on a Queens condo in 2016 by applying a six-year statute of limitations in the state's 2022 Foreclosure Abuse Prevention Act.

  • October 02, 2024

    Chicago Must Face Housing Accessibility Claims

    Chicago can't escape a nonprofit's disability discrimination suit accusing the city of failing to make sure that disabled people could access several of the city's affordable housing properties, an Illinois federal judge ruled.

  • October 02, 2024

    Mass. Tax Board OKs Exemption For Senior Home

    A senior home on Martha's Vineyard is exempt from property taxes, a Massachusetts tax panel said in a decision released Wednesday, ruling that the owner, a charitable nonprofit, had a sufficient presence at the property for the exemption.

  • October 02, 2024

    As Hottest Summer Ever Ends, Cooling Mandates Take Off

    The hottest summer on record just ended, fanning a renewed advocacy for addressing extreme heat through housing policies like cooling mandates and stricter tenant rights.

  • October 02, 2024

    NAR Leadership Shakeup Continues With Legal Chief's Exit

    The National Association of Realtors' chief legal officer, Katie Johnson, plans to step down from her post effective Thursday, the latest change in a major shakeup that has roiled the organization's senior leadership in recent months, a NAR spokesperson confirmed Wednesday.

  • October 02, 2024

    NYC Council, Tenants Want Housing Voucher Suit Revived

    The New York City Council and a proposed class of low-income tenants both urged a New York state appeals court to revive their suit seeking to force Mayor Eric Adams to implement a set of laws that would expand access for a housing voucher program.

  • October 02, 2024

    Conn. Receiver Gains Access To Apt. Co-Op's BofA Accounts

    Bank of America agreed to provide a court-appointed receiver with access to a distressed housing cooperative's bank accounts Wednesday amid efforts by the municipalities of Bridgeport and Stratford, Connecticut, to obtain a court order.

  • October 02, 2024

    Climate Risk Is Turning The Tide In Buyer, Investor Behavior

    Climate risk isn't yet the kind of consideration that would make or break the average property deal. But as it becomes less of an abstract concept and more of a concrete part of due diligence, it's on the verge of causing major ripples throughout the real estate industry.

  • October 02, 2024

    US Seeks To Drop $1M Tax Suit Against Sleep Clinic Founder

    The U.S. government seeks to drop its case against a sleep clinic founder and his wife, whom it had accused of hiding assets, after the couple agreed to pay their tax liabilities in full, according to a filing in California federal court Wednesday.

  • October 01, 2024

    Data Brokers Decry 'Ill-Tailored' NJ Judicial Privacy Law

    Data brokers such as Equifax, Thomson Reuters and Zillow urged a New Jersey federal judge Tuesday to toss a suit accusing them of violating Daniel's Law, arguing the state's judicial privacy measure is unconstitutionally broad and unevenly applied. 

  • October 01, 2024

    Calif. Judge Won't Let Insurers Slip Mold Coverage Suit

    A California federal judge mostly refused to allow a group of insurers to escape a suit filed by the owner and operator of a 231-unit California apartment complex seeking coverage for mold under a $69 million builders risk policy.

  • October 01, 2024

    Investment Firm Raises $4.7B For Bonds, Real Estate Loans

    Monarch Alternative Capital LP announced Monday that it raised $4.7 billion for the completion of its sixth closed-end fund, surpassing the opportunistic credit and real estate firm's goal and the amount raised for the previous fund.

  • October 01, 2024

    DC Council Passes Temporary ERAP Reforms

    Washington, D.C., officials approved an emergency bill on Tuesday to reform the city's Emergency Rental Assistance Program, a move that council members said can address a financial crisis among landlords of affordable housing that arose from some tenants' misuse of the program.

  • October 01, 2024

    Insurers Say $40M Hurricane Claims Must Be Arbitrated

    A group of insurers led by certain underwriters at Lloyd's, London urged a Louisiana federal court to reject a group of property owners' "last-ditch effort" to avoid arbitrating their hurricane damage claims totaling over $40 million, arguing the owners "don't dispute" that the arbitration provision in their policy is enforceable.

  • October 01, 2024

    NC Judge Trims Most Of $200M Apartment Complex Sale Suit

    A North Carolina federal judge tossed out the breach of contract and deceptive trade practices claims in a real estate firm's suit over a soured $200 million deal to acquire a portfolio of apartment complexes, but the court said the buyer's claims could come back later.

  • October 01, 2024

    McElroy Deutsch Must Face 'Malicious' Claim From Fired Exec

    A former business development director from McElroy Deutsch Mulvaney & Carpenter LLP has been given the go-ahead from a New Jersey state judge to bring a malicious-prosecution claim against the firm in litigation over her and her husband's alleged multimillion-dollar embezzlement from the firm.

  • October 01, 2024

    Foreclosure Class Wants To Stop Mich. Atty's Victim Outreach

    Lawyers behind a proposed tax foreclosure class action in Michigan federal court have said an attorney who recently secured a settlement in a similar case sent a misleading solicitation letter to a client in a bid to undermine the proceedings.

  • September 30, 2024

    New Calif. Law Limits Warehouse Builds, Experts Say

    With Gov. Gavin Newsom's signature Sunday, California has enacted broad restrictions on warehouse development that could pack new projects into commercial areas away from homes, schools and parks, frustrating both business and environmental groups.

  • September 30, 2024

    Faced With $100M In Unpaid Rent, DC Plans ERAP Reforms

    Washington, D.C., officials plan to reform the city's Emergency Rental Assistance Program, saying changes made to it during the COVID-19 pandemic have led to an unsustainable situation where affordable-housing landlords across the district are owed about $100 million in unpaid rent.

  • September 30, 2024

    Akerman Guides Developer's $165M Fla. Land Purchase

    Akerman LLP advised developer GT USA on the company's $165 million purchase of over 2,300 acres of Lake County, Florida, land, the law firm announced on Monday.

Expert Analysis

  • Tax Assessment: Recapping Georgia's Legislative Session

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    Jonathan Feldman and Alla Raykin at Eversheds Sutherland examine tax-related changes from Georgia’s General Assembly — such as the governor’s successful push to accelerate income tax cuts — and suggest steps to take before certain tax incentives are challenged in the state's next legislative session.

  • 11th Circ. Ruling May Foreshadow Ch. 15 Clashes

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    The Eleventh Circuit's recent decision in In re: Talal Qais Abdulmunem Al Zawawi has introduced a split from the Second Circuit regarding whether debtors in foreign proceedings must have a domicile, calling attention to the understudied nature of Chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code, say attorneys at Cleary.

  • Teaching Yoga Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Being a yoga instructor has helped me develop my confidence and authenticity, as well as stress management and people skills — all of which have crossed over into my career as an attorney, says Laura Gongaware at Clyde & Co.

  • A Look At New IRS Rules For Domestically Controlled REITs

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    The Internal Revenue Services' finalized Treasury Regulations addressing whether real estate investment trusts qualify as domestically controlled adopt the basic structure of previous proposals, but certain new and modified rules may mitigate the regulations' impact, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • 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.