Residential
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November 07, 2024
NC Contractor Says DR Horton Owes It Millions
A contractor claimed that homebuilding giant D.R. Horton Inc. stiffed it out of more than $5.5 million after it did site work for residential real estate projects in North and South Carolina.
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November 07, 2024
Fla. Counties Say Notice Was Insufficient In $5B Bond Deal
A group of Florida counties and tax collectors asked the Florida Supreme Court Thursday to reverse a decision that found they could not reopen a bond validation judgment issuing $5 billion in bonds for renewable energy and hurricane mitigation projects, arguing they were not given proper notice of the bond validation hearing.
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November 07, 2024
Insurance Litigation Week In Review
Insurers sought to limit coverage for Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. in underlying securities claims, a proposed class of Washington Airbnb users accused the company's insurers of including undisclosed fees in their travel insurance and two Hartford units said Meta isn't owed coverage for numerous public nuisance lawsuits. Here, Law360 takes a look at the past week's top insurance news.
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November 07, 2024
Minn. Court Nudges $50K Off Tax Value Of St. Paul Home
A Minnesota home was over-assessed and should have its valuation reduced by $50,000, according to the state's tax court, taking into consideration a comparable sales analysis presented by the owners.
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November 07, 2024
Ariz. OKs Property Tax Credits For Unattended Nuisances
Arizona property owners affected by public nuisances that local governments fail to address could qualify for tax refunds under Proposition 312, a ballot measure approved by state voters.
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November 07, 2024
Mass. Court Affirms Nix Of Property Tax Appeal Citing Blight
A Massachusetts homeowner's request for a property tax abatement because of local blight was properly rejected by a state tax board because the owner did not pay the tax at issue as required, the state appeals court ruled Tuesday.
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November 07, 2024
Property Co. Sues Insurer Over Late Coverage Rights Letter
A company providing management services to homeowners associations accused its insurer in North Carolina federal court of acting in bad faith after it said the insurer only sent it a reservation of rights letter a year into its defense of a fire damage lawsuit.
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November 07, 2024
Transparency Act Should Exclude Housing Co-Ops, Court Told
A group of housing cooperatives asked a Michigan federal judge to grant them an exemption from the "dragnet" Corporate Transparency Act, claiming the disclosure requirements will deter members from serving on boards that govern affordable housing developments.
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November 07, 2024
Canada's Competition Bureau Seeks Dye & Durham Docs
Canada's Competition Bureau announced Thursday that it obtained a court order to gather information and advance an ongoing investigation into alleged anti-competitive conduct by legal technology company Dye & Durham Ltd., which has been scrutinized over the past year by activist investors and other national regulatory bodies.
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November 07, 2024
JLL Adds $100M To Dry Powder Stock For Affiliate REIT
Commercial broker JLL said Nov. 7 that it put an additional $100 million into its own JLL Income Property Trust to support its investments at an "opportune" time in real estate market recovery.
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November 07, 2024
Indicted Power Broker Says Civil Suit Repeats Earlier Claims
Indicted Garden State power broker George E. Norcross III and his attorney brother have urged a New Jersey state judge to toss the civil racketeering suit brought against them by a Philadelphia developer, arguing that the developer's claims are time-barred and should have been filed in previously litigated and resolved actions.
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November 06, 2024
Venue For Fla. County Suit Against Funder Getting New Look
A Florida appellate court ruled Wednesday that Palm Beach County can't use the "sword-wielder" exception to deny a funding agency's choice of court in a lawsuit over the authority to levy property taxes, saying the agency has proved it's a governmental entity entitled to a home venue privilege.
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November 06, 2024
What Trump's Victory Portends For Commercial Real Estate
President-elect Donald Trump's victory could clear up uncertainty for investors who had been waiting out the election, but the commercial real estate industry may see challenges ahead from some of his proposed "protectionist" policies, attorneys and experts said Wednesday.
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November 06, 2024
Developer Raises $171M For Affordable Housing Projects
The Richman Group Affordable Housing Corp. announced that it has raised $171.5 million in equity, which will allow the company to acquire, rehabilitate and construct 15 affordable housing properties in as many states.
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November 06, 2024
JV Nabs $110M Refinancing For NYC Multifamily Portfolio
A joint venture between Davean Holdings and Meadow Partners landed a $110 million refinancing of a New York City multifamily portfolio from Hudson Bay Capital, according to Walker & Dunlop, which facilitated the refinancing.
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November 06, 2024
Capital Markets Bounce Back For Big Four Brokers In Q3
After predicting a return of capital markets activity in the second half of 2024, commercial real estate's big four brokers reported that buyers and sellers are finally returning to the market in announcing third quarter results recently.
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November 06, 2024
Ga. Judge Trims Insurer's Shooting Coverage Claims
A Georgia federal judge Wednesday threw out as premature AMCO Insurance Co.'s claim asserting it has no duty to indemnify an apartment complex facing litigation after a resident was struck by multiple bullets while sleeping, but left in place its claim it has no duty to defend the complex.
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November 06, 2024
FINRA Fines Firm Over Lax Real Estate Investment Diligence
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority ordered broker-dealer XP to pay $800,000 in restitution and penalties to settle claims that, among other things, it recommended investments in a series of real estate-focused private placements without conducting proper due diligence on them, leading to investor losses when the offerings flopped.
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November 06, 2024
NJ Authorizes Sharing Property Tax Info To Calculate Credits
New Jersey authorized the sharing of taxpayers' unredacted property tax information to calculate tax credits as part of a property tax relief program under a bill signed by Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy.
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November 06, 2024
MVP: Cadwalader's Holly Chamberlain
Holly Chamberlain led teams from Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft LLP in advising major lenders on several significant deals this year, including the origination of three mortgage loans worth a combined $3.1 billion as part of Blackstone's $10 billion take-private transaction of multifamily owner AIR Communities, earning her a spot as one of the 2024 Law360 Real Estate MVPs.
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November 06, 2024
Calif. Voters Won't Rethink City Borrowing Tool For Housing
California voters on Tuesday rejected Proposition 5, a ballot initiative that would have amended the state's constitution to make it easier for municipalities to borrow the money needed to fund affordable housing and infrastructure work.
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November 05, 2024
An Early Look At Trump's Supreme Court Shortlist
With former President Donald Trump projected to win the 2024 presidential election and the Republicans' success in securing the U.S. Senate majority, Trump may now get the chance to appoint two more justices to the U.S. Supreme Court, cementing the court's conservative tilt for decades to come.
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November 05, 2024
GOP's Senate Win Hands Future Of The Judiciary To Trump
Republicans were projected to take back the White House and Senate and possibly the House early Wednesday, putting the GOP in position to back Donald Trump's agenda and his slate of young, conservative judicial nominees.
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November 05, 2024
Florida, Georgia, Others Peel Back Real Estate Taxes
Voters in seven states approved a spate of real estate tax ballot initiatives on Election Day, including measures that would curb property taxes for veterans, residential property owners and residents of municipalities that fail to enforce nuisance laws.
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November 05, 2024
California Voters Reject Cities' Rent Control Authority
California voters on Tuesday rejected Proposition 33, a ballot initiative that would have expanded local governments' authority to enact rent control measures but that opponents argued would have made the state's housing crisis worse.
Expert Analysis
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Recent Securities Cases Highlight Risks In AI Disclosures
Increasing public disclosure about the use and risks of artificial intelligence, and related litigation asserting that such disclosures are false or misleading, suggest that issuers need to exercise great care with respect to how they describe the benefits of AI, say Richard Zelichov and Danny Tobey at DLA Piper.
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Consider Best Legal Practices For Commissioning Public Art
Commissioning public art for real estate projects can provide many benefits to real estate developers and the public, but it's important to understand the unique legal and contracting aspects of the process to ensure that projects are completed on time and on budget, says Sarah Conley Odenkirk at ArtConverge.
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Playing Diplomacy Makes Us Better Lawyers
Similar to the practice of law, the rules of Diplomacy — a strategic board game set in pre-World War I Europe — are neither concise nor without ambiguity, and weekly gameplay with our colleagues has revealed the game's practical applications to our work as attorneys, say Jason Osborn and Ben Bevilacqua at Winston & Strawn.
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Proposed Mortgage Assistance Rule: Tips For Servicers
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recent proposal to alter Regulation X mortgage servicing procedures to broadly construe requests for assistance, and stay foreclosure proceedings during loss mitigation review, will, if finalized, require mortgage servicers to make notable procedural changes to comply, says Louis Manetti at Locke Lord.
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How Multifamily Property Owners Can Plan For The EV Future
As the electric vehicle market expands, and federal and state incentives and mandates intended to promote EV use come into effect, owners and operators of multifamily residential properties should be prepared to meet the growing demand for onsite EV charging infrastructure, say Sydney Tucker and Andreas Wokutch at Frost Brown.
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Fla. Insurer-Breach Cases Split On Unrepaired Property Issue
A Florida appellate court's recent decision in Universal v. Qureshi is directly at odds with a 2020 decision from another Florida appellate court, and raises important questions for policyholders and insurers about the proper measure of damages in breach claims involving unrepaired property, say Andrea DeField and Yaniel Abreu at Hunton.
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Collecting Art Makes Me A Better Lawyer
The therapeutic aspects of appreciating and collecting art improve my legal practice by enhancing my observation skills, empathy, creativity and cultural awareness, says attorney Michael McCready.
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Colorado Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q3
In the third quarter of 2024, Colorado's banking and financial services sector faced both regulatory updates and changes to state law due to recent federal court decisions — with consequences for local governments, mortgage lenders, state-chartered trust companies and federally chartered lenders serving Colorado consumers, says Sarah Auchterlonie at Brownstein Hyatt.
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In The CFPB Playbook: No Lazy, Hazy Days Of Summer
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is headed for a brisk fall season, on the heels of a heated summer, which included the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that the CFPB funding structure is constitutional, and in advance of the November election, says Eamonn Moran at Holland & Knight.
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Basel Endgame Rules: A Change Is Coming
The Federal Reserve Board's recently announced recalibration of the Basel endgame proposal begins a critical chapter in the evolution of not only the safety and soundness of U.S. banks, but also of banks' abilities to lend and support American businesses and consumers, say attorneys at Davis Wright.
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Round-Canopy Parachuting Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Similar to the practice of law, jumping from an in-flight airplane with nothing but training and a few yards of parachute silk is a demanding and stressful endeavor, and the experience has bolstered my legal practice by enhancing my focus, teamwork skills and sense of perspective, says Thomas Salerno at Stinson.
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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.