More Real Estate Coverage
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January 17, 2025
Michigan Justices Won't Answer Securities Test Issue
The Michigan Supreme Court on Friday denied an appeal from a developer asking justices to find a state law test rather than a federal one should be used to determine if a promissory note is a security, leaving in place a ruling that keeps the developer liable for notes issued in a $6 million project.
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January 17, 2025
GOP Reps. Look To End President's National Monument Power
Two Republican members of Congress have launched a bill seeking to strip the president's power to declare national monuments, saying the Antiquities Act of 1906 is in dire need of reform that would hand over that authority to Congress.
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January 17, 2025
Property Owner Says Nationwide Lowballed On $3.8M Losses
A Georgia property owner accused its insurer, a Nationwide unit, of "grossly underestimating" damages from separate hail and water events, alleging it was offered a combined total of less than $8,000 for losses exceeding $3.8 million, in a case removed to Georgia federal court.
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January 16, 2025
6th Circ. Won't Revisit Mercedes Fire Coverage Row
The Sixth Circuit declined Thursday to revisit a decision finding the research group for Mercedes-Benz North America could be liable for over $1 million in property damage following a fire its employees set inadvertently at a Michigan property it rented.
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January 15, 2025
What Real Estate Attys Should Expect From New SEC
Real estate lawyers should anticipate a meaningful shift in policy from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission under President-elect Donald Trump's leadership, including a reduced focus on climate risk disclosures, according to speakers at a Practicing Law Institute panel.
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January 14, 2025
8th Circ. Backs Real Estate Agents' Win In Copyright Case
The Eighth Circuit on Tuesday backed a lower court ruling that let real estate agents off the hook on claims they infringed a home designer's copyrights, agreeing that the inclusion of floor plans in listings of homes he designed were fair use.
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January 14, 2025
H&E Rentals' Stock Doubles On $4.8B United Rentals Deal
United Rentals Inc. has agreed to purchase fellow equipment rental company H&E Rentals for about $4.8 billion, including approximately $1.4 billion of debt, the companies said Tuesday, with the news leading to a more than 100% increase in H&E's stock price.
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January 13, 2025
Cost, Safety Priorities For Vedder Price Atty On Miami Board
The collapse of the Champlain Towers in 2021 spurred fundamental changes in Florida's condominium laws. It also spurred Vedder Price PC shareholder Javier A. Lopez to join the Miami Planning, Zoning and Appeals Board, of which he recently became the newest member in hopes of affecting positive changes to the city's development, particularly with safety and affordability.
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January 13, 2025
Judge Says California Tribe Can't Block Casino Land Decision
A California tribe can't block the Interior Department from taking 65 acres into trust for a fellow state tribe's proposed casino project, a federal district judge said, arguing that it has not satisfied the burden to prove an immediate threat of irreparable harm.
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January 13, 2025
NJ Groups Sue To Revoke Offshore Wind Farm Approvals
A group of environmental and business organizations are alleging in New Jersey federal court that federal approvals awarded to a Shell-backed developer's offshore wind projects violate a number of environmental statutes, and they are looking to halt the construction of two offshore wind facilities located just under nine miles off the Garden State coast.
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January 13, 2025
Ore. Tax Court Says No Depreciation On Residences
The owners of a pair of Oregon residences were denied depreciation deductions against their state income taxes because they did not demonstrate that the homes were income-producing properties, the state tax court said.
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January 13, 2025
Ore. Court OKs Farm Tax Break For Landfill, Corn Maze
Portions of property in a farming operation used for a corn maze and for a landfill that was part of a remediation effort are eligible for a special agricultural property tax assessment, the Oregon Tax Court ruled.
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January 13, 2025
Ind. Bill Would Restrict Property Tax Referendum Placement
Indiana would limit when school corporations may place referendums authorizing certain property tax levies on a ballot to general elections, under a bill introduced Monday in the state House of Representatives.
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January 13, 2025
Supreme Court Won't Hear Broker's Fee Bid In Copyright Case
The U.S. Supreme Court declined Monday to hear a Florida real estate broker's bid for attorney fees incurred defending himself from a copyright infringement suit by an aerial photography company, leaving in place a ruling saying he was not a prevailing party once the case was voluntarily dismissed.
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January 13, 2025
Justices Reject Utah's Effort To Wrest Land From Feds
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected Utah's claims that the federal government is stifling economic activity in the state by unconstitutionally hoarding and profiting from public lands.
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January 13, 2025
Justices Won't Hear Farm's Bid To Retake Denver Airport Land
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a Colorado farm company's petition arguing Denver can't hold onto land originally seized for the Denver International Airport now that the city plans to build a private commercial complex on the property.
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January 10, 2025
DeSantis Vows More Money, Control Over Everglades Projects
Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis pledged to recommend $805 million of the state budget for continuing efforts in Everglades restoration and promised to take more control over water management, saying he hopes to work with the incoming Trump administration to expedite projects in order to reduce time and taxpayer expense.
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January 10, 2025
Webuild Says $54M Argentina Award Must Be Enforced
Webuild wants a D.C. federal court to enforce a more than $54 million arbitral award it won more than a decade ago in a dispute with Argentina over a water and sewage service concession, saying the court has already rejected the country's one available defense.
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January 09, 2025
Zillow Brings 'Goldman' Debate Over Class Cert. To 9th Circ.
Zillow Group Inc. is asking the Ninth Circuit to issue its first ruling on the correct application of a U.S. Supreme Court's Goldman decision to investor class certification bids, saying a lower court was wrong to certify a class of shareholders who alleged that the company misled them about the robustness of its now defunct home-flipping business.
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January 09, 2025
Wash. Justices Won't Review $160M Seattle Property Tax Win
Seattle can keep $160 million in property taxes for waterfront improvements, after Washington's Supreme Court declined to review a lower appellate court's ruling rejecting property owners' bid to recalculate the tax to reflect the hit property values had taken from COVID-19.
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January 09, 2025
Airlines Say 9th Circ. Should Mull Seattle Airport Pollution Suit
Delta Air Lines and Alaska Airlines have told a Washington federal court that the Ninth Circuit should immediately consider the jurisdictional and preemption issues raised in a proposed class action from property owners and residents over alleged flight-path pollution near Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
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January 09, 2025
Md. House Bill Seeks Special Tax On Commercial Property
Maryland would authorize local governments to establish a subclass of commercial and industrial property and impose a special tax on such property to fund transportation improvements and local education budgets as part of a bill introduced in the state House of Delegates.
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January 09, 2025
Ind. Senate Bill Would End Annual Assessment Adjustments
Indiana would eliminate annual adjustments to the assessed value of some real property to reflect changing values under legislation introduced in the state Senate.
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January 09, 2025
Indiana House Bill Would Abolish Property Taxes
Indiana would disallow the assessment of tangible property beginning in 2026 and end the imposition of property taxes beginning in 2027 under a bill introduced Thursday in the state House of Representatives.
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January 09, 2025
Parker Hudson Expands In Atlanta With Real Estate Atty
Parker Hudson Rainer & Dobbs LLP has brought on a former Hartman Simons & Wood LLP partner in Atlanta, strengthening its national real estate practice with an attorney who's guided Home Depot on retail and warehousing real estate matters, the firm announced Thursday.
Expert Analysis
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Ruling Affirms Drillers' Right To Choose Methods In Colo.
In the wake of the Tenth Circuit's decision in Bay v. Anadarko E&P Onshore, a bellwether trespass case, oil and gas operators can breathe easy knowing that Colorado landowners cannot dictate their method of drilling — even in the face of more reasonable alternatives, say Lauren Varnado and Jessica Pharis at Michelman & Robinson.
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NYC Sidewalk Obligations Must Go Beyond Construction
New York City's recently announced Get Sheds Down plan will bring sweeping changes to regulation of the scaffolding and construction sheds looming over sidewalks — but it cannot stop there, says Michael Pollack at Yeshiva University's Cardozo School of Law.
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5 Quick Takeaways From Feds' New Bank Capital Proposals
The federal banking agencies' recent proposed rulemaking on capital requirements is the culmination of a holistic review of U.S. capital standards initiated by the Federal Reserve, and at over 1,000 pages, the proposal will take some time to fully digest, but there are a few items that can be immediately highlighted, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.
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Contract Disputes Recap: Timeliness, Evidence, Fact-Finding
Edward Arnold and Bret Marfut at Seyfarth Shaw look at three recent opinions from three stages of government contract claims litigation about avoiding untimeliness by ticking procedural boxes, supporting factual positions at the summary judgment stage and how the appellate boards review default terminations.
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The Importance Of Sustainable, Resilient Construction Design
Due to the significant role that the construction industry plays in climate change, industry participants must understand the concepts of sustainable and resilient design practices, as well as the risks associated with implementing or foregoing these practices, say Daniel Brennan and Marissa Downs at Laurie & Brennan.
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Sackett Ruling, 'Waters' Rule Fix Won't Dry Up Wetlands Suits
In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in Sackett v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency narrowing the scope of Clean Water Act protections, the Biden administration is amending its rule defining "waters of the United States" — but the revised rule will inevitably face further court challenges, continuing the WOTUS legal saga indefinitely, say attorneys at Milbank.
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The Supreme Court Is At War With Itself On Extraterritoriality
The U.S. Supreme Court recently issued two conflicting pronouncements about the presumption against extraterritoriality without acknowledging the tensions between these decisions, which leaves lower courts, practitioners and potential defendants in the dark, says Jonah Knobler at Patterson Belknap.
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C-PACE Laws Offer Boost For Sustainable Development
As more emphasis is placed on energy-efficient infrastructure and sustainability projects, state laws establishing property assessed clean energy financing — known as C-PACE in the commercial context — have become increasingly relevant to project developers' capital stacks, say attorneys at Frost Brown.
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RICO Ruling Makes US More Attractive Foreign Creditor Forum
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Yegiazaryan v. Smagin, allowing a foreign plaintiff to use the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act to enforce a foreign arbitral award, will make judgment creditors more likely to seek out U.S. courts to remedy efforts to frustrate the enforcement of international arbitration awards, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.
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IRS Guidance Powers Up Energy Tax Credit Transfers
Recent IRS guidance on the monetization of energy tax credits provides sufficient clarity for parties to start negotiating transfer agreements, but it is unclear when the registration process required for credits to change hands will be up and running, say attorneys at Shearman.
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LA's High-Value Real Estate Transfer Tax Should Be Scrapped
Los Angeles’ recently implemented high-value property transfer tax has chilled the real estate market, is failing to meet revenue expectations and raises significant constitutional concerns, making it a flawed piece of legislation that should be invalidated, says attorney Paul Weinberg.
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Sackett's US Waters Redefinition Is A Boon For Developers
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent landmark ruling in Sackett v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency should reduce real estate project delays, development costs and potential legal exposures — but developers must remain mindful of how new federal and state regulations governing wetlands could affect their plans, say attorneys at Morris Manning.
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SEC Form PF Amendments Show Private Fund Adviser Focus
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission recently adopted amendments to Form PF that will establish new event-reporting requirements for private equity and large hedge fund advisers, reflecting the SEC's increased attention on the private markets also seen in its stated examination priorities and latest rule proposals, say attorneys at King & Spalding.