Residential
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July 30, 2024
Fla. Insurance Co. Accused Of Causing Black Mold Death
A Florida insurance company was accused of wrongfully causing the death of a woman who died from black mold contamination in a state complaint brought by her sole descendant, who alleges the insurer didn't send a promised team to remediate the woman's home after it was damaged by Hurricane Ian.
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July 30, 2024
Zillow Escapes Real Estate Agent's Trade Practices Claim
Zillow Inc. on Tuesday escaped a proposed class action by a Connecticut real estate agent who claimed the website's computer-based home value estimates and "contact agent" buttons interfered with the ability of on-the-ground professionals to manage listings, work with clients and accurately price properties.
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July 30, 2024
Ex-HFZ Capital Chief Can't Reduce Bail In $86M Fraud Case
A Manhattan judge on Tuesday denied, for now, a request by the former head of troubled real estate firm HFZ Capital Group to lower a hefty bail requirement so he can get out of Rikers Island while fighting $86 million theft and tax fraud charges.
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July 30, 2024
Ohio Bill Would Create Credit For Property Tax, Rent
Ohio would allow homeowners and renters to claim a refundable property tax credit or rebate if their property tax or rent-equivalent tax exceeds 5% of their household income under a bill introduced in the House of Representatives.
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July 30, 2024
Insurer Says No Coverage For Florida Sex Assault Claims
A trust facing a negligence claim after a minor said she was sexually assaulted while staying at the trust's vacation rental isn't owed any coverage for the lawsuit, its insurer told a Florida federal court Tuesday, citing a sexual molestation exclusion.
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July 30, 2024
No Damage Needed To Replace NJ Beach House, Panel Says
New Jersey property owners looking to replace an existing structure located in a flood hazard area don't have to show it's in an unusable condition, a state appellate panel ruled Tuesday, backing the state Department of Environmental Protection's denial of a request by neighbors to rescind a developer's permit to replace a beachfront home.
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July 30, 2024
Feds Must Maintain Center's EB-5 Status During Fee Dispute
A Montana federal judge ordered U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to maintain a regional center's designation to participate in the EB-5 investor visa program while he reviews claims that the agency moved to terminate its designation without proper notice.
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July 30, 2024
Ropes & Gray Adds Partner To Int'l Tax Practice
Ropes & Gray LLP recently added a tax adviser with a wealth of experience navigating transactions, funds and investments for clients as a partner in its New York office, the firm said.
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July 30, 2024
Legal Fees Caused Operating Cost Spike In Q2, Equity Says
As Equity Residential reported higher occupancy, sales and income in the second quarter, an executive on Tuesday told investors that the multifamily giant's defense costs in "regulation by litigation" legal cases were on the rise, as well, driving an annual increase in operating expenses.
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July 30, 2024
NYC Condo Building Nears Peace Deal With Lenders In Ch. 11
Bankrupt New York City condominium complex Hudson 888 Owner told a bankruptcy judge Tuesday that it is days away from reaching a settlement for its Chapter 11 plan, which will see it hand over its real estate to its main lender to clear its debts.
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July 29, 2024
Ky. Tower Sale Laundering Case Should Proceed, Judge Told
A Florida magistrate judge has recommended denying a bid by two Miami businessmen to toss litigation filed by the U.S. government looking to seize about $9.1 million from the sale of a Kentucky office tower over alleged ties to a Ukrainian money laundering scheme.
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July 29, 2024
Tenants Reach $16.5M Settlement In Service Fees Suit
A certified class of Section 8 housing voucher holders agreed to settle their claims for $16.5 million in California federal court against property owners and managers who allegedly violated the tenants' federal housing assistance payments contracts by wrongfully overcharging them with additional rent for amenities such as washers and dryers.
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July 29, 2024
Mich. Top Court Says 2020 Tax Foreclosure Ruling Retroactive
The Michigan Supreme Court on Monday gave retroactive effect to its 2020 decision that said local governments violate homeowners' rights by profiting from the sales of their tax-foreclosed homes, saying Michigan's "robust" history of protecting against takings weighs in favor of making the ruling retroactive.
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July 29, 2024
BofA Mortgage Loan Officers Get Conditional Cert. In OT Suit
A group of mortgage loan officers who accused Bank of America of misclassifying the employees as overtime-exempt has cinched conditional collective certification, with a North Carolina federal judge rejecting the bank's arguments that their job duties were too different to merit certification.
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July 29, 2024
Conn. Justices OK Vrbo Host's Short-Term House Rentals
A divided Connecticut Supreme Court ruled Monday that a Vrbo host in Branford was allowed to rent out his property to vacationers under a set of regulations passed in 1994, before the local zoning board changed the rules in 2018 to ban his activities.
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July 29, 2024
Fraudster Faces Florida Condo Eviction Over Chain-Smoking
A Florida luxury condominium association has brought a state court lawsuit against an admitted real estate fraudster and seeks to have him removed as a tenant over his chain-smoking, saying he broke the terms of his lease but continues to reside in his condo unit.
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July 29, 2024
9th Circ. Rules Ch. 7 Debtor Can't Exempt Home From Estate
The Ninth Circuit ruled that a debtor in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case in Washington state cannot pursue above-limit homestead exemption and that the remaining proceeds of her property should go to the bankruptcy estate, reversing the bankruptcy appellate panel's decision in 2022.
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July 29, 2024
Realtor.com Parent Fights Uphill For CoStar Injunction
A California federal judge appeared skeptical Monday of a preliminary injunction request from Realtor.com's parent company seeking to block rival CoStar from misappropriating trade secrets and unlawfully accessing its computers, saying the alleged theft doesn't appear to involve a secret "formula" but rather website content.
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July 29, 2024
NY City's Rent Regs Draw Legal Challenge
The Hudson Valley Property Owners Association made good on its promise to challenge Poughkeepsie, New York's, move to adopt rent stabilization citywide, alleging in New York state court that the underlying vacancy rate the city used to opt in was miscalculated.
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July 29, 2024
Mich. Justices Uphold Power To Pause Pandemic Deadlines
The Michigan Supreme Court affirmed Monday that it had the power to suspend case filing deadlines for three months at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, ruling the temporary measure was not an overreach of the judiciary's authority.
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July 29, 2024
NYC Real Estate Week In Review
Romer Debbas and Marcus Attorneys are among the law firms that steered the largest New York City deeds that hit public records last week, a slow period that saw only five transactions north of $15 million become public.
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July 29, 2024
Workspace To Sell Residential Development For £13M
Flexible workspace provider Workspace Group PLC said Monday that it has agreed to sell a residential redevelopment site in the southeastern English town of Woking for £13 million ($16.7 million).
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July 26, 2024
CFIUS Report Says More On Real Estate Than Meets The Eye
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States' latest report to Congress shows no significant change in the number of real estate-related cases the committee reviewed in 2023, but that does not mean properties weren't on the government's radar, attorneys say.
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July 26, 2024
Property Plays: Pretium, United Center, 830 Brickell
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.
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July 26, 2024
Short-Term Rental Group Defends Colo. City Ordinance Suit
A group of short-term rental owners in Colorado urged a federal court on Thursday to reject a city's bid to dismiss their suit, which claims a 2023 ordinance that regulates where short-term rentals can operate "effectively bans most existing short-term rentals."
Expert Analysis
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The Year Ahead In Foreign Investment And National Security
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.
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A Challenging CRE Environment Holds Opportunities In 2024
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.
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A Former Bankruptcy Judge Talks 2023 High Court Rulings
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.
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Children's Book Writing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Becoming a children's book author has opened doors to incredible new experiences of which I barely dared to dream, but the process has also changed my life by serving as a reminder that strong writing, networking and public speaking skills are hugely beneficial to a legal career, says Shaunna Bailey at Sheppard Mullin.
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DOJ Comments Reveal Road Ahead For Mortgage Redlining
Comments from two U.S. Department of Justice representatives at a recent fair lending conference show that the DOJ is prioritizing investigations and enforcement against redlining risks, and highlight important compliance steps for lenders, say Lori Sommerfield and Chris Willis at Troutman Pepper.
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DOJ's RealPage Notice Signals Focus On Pricing Algorithms
The U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division recently filed a statement of interest in the Realpage multidistrict litigation to stake out its position that price-fixing algorithms pose a great anti-competitive threat, which suggests that the DOJ and private parties may continue to bring similar actions in the future, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.
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4 Key Types Of Coming FHLBank Reforms To Watch
Though the Federal Housing Finance Agency's recent report on the Federal Home Loan Bank System has received relatively little attention, the regulatory and legislative changes it proposes in four categories herald the start of a significant effort by the agency to reform the system’s structure and operations and overhaul requirements for member banks, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.
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Property Owner Considerations Around Electric Vehicle Bans
In light of a property management company's recent ban on electric vehicles in Canada, it's worth considering how similar bans might fare in Florida and other U.S. states, and the legal ramifications that could potentially arise, say Gerardo Ortega and Gary Kaleita at Lowndes.
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Trump NY Fraud Trial Shows Civil, Criminal Case Differences
Former President Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial currently unfolding in New York provides a reminder that civil bench trials can be just as damaging, if not more so, than criminal prosecutions, due to several key elements of civil litigation procedure, says retired attorney David Moskowitz.
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Why NYC Building Owners Shouldn't Ignore Emissions Rule
New rules from the New York City Department of Buildings clarify the previously vague good faith efforts that building owners may make to mitigate penalties for not complying with a major carbon emission law that takes effect in January, and should discourage owners from simply paying the fines instead of decarbonizing, says William McCracken at Moritt Hock.
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What NJ's Green Remediation Guidance Means For Cleanups
Recent guidance from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection promoting greener approaches to restoring contaminated sites demonstrates the state's commitment to sustainability and environmental justice — but could also entail more complexity, higher costs and longer remediation timelines, say J. Michael Showalter and Bradley Rochlen at ArentFox Schiff.
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A New Path Forward For Surplus Land Owners In Calif.
A new California law signed last month enables some religious institutions and nonprofit colleges to build affordable housing on surplus land, and its requirements — which are more manageable than they may appear — will support long-term benefits including good housing and the survival of worthy institutions, says Stephen Wilson at Withers.
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Inside Bank Regulators' Community Lending Law Overhaul
The federal banking agencies' recently finalized changes to the Community Reinvestment Act not only account for the gradual shift to an environment where lending and deposit-taking are primarily conducted online, but also implement other updates such as diversity initiatives and a new series of lending tests, say attorneys at Norton Rose.